Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Primary school boys'

Thesis (MEdPsych)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.
Bibliography
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The issue of masculinity is complex, and many theories on how gender is constructed exist. The central premise of this study is that gender construction is the result of dynamic social interaction and, as such, a post-structuralist paradigm is ascribed to. The concept of multiple masculinities exists to explain the influences different contexts have on how masculine ideas are constructed. This is not a passive process and individuals are considered active creators of their own identity. However, research demonstrates that not all masculinities are equal. Hegemonic masculinity maintains its leading dominant position status through using strategies of power and dominance to maintain the pinnacle position of status in the hierarchy of masculinities. The purpose of this study is to listen to the narratives of pre-adolescent boys about masculinity. Post-structuralist and social constructivist ideas that meaning is fluid and open to change, is influenced by culture and the individual meanings that people make. This understanding provides the theoretical framework for this qualitative study. Through a narrative-inquiry design, meaning was made of the individual experiences of six boys within the context of a single-sex preparatory school. The narratives of these participants, purposively selected, were obtained using the data-collecting methods of interviews, a focus group and the construction of a collage. The analysed data was presented both in the form of the narratives of the participants and through a thematic analysis. The findings indicate that within this private, single-sex preparatory school context, multiple constructions of masculinity are formed, and they all appear to be constructed in relation to hegemonic notions of masculinity. It was found that fathers play an important role in the way in which boys construct their masculine identity. However, their peers and the school context also play a significant role. Further, the findings revealed that although hegemonic notions of masculinity in this context had a powerful impact on these participants’ construction of masculinity, there are indications some are challenging overt expressions of hegemonic masculinity and, as such, hold more complex, transitional constructs of masculine identity.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die kwessie rondom manlikheid is kompleks en daar bestaan baie teorieë oor hoe geslag gebou word. Die sentrale uitgangspunt van hierdie studie is dat die konstruksie van geslag ‘n resultaat van dinamiese sosiale interaksie is en dus aan 'n post-strukturalistiese paradigma toegeskryf word. As sodanig bestaan die konsep van verskeie vorme van manlikheid om te verduidelik hoe verskillende kontekste manlike idees beïnvloed. Dit is nie 'n passiewe proses nie. Individue word as aktiewe skeppers van hulle eie identiteit beskou. Navorsing toon egter dat nie alle vorme van manlikheid gelyk is nie. Hegemoniese manlikheid hou 'n dominante posisie in stand deur die gebruik van strategieë van mag en oorheersing; die hoogsteposisie van status in die hiërargie van manlikheid word dus gestaaf. Die doel van hierdie studie is om na die narratiewe van pre-adolessente seuns oor manlikheid te luister. Post-strukturalistiese en sosiale konstruktivistiese idees wat aandui dat bedoelings vloeibaar en veranderbaar is, afhangende van kultuur en die betekenis wat deur 'n individu daaraan geheg word, voorsien dus 'n teoretiese raamwerk vir hierdie kwalitatiewe studie. Deur die gebruik van ‘n narratiewe ondersoek-ontwerp, is die betekenis van die individuele ervaringe van ses seuns in die konteks van 'n enkel-geslag voorbereidende skool geevalueer. Die verhale van hierdie deelnemers, wat doelgerig geselekteer is, is verkry deur gebruik te maak van onderhoude, 'n fokus groep en die konstruksie van 'n collage as data insamelingsmetodes. Die geanaliseerde data is beide in die vorm van verhale van die deelnemers sowel as 'n tematiese analise aangebied. Die bevindinge dui daarop dat binne hierdie private, enkel-geslag voorbereidende skoolkonteks, verskeie konstruksies van manlikheid gevorm word en het telkens beblyk in verhouding tot hegemoniese idees oor manlikheid gebou te word. Daar is bevind dat vaders 'n belangrike rol speel in die wyse waarop seuns hul manlike identiteit konstrueer. Eweknieë en die skoolkonteks speel egter ook 'n belangrike rol in die konstruksie van geslag. Die bevindinge het verder aan die lig gebring dat, alhoewel hegemoniese idees oor manlikheid in hierdie konteks 'n kragtige uitwerking op hierdie deelnemers se konstruksie van manlikheid het, daar aanduidings is dat sommige van die deelnemers openlike uitdrukkings van hegemoniese manlikheid uitdaag en sodoende meer komplekse oorgang-konstrukte van manlike identiteit het.

This thesis uses a poststructuralist methodology and leads to a Foucauldian analysis of power, subjectivity and discursive practices for a group of twelve boys in a Year 3 and 4 classroom. The thesis is written in a poststructuralist way, and as such, it is experimental. It experiments with a writing style that encourages the critical engagement of the reader in deconstructing the text. The personal subjectivity of the author is placed in the foreground risking a vulnerability that is not apparent in theses generally. The thesis describes the structure and practicalities of research in a primary school classroom using a video camera to collect data. Transcripts were made from videotapes of a school day and interviews with the boys. These were analysed for the frequency of use of Foucault's "disciplinary techniques" using qualitative research software. Furthermore computer analysis assisted the extraction of "mini-narratives" from the transcripts. These "mini-narratives" are used to lead a description of the subjectivity of the boys and their positioning in the discourses of schooling and hegemonic masculinity. A picture emerges of a young male subjectivity caught up in the dilemmas of concurrent positioning in both schooling practices and hegemonic masculinity practices. It is proposed that boys often see their available positionings as limited by schooling discourse to "positive-female" or "negative-male". Hegemonic masculinity discourse limits available positioning to "positive male" or "negative-female". Positioning by the boys in these discourses is depicted as rapidly changing to the extent that inconsistencies and confusions arise for boys. The "mini-narratives" use the transcribed voices of the boys to tell of the challenges and practicalities of being a boy in a primary school. Recommendations are made that include moving beyond dualistic ways of subject positioning. The recommendations include ideas for teachers to involve themselves and their students in developing new ways of speaking about gender difference.

