‘Kasi curriculum’: what young men learn and teach about sex in a South African township

ABSTRACT

Sex education within the formal bounds of school curricula or clinic consultation is traditionally conceived as age-appropriate and accurate information, delivered by a sanctioned adult such as a nurse or teacher. This article explores another kind of curriculum – taught and learned among young men themselves in the kasi (township) in which they live. Findings are based on primary data gathered during interviews and research workshops with boys and young men (aged 14–22), including focus group discussions and participatory research exercises. In exploring young men’s sexual ideas, practices, hopes and fears, it focuses on three themes: (i) consent and coercion; (ii) pleasure and risk; and (iii) advice and authority. We examine diverse perspectives on these themes, and trace the tensions and ambiguities that surface within young men’s accounts. We focus in particular on contradictions between what is learned about sex through formal curricula, and what is learned through peers and older men, including within ulwaluko (a rite of passage of traditional initiation and circumcision for Xhosa men).     

Designing an effective sexuality education curriculum for schools: lessons gleaned from the South(ern) African literature

Sexuality education forms part of the national school curricula of most sub-Saharan African countries, yet risk-related sexual behaviour among young people continues to fuel the HIV pandemic in this part of the world. One of the arguments put forward to explain why sexuality education seems to have had little impact on sexual risk-taking is that existing curricula have neglected to take into account the complexity of the social, cultural and gender norms that influence the behaviour of school-going young people in sub-Saharan Africa. Over the past few years, the Department of Basic Education in South Africa has recognised the need to provide guidance to teachers on the content, pedagogical processes and messages that are relevant to their specific context. This paper critically reflects on findings from a literature-based study conducted to identify the cognitive and social factors influencing the behaviour of school-going young people in South Africa and the risk and protective factors that might be particular to their circumstances. The findings provide helpful guidelines about the development, content and implementation of sexuality education curricula more likely to be relevant in contexts of serious poverty and disadvantage. Although based on the South African literature, the findings may also offer useful lessons for curriculum designers in other developing countries.     

How are action researchers contributing to knowledge democracy? A global perspective

ABSTRACT

Although action research has been widely recognized as an appropriate methodology for promoting the democratization of knowledge, it is not always conducted from an emancipatory and transformative paradigm. Using AR in a technical way, renders it no more than a researcher-driven, problem-solving heuristic that perpetuates the intellectual colonization of local knowledge. This begs the question: how can action researchers work in ways that are contextually and culturally relevant, and generate knowledge that enables people to take control of improving their own lives as they see fit? This paper presents a thematic analysis of the narrative reports from seven participatory workshops held around the world for the purpose of dialoging around this and related questions. Findings indicate that, generally, action researchers are indeed facing challenges on many personal, institutional and epistemic levels as they endeavor to promote knowledge derived from the principles of authentic participation and dialogue with those whom it is intended to benefit. However, the analysis also reveals creative responses of practitioners to these challenges. In keeping with the special issue theme, we offer this analysis as a starting point for further discussion around how we can mobilize knowledge for equitable social progress.     

Leading,managing and participating in inter-university teaching grant collaborations

In this paper we examine the leadership and management of multi-university collaborations funded by national teaching grants. The paper commences with a review of literature relating to stages of project development, key operational issues, impediments to collaboration and the leadership and management of teaching grant collaborations. Finally, we explore critical success factors in teaching grant collaborations from three perspectives – those of leader, manager and team member.     

Integrating ICT into classroom practice in modern foreign language teaching in England: making room for teachers' voices

Current government policy in the UK places teachers of all subject areas under pressure to embed ICT into their pedagogic practice to improve teaching and learning. This article attempts to compare that policy with the situated reality of a small number of Modern Foreign Language teachers striving to comply. The voices of four teachers are presented as they began to embed the use of ICT (primarily their newly acquired Interactive Whiteboards) into their existing classroom approach. The story of their developing practice is examined for signs of transformation; the complexity of a real situation is thus contrasted with a simplified ideal. By means of this investigation, examples of sophisticated pedagogical thinking are explored to demonstrate that it is perhaps not so easy to transform the learning process, with or without ICT.

La politique actuelle du gouvernement du Royaume‐Uni exerce une pression sur les enseignants de toutes matières pour qu'ils intègrent les technologies d'information et de communication dans leurs pratiques pédagogiques afin d'améliorer l'enseignement et l'apprentissage. Cet article essaye de comparer cette politique avec la réalité contextualisée d'un petit nombre de professeurs de langues étrangères qui font leur possible pour s'y conformer. Les voix de quatre enseignants y sont présentées alors qu'ils commençaient à intégrer l'informatique (et en particulier leurs tableaux interactifs récemment acquis) dans leur approche pédagogique actuelle. L'histoire du changement de leurs pratiques est remise en question pour trouver des indications de transformation. La complexité d'une situation réelle peut alors être mise en contraste avec une idée simplifiée. De par cette étude, on peut examiner des exemples de la réflexion pédagogique développée pour montrer que ce n'est pas tellement facile de transformer les méthodes d'apprentissage, avec ou sans l'outil informatique.

