scholarly journals Foundation phase teachers’ points of view on the viability of Response to Intervention in their school context

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Suzanne Bester ◽  
Michè Conway
Keyword(s):  
Response To Intervention ◽  
South African ◽  
School Context ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Learner Support ◽  
Rti Implementation ◽  
African Context ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
Viable Approach

Guided by an interpretivist paradigm, the qualitative case study reported on here provided insight into the points of view of 9 foundation phase teachers on whether they believed that Response to Intervention (RtI) could be a viable approach to implement within their own school context. A semi-structured, focus group interview was conducted to explore the participants’ views regarding the viability of RtI for their school. Through exploring these teachers’ views, we aimed at initiating further research into whether RtI could potentially be a viable approach to assessment and intervention within a South African context. The findings suggest that the participants envisioned numerous challenges in the implementation of RtI within their school context. These challenges related to a lack of resources and challenges associated with the curriculum. The participants envisioned such challenges as potentially preventing the effective implementation of RtI and, therefore, decreasing its viability in their school context. The participants believed that if certain challenges, such as a lack of time and a lack of qualified teaching staff could be addressed and overcome, then an RtI approach could become viable in their school context. They believed that an effective RtI implementation could yield benefits associated with improved overall service delivery to learners and their parents. Furthermore, the participants believed that RtI could potentially result in a reduced need for financial resources to pay for referrals to learner support specialists, which they perceived as a challenge in their learner support interventions. The insights obtained from this study may be useful in guiding further research endeavours into the perceived viability of RtI in other school contexts in South Africa.

What Matters to South African Bank Customers? A Case Study of four Main South African Banks

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1and2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kingstone Mutsonziwa
Keyword(s):  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
South African ◽  
Language Usage ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Bank Resolution ◽  
African Context ◽  
Key Drivers ◽  
Investment Advice

This paper is a follow-up article based on the first article titled Customers speak for themselves: A case of Customer Satisfaction in the four Main South African Banks. Customer satisfaction within the banking industry is very important in the South African context. Although banks are trying their best to give their customers the best service, it is important to continuously measure customer satisfaction and identify service attributes that contribute to overall customer satisfaction for the banks. The data used in the analysis is based on a quantitative survey of 500 randomly selected customers in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town were interviewed using a face to face methodology. The key drivers of overall customer satisfaction based on regression analysis for the different banks were helpfulness and innovativeness (ABSA), helpfulness, innovativeness of the bank, resolution of problems and investment advice (FNB), language usage and friendliness of service consultants (Nedbank), innovativeness of the bank, investment advice and use of language (Standard bank). These attributes were important to the overall customer satisfaction and need to be closely monitored by the management of these banks.

Reimagining Intersectionality and Social Exclusion in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khosi Kubeka ◽  
Sharmla Rama
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
South African Context ◽  
Social Division ◽  
Common Reference ◽  
Local Contexts ◽  
African Context

Combining the theories of intersectionality and social exclusion holds the potential for structural and nuanced interpretations of the workings of power, taking systemic issues seriously but interpreting them though social relations that appear in local contexts. An intersectional analysis of social exclusion demonstrates to what extent multiple axes of social division—be they race, age, gender, class, disability or citizenship—intersect to result in unequal and disparate experiences for groups of youth spatially located in particular communities and neighborhoods. A common reference point is therefore power and how it manifests at the intersection of the local and global. A South African case study is used to explore the subjective measures and qualitative experiences of intersectionality and social exclusion further. The unique ways that language intersects with space, neighborhood, and race in the South African context, enables opportunities in education and the labor market, with profound implications for forms of social exclusion.

scholarly journals Subordination vs. agency/resistance in South Africa: Virgins bargaining their way through higher education

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 431-445
Author(s):  
Sunelle Stander
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Black Students ◽  
South African ◽  
Quality Education ◽  
Alternative Route ◽  
South African Context ◽  
Student Protests ◽  
African Context

Oppression manifests itself in various ways, such that intersections between different forms of oppression can be identified. This is also true for women living in South Africa, a country that has for years been plagued by many forms of oppression (racism, sexism, classism, etc.). Women are, amidst various forms of oppression, often left with few alternative options but to bargain with various forms of gender relations as a means to obtain basic human rights (like education). Recent student protests have highlighted the discriminating ways in which black students are kept from obtaining higher education. The so called “maidens bursary”, awarded to underprivileged girls who vow to stay virgins throughout their studies, will be used as a case study that examines an alternative route to which underprivileged women may resort in order to obtain a quality education. The notion of patriarchal bargaining will then be used to illumine the often unrecognized, complex and interwoven relationship between subordination and agency/resistance that operates within the South African context.

Enhancing Learners' Personal Resources through Narrative: Embracing Diversity

2002 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 22-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Val Rapmund ◽  
Cora Moore
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Personal Resources ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Personal Problems ◽  
Learner Support ◽  
African Context ◽  
Strengths Approach ◽  
The Impact

A shift is proposed from the traditional ‘deficit approach’ towards a ‘strengths approach’ in learner support in the South African context. The Student Self-Empowerment and Enrichment Programme serves as an example of a strengths approach in which diversity is embraced, and where facilitators and students are engaged in the process of making new meaning in conversation with one another. The narrative research approach is followed and narrative analysis is the method adopted for the interpretations. The following themes were identified as important in enhancing learners' personal resources: Benefiting from the sharing of information and experiences; The role of different backgrounds in seeking connection; The facilitator-participant relationship; Responsibilities; Communication skills; Change; Personal problems; Strengths reflected in the narratives. The results bear evidence of the impact of the programme, and the benefit of replacing traditional methods of teaching with more egalitarian and participatory methods. Embracing diversity benefits facilitators and learners alike, and contributes to the richness of life stories and the ability to function in new ways.

Doing systematic reviews in Psychology

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 450-468
Author(s):  
Sumaya Laher ◽  
Tasneem Hassem
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
South African ◽  
Systematic Reviews ◽  
Screening Tools ◽  
Practical Case ◽  
Comprehensive Plan ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
African Context

Systematic reviews by virtue of being a pre-determined, transparent, and comprehensive plan and search strategy are fast gaining popularity in psychology in South Africa. A systematic review allows one to obtain a thorough overview regarding the recent developments and debates on a given topic with the addition of metacommentary. In South Africa, we have noted stark differences in the reporting of systematic reviews. Often studies are identified as systematic reviews but methodologically have failed to meet the rigorous criteria that characterise this method. This article aims to provide a guide for the novice researcher on conducting systematic reviews. We draw on a practical case study by Hassem and Laher where the systematic review method was used to establish the efficacy of online depression screening tools in the South African context as a practical illustration of the systematic review method. In so doing, the affordances and limitations of the systematic review method are discussed.

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