Thesis (MEdPsych)--Stellenbosch University, 2014.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The social construction of masculinity is a complex process, one which cannot be divorced from the immediate environment and culture of boys. The aim of this study was to understand the construction of male identity in young primary school boys, who grew up in a context where few positive male role models might be, and where society might play a bigger role in shaping their identities. I focused on boys between the ages of ten and thirteen. The participants were from a poor socio-economic coloured community in the Western Cape and were purposively selected. A qualitative research methodology was used and data was selected by means of semi-structured interviews, focus-group interviews, collages and photographs. The findings showed that the type of masculinity these boys aspire to is admirable. However, they are caught within a context where there is a lack of physical space, an absence of facilities, a high unemployment rate and are surrounded by community disorganisation. The boys are confronted with many male examples in their community who are not providing for their families, and they see substances such as alcohol and drugs being abused daily by adult members of their community. Despite a constant presence of a mother, there is a lack of meaningful relationships with their fathers. They cannot easily identify positive role models within their community and do not have the ability to search for such traits in others. The themes arising from the data presented a contrast between the experiences of the participants and the kind of men they seek to be. There are very few men in their community who could help them to achieve their ideals and who could provide them with guidance or support. In the absence of suitable male role models to emulate, these boys are likely to comply with a model of masculinity that demonstrates dominance and power through violence and abuse.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die sosiale konstruksie van manlikheid is 'n komplekse proses, een wat nie van die onmiddellike omgewing en kultuur van die seuns geskei kan word nie. Die doel van hierdie studie was om die konstruksie van manlike identiteit in jong laerskoolseuns, wat grootgeword het in 'n konteks waar min positiewe manlike rolmodelle kan wees, en waar die gemeenskap 'n groter rol kan speel in die vorming van hul identiteit, te verstaan. Ek fokus op seuns tussen die ouderdomme van tien en dertien jaar oud. Die deelnemers was van 'n lae - sosio-ekonomiese bruin gemeenskap in die Wes-Kaap en is doelbewus gekies. ‘n Kwalitatiewe navorsingsmetodologie is gebruik en data is deur middel van semi- gestruktureerde onderhoude, fokusgroep-onderhoude, collages en fotos ingesamel. Die bevindinge het getoon dat die tipe manlikheid wat hierdie seuns nastreef, prysenswaardig is. Hulle is egter vasgevang in 'n konteks gekenmerk deur 'n gebrek aan fisiese ruimte, 'n afwesigheid van fasiliteite, 'n hoë werkloosheidsyfer en gemeenskaplike wanorde. Die seuns word gekonfronteer met baie voorbeelde van mans in hul gemeenskap wat nie voorsiening maak vir hul families nie, en hulle world op 'n daaglikse basis bloogestel aan volwassenes wat alkohol en dwelms misbruik. Hoewel daar 'n konstante teenwoordigheid van 'n ma is, is daar is 'n gebrek aan 'n sinvolle verhouding met hul vaders. Hulle kan nie maklik positiewe rolmodelle identifiseer binne hul gemeenskap nie, en het nie die vermoë om te soek vir soortgelyke eienskappe in ander nie. Die temas wat voortgespruit het uit die data was in kontras met die ervarings van die deelnemers en die tipe man waarna hulle streef om te wees. Daar is geen mans in hul gemeenskap wat hulle kan help om hul ideale te bereik en wat hulle kan voorsien met leiding of ondersteuning nie. In die afwesigheid van geskikte manlike rolmodelle om na te boots, kan hierdie seuns geneig wees om 'n model van manlikheid wat oorheersing en mag deur geweld en mishandeling na te streef.

Abstract Boys' underachievement has become a topical issue in recent years. In response, one New Zealand primary school created a Boys' Project. It encompassed a range of interventions designed to address boys' underachievement by re-culturing the school to make it a more positive environment for them. This qualitative research is a case study of this school and it seeks to identify elements of school culture that support boys' learning. The literature revealed contrasting and conflicting theoretical perspectives contributing to the debate around boys' achievement. From one perspective it is accepted that boys and girls are different and schools are expected to accommodate these differences. The alternative perspective suggests that differences between girls and boys should not be viewed as inevitable and that, for boys, schools and society should work to change undesirable attitudes and behaviours if their learning needs are to be addressed. The research revealed that boys' underachievement is indeed a complex issue that is unlikely to be solved by short-term interventions or strategies. The research concludes that educational outcomes for boys will be positively affected by a school culture that fosters strong relationships, a focus on learning, and an understanding of how beliefs and attitudes about gender are influential on learning.

Background. This study sought to determine the distribution of early-onset restrictive eating disturbances characteristic of the new DSM-5 diagnosis, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) in middle childhood, as well as to evaluate the screening instrument, Eating Disturbances in Youth-Questionnaire (EDY-Q). Methods. A total of 1444 8- to 13-year-old children were screened in regular schools (3rd to 6th grade) in Switzerland using the self-report measure EDY-Q, consisting of 12 items based on the DSM-5 criteria for ARFID. Results. Forty-six children (3.2%) reported features of ARFID in the self-rating. Group differences were found for body mass index, with underweight children reporting features of ARFID more often than normal- and overweight children. The EDY-Q revealed good psychometric properties, including adequate discriminant and convergent validity. Conclusions. Early-onset restrictive eating disturbances are commonly reported in middle childhood. Because of possible negative short- and long-term impact, early detection is essential. Further studies with structured interviews and parent reports are needed to confirm this study’s findings.

Background. This study sought to determine the distribution of early-onset restrictive eating disturbances characteristic of the new DSM-5 diagnosis, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) in middle childhood, as well as to evaluate the screening instrument, Eating Disturbances in Youth-Questionnaire (EDY-Q). Methods. A total of 1444 8- to 13-year-old children were screened in regular schools (3rd to 6th grade) in Switzerland using the self-report measure EDY-Q, consisting of 12 items based on the DSM-5 criteria for ARFID. Results. Forty-six children (3.2%) reported features of ARFID in the self-rating. Group differences were found for body mass index, with underweight children reporting features of ARFID more often than normal- and overweight children. The EDY-Q revealed good psychometric properties, including adequate discriminant and convergent validity. Conclusions. Early-onset restrictive eating disturbances are commonly reported in middle childhood. Because of possible negative short- and long-term impact, early detection is essential. Further studies with structured interviews and parent reports are needed to confirm this study’s findings.