Die Gegenwärtige Regierungspolitik in Großbritannien setzt Lehrkräfte aller Schulfächer unter Druck, moderne Informationstechniken in ihre pädagogische Praxis einzubeziehen, um den Unterricht und den Lernprozess zu verbessern. Dieser Beitrag versucht, diese Politik mit der realen Situation einer kleinen Anzahl von SprachlehrerInnen zu vergleichen, die sich bemühen, den Anordnungen nachzukommen. Die Stimmen von vier Lehrkräften werden vorgelegt, die damit begonnen haben, Informations‐ und Kommunikationstechnologie (hauptsächlich ihre neu erworbenen interactive whiteboards (interaktive Tafeln)) in ihre gegenwärtige Unterrichtsmethode einzubeziehen. Es wird untersucht, welche Veränderungen es bei zunehmender Praxis gibt. Die Vielschichtigkeit einer realen Situation wird somit dem vereinfachten Idealfall gegenübergestellt. Mittels dieser Untersuchung werden Beispiele hochentwickelten pädagogischen Denkens erforscht und dazu verwendet, um zu zeigen, dass es doch nicht so einfach ist, den Lernprozess zu verändern—mit oder ohne ICT.

La política actuel del gobierno del Reino Unido sitúa a los profesores de todos los departamentos bajo la presión de arraigar ICT en la práctica de su pedagogía para mejorar la enseñanza y el aprendizaje. Este artículo intenta comparar esa política con la realidad de un pequeño número de profesores de idiomas extranjeros que se esfuerza por llevarla a cabo. La voz de cuatro profesores nos presenta como empoezaron a arraigar el uso de ICT (primeramente con la reciente adquisición de los Whiteboards Interactivos) como enfoque en sus clases actuales. La historia de su práctica en desarrollo está acompañada de indicios de cambios. Por eso la complejidad de una situación real se contrasta con un ideal más simplificado. Por medio de esta investigación, se exploran ejemplos de pensamiento pedagógico sofisticado para demostrar que quizás no sea tan fácil transformar el proceso de aprendizaje, con o sin ICT.     

Understanding the Role of Neuroscience in Brain Based Products: A Guide for Educators and Consumers

The term brain based is often used to describe learning theories, principles, and products. Although there have been calls urging educators to be cautious in interpreting and using such material, consumers may find it challenging to understand the role of the brain and to discriminate among brain based products to determine which would be suitable for specific educational goals. We offer a framework for differentiating the multiple meanings of the brain based label and guidelines for educators and consumers to use when evaluating educational products labeled as brain based. The guidelines include: identifying educational goals and target student populations, aligning goals and product purposes, reviewing product merits, identifying benefits and limitations of the product, and characterizing the product's impact on behavioral performance.     

Admiration for virtue: Neuroscientific perspectives on a motivating emotion

Social emotions like admiration for another person’s virtue are often associated with a desire to be virtuous one’s self, and to engage in meaningful and socially relevant activities against any odds (Haidt & Seder, 2007). These emotions can profoundly inspire us, sometimes motivating our most significant life-course decisions. Yet despite the cognitive maturity and complexity of knowledge required to induce an emotion like admiration for virtue, our recent study of the brain and psychophysiological correlates of experiencing this emotion revealed significant involvement of low-level brain systems responsible for the feeling of the gut and the maintenance of basic life regulation (Immordino-Yang, McColl, Damasio, & Damasio, 2009). These findings contribute an interesting jumping-off point for reexamining the educational study of motivation states because they suggest that, contrary to current conceptions in educational research, nonconscious, low-level physiological processes related to survival and bodily sensation may be critical contributors to intrinsic motivation.     

Shifting hegemony in ‘a man’s world’: incremental change for female golf professional employment

There is much evidence to suggest that the golf environment is unequal in terms of gender. This study puts this to the test by focusing on female golf professionals’ understanding of the barriers and opportunities to employment in the golf industry. Data were collected through a series of focus groups, interviews (n = 17) and a survey (n = 95) with female PGA professionals and trainee PGA professionals in Great Britain and Ireland, over half of whom indicated coaching as their primary employment role. At the time of data collection female PGA golf professionals made up less than 3% of all PGA professionals in Britain and Ireland. The data revealed some clear differences between older and younger respondents on barriers to, and opportunities for, employment in the golf industry. On the whole, younger professionals appeared more willing to challenge, discuss and confront the underlying discrimination. The results suggest that golf is undergoing an incremental change away from male hegemony.