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Item Open Access The rephonologisation of Shona loanwords from English: an optimality theory analysis(University of the Free State, 2012) Kadenge, MaxwellEnglish: In their quest to respond to scientific and educational demands, speakers of Shona, a Southern Bantu language spoken in Zimbabwe, have expanded its lexical stock by borrowing mainly from the English language. The two languages have different phonologies, the phonology of English being much more complex than that of Shona. This article examines some aspects of the phonology of Shona loanwords from English, focusing specifically on how they are constrained by the Bantu CV syllable structure underlying the receptor language. The focus is on vowel and glide epenthesis which are employed to repair “illegal” complex onsets, syllable codas and diphthongs.Item Open Access Ensuring sustainability in a community-based project module(University of the Free State, 2012) Jordaan, MartinaEnglish: Community engagement is a form of experiential learning aimed at accomplishing tasks that meet genuine human needs in various local communities. It focuses on the execution of tasks that serve as educational and learning tools for students to acquire a number of important life skills. It is very challenging to sustain a community-based project module in an educational environment where accountability and evidence-based practice are important. The success of such a module rests to a large extent on the strength of the relationship between the faculty and the community. The successful running of the module also depends on the triad of student, lecturer and community partner. The commitment of all the parties involved in the outreach projects and in community development, in general, is of crucial importance for the success of community-based projects.Item Open Access Developing an intentionally inviting school culture: a case study(University of the Free State, 2012) Steyn, TrudieEnglish: Effective professional development (PD) programmes may deepen teachers’ under-standing, transform their assumptions and beliefs and thus change their teaching practice. This article is part of a research project and focuses specifically on the views of teachers from two schools on implementing invitational education (IE) intentionally in their schools to achieve improved learner success. An explorative, descriptive qualitative research design was considered the most suitable method to address the research problem. Purposive sampling was used for the study since it focused on two schools that had applied for the inviting school award from the International Alliance of IE in 2010. An awareness PD programme was conducted at each of the schools. Data was collected obtaining participants’ views in naïve sketches on how they envisaged implementing IE to make their schools intentionally more inviting. The following categories emerged from the data: assuming an intentionally inviting stance; four levels in the IE model; four dimensions in the IE model, and appreciation for the IE workshop.Item Open Access An evaluation of a family support programme in the southern Free State(University of the Free State, 2012) Marais, Lochner; Ingle, Mark; Skinner, Donald; Sigenu, KholisaEnglish: This article details the evaluation of an NGO Family Support Programme (FSP) that was implemented in the southern Free State’s Kopanong local municipality. The FSP is primarily aimed at strengthening Early Childhood Development (ECD) in what is a very socio-economically deprived environment for small children. The article argues for the critical importance of ECD within the human development paradigm. It then reports on the actual FSP assessment and advances a number of recommendations for how the initiative could be bolstered. It concludes that the FSP methodology is sound in principle and that it warrants replication at scale.Item Open Access Item Open Access Meeting challenges in rural African education: a Zambian case study(University of the Free State, 2012) Compion, Jannie; Steyn, Hennie; Wolhuter, Charl; Van der Walt, HannesEnglish: Private initiatives can contribute to the eradication of many of the educational problems of developing countries, specifically in rural Africa. This article explores the crippling education problems of several developing countries. It argues that many of these problems can be addressed by non-governmental organisations making use of privately funded mini-education systems. In particular, an analysis and discussion of the Foundation for Cross-Cultural Education shows that a private educational initiative, acting as a mini-education system itself, can make a substantial contribution towards the pedagogical upliftment of a community in a rural area, such as that of the Masaïti area of Zambia.Item Open Access Enkele voorspellers van die akademiese prestasie van eerste- jaarstudente in drie- en vierjaar- kurrikulums(University of the Free State, 2012) Keeve, Andri; Naude, Luzelle; Esterhuyse, KarelEnglish: Low success rates at South African higher education institutions instigated renewed interest in the predictors of academic performance. This study article investigates academic and psychosocial predictors of academic performance of first-year students in three- and four-year curricula. In combination, the predictors explain 20.2% of the variance in academic performance. For three-year-curriculum students, academic factors (Grade 12 performance, language proficiency) provide a significant explanation. This does not apply to four-year-curriculum students, where psychosocial factors (parents’ education level) play a role. Admission to higher education based on Grade 12 performance and language proficiency appears to be justified, but is less accurate for four-year-curriculum students.Item Open Access Equality and freedom in South Africa: creating a democratic paradox?(University of the Free State, 2012) Labuschagne, PieterEnglish: South Africa’s democratic transformation from authoritarian rule to a constitutional democracy was a dramatic legal revolution that signalled the end of parliamentary sovereignty and its replacement by a supreme constitution. This adoption of a supreme constitution, including a bill of rights to protect individual rights, for the first time formally indicated the presence of a constitutional state in South Africa. The “legal revolution” had a direct influence on the way democracy would be defined and applied in the future. However, the emphasis in the Constitution on equality and freedom, in direct relation to democracy, may have created a potential paradox in the understanding and application of the concept in South Africa. This article investigates this potential paradox between equality and freedom in the application of democracy in South AfricaItem Open Access Gated developments: international experiences and the South African context(University of the Free State, 2012) Spocter, ManfredEnglish: Gated developments, more commonly known as gated communities, have become a feature of urban living throughout the world. Gated developments in South African cities are an ubiquitous feature of the contemporary urban landscape with many new housing developments in the form of secure estates or fortified town house complexes. A review of international research on gated developments reveals four broad themes into which such research can be placed. South African gated development research is discussed within these themes and it is found that the themes are present in varying degrees in South Africa. This highlights not only global commonalities in gated development research, but also the importance of local or regional conditions in facilitating the increased proliferation of gated developments.Item Open Access