The perceptions held of the fundamental differences in the nature of boys and girls is an issue which has dominated educational discourse over recent years and thus, has shaped pedagogical approaches and policy. However, despite some calls to focus on how the social construction of masculinity affects boys’ responses to school based literacy there is still a pervasive discourse which focuses on neurological and hormonal differences. Furthermore, the waters seem muddied by a narrative of the disempowerment of boys as a consequence of the success of the feminist movement, the answer to which has often been a call to return to more traditional roles and social practices. The extent to which this popular discourse impacts on policy decisions made by educational leaders cannot be underestimated and is reflected in the many proposals for improving boys’ literacy results which are still often grounded in generalisations and stereotypes which place boys in one homogenous group who experience their identity in a single way. The current climate appears, therefore, to be one of mixed messages so that whilst scholars have pointed out the potential damage caused by solutions which reinforce socially constructed gender binaries, such approaches are still thriving. This study employs qualitative methods to explore, through interviews, the ways in which boys talk about how they construct their masculinity within the school environment and draws conclusions as to how this gendered identity impacts upon their perception of practices which shape the literate individual such as reading, creative writing and personal expressive response to texts. The findings contradict some commonly held beliefs that hegemonic constructions of masculinity often reject the academic practices associated with literacy. In particular, the data challenges the idea that many boys are reluctant to be seen as succeeding academically in favour of an anti-school culture. The results offer instead, a nuanced picture of how boys perceive the study of literacy and how some boys actively resist forms of masculinity which might prevent them from achieving at school and are able to balance the need to succeed in literacy with their status as ‘hegemonic’ boys socially.

Enrichment is one of the important educational facilities that are provided for gifted students. However, the research on gifted enrichment programmes still requires further exploration in order to meet the diversity of gifted students. The purpose of this study was to determine the important components of an enrichment programme in science for gifted boys in the 6th grade of primary schools in Saudi Arabia. The current study has critiqued the components that are recommended in the literature pertaining to gifted programmes that include the Renzulli Model, VanTass- Baska Model, and Oasis Enrichment Model. Gifted programmes discussed are then discussed in relation to those that are provided to gifted students in schools and Universities in Saudi Arabia. Mixed methods were used in this descriptive study. Three methods have been used, documentary analysis, questionnaire, and interview. The documentary analyses of selected science textbook in 6th grade used mixed (qualitative and quantitative) approaches. The participants included 220 gifted students in primary schools in 6th grade from Dammam, Riyadh, and Jeddah city in Saudi Arabia, and 10 teachers and 10 supervisors of gifted education in science. Gifted students responded to questionnaires in order to ascertain their opinions about the current science textbook in 6th grade and what they would like to find in the Proposed Enrichment Programme (PEP). Interviews were conducted with teachers and supervisors of gifted education to examine in depth their IV perception about the current 6th grade science textbook and the Proposed Enrichment Programme in order to meet the needs of Saudi gifted students in 6th grade. The data from questionnaires were analysed in two phases. Firstly, the data were analysed and presented item by item for both the current science textbook ( ST questionnaire) and the proposed enrichment programme ( PEP questionnaire). All the items were examined by Chi square test to calculate whether there are any significant differences among each item in both questionnaires. Secondly, comparisons were made among the themes that emerged from the ST and PEP questionnaires. The responses of the interviewees were assigned to one of the content themes (attitudes to science, thinking skills, and contents and activities). Analysis of the words from respondents and counting frequencies of occurrence of ideas, themes, pieces of data, words (Cohen et al., 2007). The questionnaire data showed that the most important theme in the PEP for the gifted students is the “content of knowledge”. This reflects the students‟ views of the inadequacy of knowledge in the ST and their desire to further the development of content knowledge in the PEP. All the data from students and teachers and supervisors indicated that the ST needs to be improved to meet the needs of gifted students in two main areas: the level of thinking skills (e.g. evaluating and creating), and that the topics should be close to students‟ daily life and their environment. The findings of this research study showed agreement across all data collection instruments regarding the weakness of the activities in the 6th grade science textbook. This study considers that in order to enable gifted students to fulfil their potential in science in the regular classroom, it is necessary to provide further content and activities that require high levels of thinking, as provided by the PEP. The findings in this study clearly showed that there is a need for more challenge to stimulate gifted learners to learn which should be included in the PEP

This study examined the efficacy of a multimodal intervention with conduct disordered boys in the middle primary years. The intervention consisted of a behavioural classroom program; a small group, social skills program; and a behavioural parenting program Resource implications of this model were also evaluated. A review of the current literature on conduct disorders showed that these children account for less than 5% of the population, but they have a strong impact on families, teachers, peers, schools and the wider community. About 50% of children with severe, early behavioural problems will continue with these problems, not only throughout their adult lives, but into the next generation. Early intervention appears to offer our best hope of altering this trajectory. Interventions with this population have been largely unsuccessful. At the present time the most promising intervention is behavioural parent training programs. Combining these with child focused social skills programs, and behavioural programs in the school setting, increases their efficacy. This study used a single subject experimental design to examine the effects of this program on four boys with behavioural difficulties. Continuous measures were taken with parent, and teacher daily record charts, and classroom observations. Pre, post and followup measures were taken with the Child Behaviour Checklist. The results of the study were mixed. Some subjects, according to some respondents, improved in home and school behaviours. All three subjects, for whom there was followup data, had improved. The classroom, and parenting programs appeared to be associated with positive changes in child behaviour, the small group was associated with more disruptive behaviour at school.

There is evidence of a high incidence of language difficulties (LD) amongst boys with externalising behaviour (EB); however we still have little understanding about why they co-occur. This 3 part study investigates aspects of this relationship framed within a biopsychosocial model and with a focus on pragmatic language skills and social cognition. Firstly, this study seeks to replicate recent research that has indicated a close association between pragmatic language skills and EB. It is the first study to consider the strength of this association while controlling for other variables known to commonly co-occur with LD and EB: aspects of the child’s ability (word decoding and nonverbal cognitive skills), and aspect of their environment (parenting stress, maternal education and family set up). Secondly, this study furthers our understanding of the social cognitive and friendship skills of boys with LD, in both areas through investigating reasons for variance in ability. A better understanding of an LD population feeds into our understanding of EB due to the high proportion of boys with EB who have coexisting LD. Thirdly, this study measures social cognition of boys EB while accounting for the role of LD, thus investigating whether difficulty with these tests is associated with the high rate of LD in this population. Previous studies have not adequately considered this. Method: Boys aged 8 to 11 years receiving additional support in school were assessed for LD and EB and two groups (not mutually exclusive) were identified: boys with LD (n=31) and boys with EB (n=35). A control group of typically developing boys matched for age and SES were also identified (n=42). For part one, participants completed assessments of language skills, word decoding and non-verbal cognitive ability. Teachers completed a checklist to provide a measure of pragmatic language skills. Parents completed questionnaires to provide measures of parenting stress, family set-up and maternal education. For the second and third part of the study participants’ social cognition was assessed and parent and teachers completed a checklist for measurement of emotional and behavioural difficulties including friendship skills. Results and discussion: In the first part of this study, all variables measured were found to be significantly associated with EB, as would be expected within a biopsychosocial model in which many factors interact with each other in the development of EB. However, particularly close associations were found between pragmatic language skills and EB (replicating previous research in this area), followed by language skills. This indicates a close and specific association between communication skills and EB, even when other closely associated variables are accounted for. In part two, amongst boys with LD, different social cognition assessments were found to be associated with different aspects of communication skills. One was most closely associated with structural (particularly expressive) language and the other two with pragmatic language. This indicates that they are tapping different constructs and highlights the difficulty using a proxy to give an indicator of social cognition; it is not easy to assess. Variability in friendship skills of boys with LD was not associated with any aspect of communication skills. Significant correlations were found with two of the social cognition test scores only. This is at variance with research indicating a link between friendship and receptive language skills. In part 3, the EB group scored significantly lower than the Control group in tests of social cognition, however EB was not found to be linked with social cognition score. Only boys with LD (with or without EB) scored significantly lower than the Control group. This has implications for previous research into the social cognition of boys with EB which has not fully considered the high proportion with LD and the extent this may be contributing to their low social cognition scores. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Childhood is an important period for determining long-term health in life. One of the biggest threats facing children is obesity. Globally, childhood obesity is reaching the level of a serious public health concern. In some countries, rates of obesity have more than doubled in the last two decades. For example, in Saudi Arabia a recent national study of 11,112 children aged from 2-7 years found the prevalence of obesity among Saudi children has almost doubled since 2002. Global literature shows that obesity is a complex issue and that many factors contribute to children becoming overweight. From a review of the Saudi literature, it is clear that no previous study has used observation as a research methodology to explore the factors affecting body weight in Saudi schools and this is the first study completed within the Islamic school context. The aim of this study was to explore factors that affect body weight among boys in three types of school in Saudi Arabia (public, Islamic and private). A case study design and qualitative methods were adopted. Data were generated through observations, interviews with teachers and students, and by analysing documents. Three research committees from Cardiff University and the Saudi Ministry of Education approved the study. The total interviewees numbered 33 students and 18 teachers. The data analysis process was thematic and used inductive techniques, findings across all cases are presented under four major themes. The school’s system and philosophy play a significant role in affecting body weight among Saudi boys in primary schools. This theme includes the teacher’s role, school canteen system, school programmes and the role of the Ministry of Education. For example, in the public and Islamic schools, canteens are important source of income and this directs each school to sell to students what they want regardless of its nutritional value. The school environment, its infrastructure and facilities was the second theme. Unlike the private school, the public and Islamic schools benefited from new, appropriate, designs. Both these two schools have outdoor sports facilities but they are not prepared to maintain and continue physical education lessons in extreme weather conditions. The students’ health behaviours are a further factor affecting body weight among Saudi boys at all types of primary school. This theme includes students’ preferences, society and community. Three factors that exist outside schools can also affect students’ body weight at all types of primary school. These are media, family, and languages. Drawing on these themes, recommendations are made for policy, practice and research.

Thesis (DPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2015.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Research on how children learn to behave in gendered ways has focused on a „top-down‟ process of socialisation which positions children as passive recipients of gender norms of the societies they inhabit. In contrast, this ethnographic study explores gender as constructed and experienced by children themselves with a specific focus on play as a means through which social identities are produced. This study focuses on children between the ages of six and ten and explores how they construct and experience being „boys‟ and being „girls‟ through play in a township primary school near Durban. This research is influenced by the emerging perspective in academic ways of thinking about childhood; identified by Prout and James (1997) as the „New Sociology of Childhood‟ (NSC). Departing from the traditional socialisation ways of thinking about children‟s social worlds from the perspectives of adults, the NSC views children as active agents in society whose social lives, behaviours and relationships are worthy of study in their own right. In this study, I engage with children‟s agency by adopting a critical child-centred methodological approach to explore symbolic meanings the young boys and girls in the study attach to play. In adopting this research approach, this study generates new understandings about ways in which South African boys and girls in the study construct and experience schooling and play. Findings raise various implications for ways of working with children, both in research and in education, in ways which engages with their own constructions of the stereotypes of masculinity and femininity through play.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Nie beskikbaar

This study aimed to determine what the effect of a sport development and nutrition intervention programme would be on the following components of psychological development of previously disadvantaged, primary school-aged rugby players: self-esteem; cognitive development, attention and concentration and social support. The participants were primary school boys between the ages of 9 and 14 years from disadvantaged communities. They were recruited on the basis of availability from six primary schools in the Potchefstroom area of the North West Province involved in a rugby development programme. The research design was a randomised, single-blinded, controlled intervention study. The children were randomly assigned to either an experimental or a control group. The experimental group of children received an exercise intervention and a nutritional supplement twice a week for a period of three months. The control group received no sport or nutritional interventions during this period. The research methodology included pre-testing, intra-testing and post-testing. With the pre-testing a comparison could be drawn between the experimental and control group regarding the above-mentioned psychological components. During the intra testing each of the 2 groups was evaluated separately regarding these components to identify any changes that could have taken place within the group from baseline to end. With the post-testing the 2 groups were compared with each other regarding these components to determine whether the nutrition and exercise interventions resulted in any markable changes to especially the experimental group. The results showed an statistically significant improvement in self-concept within the experimental group (p = 0.028) whereas no difference in self-concept within the control group was obtained. The effect of the intervention programme was not as clearly observable in any of the other psychological components. A longer duration of such an intervention programme could possibly contribute to better test results. The socioeconomic circumstances of the participants played an important role in the final outcome of the study in that it influenced the social support the participants received and it also had an effect on the test behaviour of the participants.
Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

Background: Worldwide, gender inequality has existed for a long time due to culture, religion and patriarchal structures, sometimes maintained by law. As a result, millions of girls lose their right to schooling, and it is affecting the development of entire nations. Uganda one the other hand, has for the past decade had many girls accessing school and hence, an increase in the quantitative perspective of gender equality. This is a result of efforts and different projects to bring girls to school mobilised by many organizations, together with the government. Uganda implemented free universal primary education over 20 years ago, and was the first of all nations in Sub-Saharan Africa to apply free universal secondary education in 2007. However, do these structural changes contribute to a development in the qualitative perspective of gender equality in Uganda? Have this led to changed perceptions in the rural households regarding education for their girls and boys respectively? Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to understand the development of gender equality in Uganda focusing on school attendance. This will be identified through listening to the perceptions of rural households towards sending their girls and boys to primary school. The result intends to contribute to a greater understanding of the qualitative development of gender equality in Uganda, in line with the Sustainable Development Goal number 5 implemented by the United Nations. Research question: What are the perceptions of rural households in Uganda towards sending their girls and boys respectively to primary school? Method: A qualitative method through 18 interviews, one focus group discussion and discussions with 22 children in a rural area. The village Lukonko in Eastern Uganda was chosen based on a convenience selection and since the number of girls attending school has grown rapidly in this area. Conclusion: Girls’ access to primary school was more valued than boys’ access which constitutes reversed gender inequality. The main reason was that girls provide more future support to the household. Yet, many of the reasons for sending girls to primary school were rooted in issues of gender inequality. The qualitative development of gender equality has progressed in terms of the value of the girls’ education, but not regarding the underlying societal issues of gender inequality.

The concept of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children presents conceptually controversial and practical challenges on several levels. These include the theoretical basis of the disorder, its manifestations in everyday life and identification and assessment procedures. The field has attracted considerable attention from professionals in the areas of education, psychology and health. One of the major areas where ADHD behaviours can present problems is in school settings. The present research derives from, and addresses, English educational perspectives and practices, based in school settings. It was primarily concerned with seeking new insights and generating testable hypotheses concerning incidence, multi-professional identification, assessment and management of the condition and situational variability in ADHD symptoms in schools. The exploratory study was in two related parts. These were undertaken concurrently using a combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques and data gathering methods. Part 1 of the research was based on detailed analyses of data from the first countywide ADHD survey covering all schools in a Local Education Authority in the West Midlands (LEA 1) in 2003. Data pertaining specifically to pupils at key stages 1/2 have been extracted from the 2003 survey data and subjected to further descriptive analyses. Comparisons have been made with findings from five other LEA school surveys in order to obtain a more extensive appraisal of the reported incidence of the disorder. Part 2 adopted a case study approach in which data-gathering techniques included the use of field notes, a range of interviews, analysis of documents and observation. Two classroom observation schedules have been devised and used extensively over a two-year period throughout six individual case studies in schools within LEA 1. The case studies have produced a wide range of unique data on the variability of ADHD symptoms across curricular contexts and over time. The findings and hypotheses generated in the present research have significance for inclusive educational practice, highlighting the importance of multi-professional approaches to the identification and management of ADHD and pedagogical and curricular flexibility in schools. These form part of the Government’s ongoing reform of children’s services as set out in Every Child Matters (DfES, 2003) and Removing Barriers to Achievement (DfES, 2004a).

Afghanistan, among other countries in the world, is counted as one of the poorest countries and has extremely large gender disparities in education in both urban and rural areas. Dropout is an issue in many countries, especially dropout of girls. In Afghanistan the main cause for girls’ dropout is lack of female teachers, hence Ministry of Education of Afghanistan has put decreasing dropout of girls as a priority and the key strategy is to increase the number of female teachers. I intended to explore the phenomenon of boys’ and girls’ dropout rate in primary schools and I have found different causes of boys’ and girls’ dropout. The dropout of girls and boys are compared in relation to teacher’s sex, moreover, views of parents about the role of female teachers as regards education by girls is discussed. In order to find whether teacher’s sex has influence on girls’ and boys’ dropout and to know the thoughts of dropped out girls and boys about influence of teacher’s sex on their continuation in schools, this study was conducted. The data was collected through questionnaires in 10 boys’ and girls’ schools from grade 1-6 in the urban area of southeast Paktia province of Afghanistan. In addition, final grade exam results of all ten schools were collected and 39 male and 21 female teachers, 50 dropout girls and 50 dropout boys and 25 mothers and 25 fathers were involved. In the above 10 schools one fourth of students were dropped out. The girls taught by male teacher dropped out more compared to girls taught by female teachers. The main cause for dropout was considered by the majority of respondents to be a need of children’s work at their families. Also, it is found that unavailability of female teachers contributes to increased girls’ dropout. The dropped out students and their parents also thought so. The teachers’ sex was not an issue for boys’ dropout.

Increasingly since the 1990s those of us who are interested in gender issues in education have heard the question: What about the boys? A discourse has emerged in New Zealand, as in other countries including Australia, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, that attention spent on addressing issues related to the educational needs of girls has resulted in the neglect of boys and problems related to their schooling. Positioned within this discourse, boys are depicted as disadvantaged, victims of feminism, underachieving or failing within the alienating feminised schooling environment and their struggles at school are seen as a symptom of a wider ‘crisis of masculinity'. This anxiety about boys has generated much debate and a number of explanations for the school performance of boys. One concern, that has remained largely unexamined in the Aotearoa New Zealand context, is that the dominant discourse of masculinity is characterised by a restless physicality, anti-intellectualism, misbehaviour and opposition to authority all of which are construed as antithetical to success at school. This thesis explores how masculinities are played out in the schooling experiences of a small group of 5, 6 and 7 year old boys in two New Zealand primary schools as they construct, embody and enact their gendered subjectivities both as boys and as pupils. This study of how the lived realities of schooling for these boys are discursively constituted is informed by feminist poststructuralism, aspects of queer theory and, in particular, draws on the works of Michel Foucault. The research design involved employing an innovative mix of data generating strategies. The discursive analysis of the data generated in focus group discussions, classroom and playground observations, children’s drawings and video and audio recording of the normal classroom literacy programmes is initially organised around these sites of learning in order to explore how gender is produced discursively, embodied and enacted as children go about their work and their play. The research shows that although considerable diversity was apparent as the boys fashioned their masculinities in these different sites, ‘doing boy’ is not inimical to ‘doing schoolboy’ as all the boys, when required to, were able to constitute themselves as ‘intelligible’ pupils (Youdell, 2006). The research findings challenge the notion of school as a feminised and alienating environment for them. In particular, instances of some of the boys disrupting the established classroom norms, as recorded by feminist researchers more than two decades ago, are documented. Concerns then, that “classroom practices reinforced a notion of male importance and superiority while diminishing the interests and status of girls” (Allen, 2009, p. 124) appear to still be relevant, and the postfeminist discourse “that gender equity has now been achieved for girls and women in education” (Ringrose, 2013, p. 1) is called into question. Amid the greater emphasis on measuring easily quantifiable aspects of pupils’ educational achievement, what this analysis does is to recognize the processes of schooling as highly complex and to offer a more nuanced response to the question of boys and their schooling than that offered by, for example, men’s rights advocates. It suggests that if we are committed to improving education for all children, the question needs to be re/framed so as not to lose sight of educational issues related to girls and needs to ask just which particular groups of boys and which particular groups of girls are currently being disadvantaged in our schools.

Barn spenderar en stor del av sin tid i olika institutioner som skola och fritidshem. I den delen av vardagen som definieras som fritid gör barn olika val av aktiviteter. Begreppet motorik är i detta sammanhang en aspekt av aktiviteter som är intressant att undersöka. Människors rörelseförmåga och rörelsemönster är den generella definitionen på motorik som delas in i finmotorik och grovmotorik. Tidigare forskning visar att pojkar generellt har en mer utvecklad motorik än flickor och att dessa skillnader blir större ju äldre de blir. Syftet med vår uppsats är att undersöka barns val och deltagande i finmotoriska och grovmotoriska aktiviteter på fritidshemmet. Vi har även tittat på hur faktorer som miljö, verksamhet och pedagogers samspel med barnen och deras aktiviteter relaterar till varandra. Studiens resultat grundar sig i observationer på två olika fritidshem i Sverige. Resultatet har granskats med hjälp av våra teoretiska utgångspunkter, genus och sociokulturellt perspektiv. Det som har framkommit i denna studie är att i valet av aktiviteter som är grovmotoriska eller finmotoriska väljer pojkar generellt grovmotoriska aktiviteter och flickor finmotoriska. Sammanfattningsvis i denna studie framgick det att miljö, pedagogers handlingar, barns intressen, förväntningar, föreställningar, normer och olika grader av strukturer i verksamheten utgör faktorer som kan ha betydelse för barns aktivitetsval på fritidshemmet.

Une activité pédagogique est un ensemble d’actions s’additionnant et se croisant en faveur d’un objectif déterminé au préalable et qui est au-delà d’un exercice ou d’une évaluation. C’est un processus qui, d’une part fait apparaître un produit unique tel que le nouvel apprentissage en termes de compétences et de savoir-faire et, d’autre part, amène une réorganisation de schèmes, connaissances et compétences en faveur d’une nouvelle strate de stabilité dans le sens piagétien du terme. La construction du savoir est une tâche individuelle effectuée par l’apprenant lui-même par le biais de l’enseignant qui doit jouer le rôle de médiateur pédagogique, cognitif et social. Ce rôle demande à l’enseignant des compétences professionnelles à la fois solides et délicates, solides parce qu’il doit se doter de connaissances suffisantes relatives à la matière enseignée et à la didactique de cette matière, et délicates parce que l’enseignement est un travail qui se base forcément sur les affects et les émotions. Ce travail dépend, d’une part, des représentations que se fait l’enseignant de l’élève dans ses trois statuts, à savoir en tant qu’élève comme statut social, apprenant comme statut didactique et enfant comme statut psychologique et d’autre part, il s’appuie sur l’ensemble des autres facteurs qui peuvent être opérationnels dans l’activité pédagogique tels que l’espace, au sens général du terme, et la planification.Les représentations que se fait l’enseignant de son élève s’inspirent, d’une façon consciente et/ou inconsciente, de maints facteurs qui ont servi (ou servent) à forger sa personnalité et l’orientation de ses propres choix, tels que les facteurs socio-économiques et culturels et la sphère politique. Ces facteurs forment ce qu’on a appelé les inputs des représentations de l’enseignant. Les outputs sont les différents choix relationnels et pédagogiques en termes de comportements et de décisions instantanées. L’activité pédagogique est un travail de communication et de relation. En effet, elle s’appuie, d’un côté sur les contenus scolaires, et d’un autre, sur les aspects comportementaux des personnes intervenantes tels que l’enseignant et les élèves en tant que groupe et individus. La nature des représentations que chaque partie se fait de l’autre contribue à orienter, d’une façon radicale, le processus de l’apprentissage et de l’appropriation. Ces représentations sont des facteurs déclencheurs dans toute action pédagogique. Dans ce travail, nous tentons d’approfondir l’idée que les représentations que l’enseignant se fait de son élève en tant que tel, en tant qu’apprenant et en tant qu’enfant, influencées par la sphère politique et les facteurs économico-socioculturels, orientent ses choix pédagogiques en termes de comportements relationnels et communicationnels. Il contient trois parties distinctes. Tout d’abord une partie théorique où nous avons tenté d’approfondir notre réflexion sur les différents concepts-clés et de tisser les éventuelles relations qui les lient. Une deuxième partie nous a servi à envisager successivement de mettre en lumière l’importance des principaux facteurs historiques, socio-économiques, anthropologiques et politiques qui déterminent les empreintes intrinsèques consciemment et ou inconsciemment de la personnalité de l’enseignant. Dans la troisième partie, la partie analytique, nous avons objectivement, quantitativement et qualitativement traité les données recueillies. Les résultats obtenus nous ont permis de valider l’hypothèse centrale et les quatre sous-réponses que nous avons proposées. Ces travaux de recherche servent à améliorer la réflexion sur le perfectionnement des relations qui se produisent au sein d’un groupe-classe. Cette amélioration vise, selon nous, le bien-être, le savoir-faire et le savoir-être de l’élève. Par conséquent, dans l’action d’apprendre, le rôle de l’école ne se limite plus aux apprentissages scolaires
An educational activity is a set of actions added and crossed for a specific purpose in advance and that is beyond a year of assessement. This process is, on the one hand shows a unique product such as a new learning in terms of skills and knowledge and, secondly, induces reorganization schemes, knowledge and skills in favor of another layer of stability in Piaget's sense. The construction of knowledge is an individual task performed by the learners themselves. however, the teacher plays the role of pedagogical, cognitive and social mediator. This role requires the professional skills of the teacher which should be sometimes both strong and delicate times, solid because it needs to have sufficient knowledge of the subject matter and the teaching of this material, and delicate because education is a work that is necessarily based on the affects and emotions. This work depends, on the one hand, on the representations that the teacher does on students in the three status, firstly, a student as a social status, secondly, a learner as a teaching status and thirdly, a child as a psychological status. From another perspective, he relies on all the other factors that may be operating in the educational activity such as space in a general sense and planning. The representations that the teacher has on his inspired pupils, consciously and / or unconsciously, have served many factors (or are serving) that forging his personality and directing his own choice, such as the socio- economic and cultural factors and political sphere. These factors consists of what is called the input representations of the teacher. The outputs are not only different in relational and educational terms of behavior but also on instant choice of decisions. The pedagogic activity is a communicative task and a set of relationships. Indeed, it relies on the one hand on the academic content, and on the other hand on the behavioral aspects of the intervening people such as teachers and students as a group and individuals. The nature of these representations, that each party has, which an influence on the other helps to direct, in a radical way, the process of learning and ownership. These representations are triggers in any teacher. In this activity, we try to develop the idea of the representations that the teacher has on his student, as a learner and as a child, influenced by politics and economic socio-cultural factors, guide its educational choices in terms of relationship and behavioral communication. It consists of three distinct parts .The first part is a theoretical part where we tried to reflect further on the different key concepts and build any relationships between them .In the second part, we used to consider successively highlight the significance of historical key, socio-economic, anthropological and political factors that determine the intrinsic fingerprints, consciously or unconsciously, the personality of the teacher. In the third part, the analytical part, we objectively analyse the quantitative and qualitative analyzed the collected data. The results allowed us to validate the central hypothesis and the four responses that we proposed. This research is used to improve the reflection on the development of relationships within a class group. This improvement is, in the well-being, the expertise and know- being of the student. Therefore, in the learning action, the role of the school is no longer limited to academic learning but will be a workshop where children learn how to build a real relationship into knowledge and life

M.A. (Clinical Social Work)
This research involves exploring how middle childhood boys at a primary school experience the phenomenon of growing up with an absent father both functionally and psychosocially. The absent father being defined as a living father who does not live with his son and has chosen to be uninvolved in a financial, physical, emotional or spiritual way and has little contact with his son. The goal of the study was to investigate the effect of absent fathers on middle childhood boys and to gain an understanding of how they view the absence of a father in their lives. The objectives included exploring the experience of the boys in growing up with an absent father, to determine the boy’s perception of how their father’s absence has impacted on their lives, as well as to make recommendations for social work and other social service practitioners. A qualitative approach was selected for this study with a view to allowing participants to give rich descriptions of their individual experiences of growing up with an absent father. It is an exploratory study, informed by phenomenology. Exploratory, as it necessitated gaining insight into a situation and phenomenological as it entailed describing the participants experience of their life story. The research population for this study was defined as all boys in Grade Seven at the primary school. The boys were aged between twelve and thirteen. Purposive sampling was used as it allowed the researcher to select the participants based on necessary and relevant criteria. Five participants were selected as the researcher believed that it would give a sufficient overview of the phenomenon being researched and would reach data saturation. The interviews were all started with the same request namely, “Tell me about your relationship with your father?” Thereafter a semi-structured interview schedule was used as a backup tool when relevant questions needed to be asked. Participants were prepared for the interviews prior to the commencement of the study. Data was analysed according to a phenomenological method namely, Familiarisation; Immersion/Bracketing; Inducing Themes; Coding; Elaboration and Interpretation. These procedures were followed until a full description of the participants’ experience of absent fathers was disclosed. Four themes namely, emotions, loss, self-esteem and the single mother were identified ...

The purpose of the present study is to obtain an understanding of the primary school child's life world while resident at a Boys' Town. The study presents an extensive review of the literature on developmental phases of the primary school child, relationships with himself, his family and peer group while resident in an institution. The study employed the use of quantitative and qualitative measures to elicit information from the child. To enhance the findings of the study, information from a comparative group of primary school children with intact families from the wider community was utilized. The target subjects in the study included all primary school children resident at a Boy's Town in Tongaat. The results yielded useful insights in the life world of the primary school child. These insights into the life world of the primary school child formed the basis for recommendation and served the direction for future research. These insights into the life world of the primary school child formed the basis for recommendation and served the direction for future research.
Psychology of Education
M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Applied Science in Food and Nutrition, Durban University of Technology, 2015.
Objective: To determine the contribution of packed school lunches to the daily food intake of girls and boys in two Primary Schools in East London. Methods: The study was conducted among 199 girls and boys aged 9-13 years. Three 24-Hour recalls and a Food Frequency Questionnaire were completed during an interview with the participants to gather data on dietary patterns over a period of three consecutive days. Additionally, the contents of one lunch box per participant were recorded and weighed. Anthropometrics and socio-demographics were also completed during the interview. Results: The three 24-Hour Recall nutrient measurements revealed a low energy intake in 91 percent for the girls and 77 percent for the boys who were consuming below the recommended Estimated Energy Requirement for energy. The lunchboxes contributed one-third of the daily nutrient intake of the children. The 24-Hour recall revealed an energy-dense, carbohydrate-based diet. The contribution of total fat (30-32%) to the total energy is higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation of 15-30 percent. The daily fruit and vegetable intake (215.1g and 216.9g), according to the 24-Hour recall and lunchbox analysis respectively, was insufficient compared to the WHO-recommendation of >400g /day. Although the mean intake of most of the nutrients was sufficient, a large number of the participants did not meet requirements for the age group. The risk of overweight was high (24% for girls and 29.2% for boys) with 1.5 percent falling into the obese category. Conclusion: The results of the study indicated a high-fat and carbohydrate intake and a very low fruit and vegetable intake. The girl participants had better food choices for the lunchboxes but the majority of the participant’s daily intake did not meet the basic requirements of a balanced diet. The risk of overweight in the age category is an increasing problem among low- and high-income countries. Nutritional education should concentrate on healthy food choices in school lunchboxes as a large part of the day is spent at school.

This study describes the research that was carried out at a boys-only primary school in the Pinetown District of Kwazulu-Natal. The study was conducted with the purpose of investigating the management duties undertaken by the principal regarding time, staff and curriculum. In order to achieve the aim of this study the main research question was formulated, that is: How does the principal of X primary boys-only school manage the administrative and instructional programme in the process of executing his duties? Chapter One orientates the reader regarding the purpose, research problem, motivation and design of the study. Chapter Two provides the theoretical framework in terms of the types of school management models with particular focus on the democratic management model and the systems theory. Qualitative research in the form of in-depth interviews and participant observation was undertaken in an attempt to answer the research question. Interviews were conducted with the school principal and four educators. Chapter Four presents the findings of the study which highlight the role of the principal in managing the aspects of the school while he delegates the various areas of management to the members of staff. The findings further reveal the principal’s involvement in all the processes from inception to end. Chapter Five concludes the study summatively. The chapter includes a brief account of what the study covered, assumptions made in the theoretical framework, and draws important conclusions and makes relevant recommendations about the management duties of the school principal.
Educational Studies
M.Ed. (Education Management)

Text in English
Guided by Connell’s social constructionist theory of hegemonic masculinity, in a study conducted at a township primary school in Gauteng East, I explored the way boys in Grade 7 interact with each other and girls, as a well as the way in which they understand the world around them in the context of gender relations. A purposive sampling method was used to select boys and girls to participate in this qualitative study. A total of 30 research participants, 17 boys and 13 girls, took part in this study. The methodology included the use of individual diaries and focus groups to solicit information and observe gender relations in boys and girls in the construction of masculinity. Masculinity in this study was constructed through power relations. The themes identified when analysing the social relationships between boys and girls were sexuality, the sturdy boy, homosociality, sex roles, defying authority and the comedian.
Sociology
M.A. (Sociology)

This thesis explores the ways in which a group of boys who belong to gangs enact their masculinity. The focus is on African boys' construction of their masculinities within gang cultures at a primary school in Inanda, Durban. The school is an exclusively African co-educational school and predominantly African teaching staff. Data collection involved qualitative methods that primarily include observation and unstructured interviews. These research tools were used to investigate the interrelatedness between violence, gangs, and masculinities. This study demonstrates that young boys in gangs enact violent masculinities which are bound up with issues of race/ethnicity, gender, class, and context in the making of young gang cultures. The performance of violent gang masculinity produced the exaggerated quality of masculine protest, in which violence is employed as a compensation for perceived weakness. This study reveals that gang of boys are enacting masculinity that is oppositional to school's authority by contravening school rules and regulations in multiple ways. This research has indicated that modes of masculinities are shaped, constrained or enabled by gang cultures. Gang boys acted out their protest masculinity in multiple ways. They are anti-school authority, anti-social and undisciplined. The study also demonstrates that there are many socio-economic and political factors that impact negatively on the school such as unemployment, poverty, and violent gang crime. The social, economic and political contexts are therefore crucially important in understanding a multiplicity of masculine identities amongst gang boys at the school under study. Schooling is an important arena where masculinities are enacted in various forms including violent (gang) masculinities. The overall conclusion stemming from the research project is that attempts to reduce violent gang masculinities in the school need to include a gender strategy that tackles gender inequality. In South Africa this could form part of the Life Skills curriculum. Much greater attention needs to be given, in the life skills curriculum and through the ethos of the school as a whole, to promote gender equality and in particular models of masculine identity not predicated on force and violence.
Thesis (M.Ed.) -University of Natal, Durban, 2004.

There is evidence that primary schools are important places where gender inequalities are prevalent. The aim of this study was to explore how gender relations amongst grade two boys and girls in an African junior primary are constructed. It investigated how gender relations amongst 7/8 year old grade two boys and girls in an African Catholic junior primary school situated in Mariannhill, Durban, are constructed. It explored the process through which young township boys and girls attach meaning to gender and forge their gender identities. In this study young boys and girls were active agents in the construction of their gender identities. This study adopted a qualitative approach. Observations and unstructured interviews were used as methods of collecting data from grade two boys and girls. Purposive sampling was used in selecting seven boys and seven girls to participate in group interviews. The study focussed on micro dynamics of boys and girls pertaining to friendships, sexualities, play, violence, religion, classroom chores and school subjects in a detailed analysis. It showed that gender equalities are pervasive in the little cultural world of grade two boys and girls.
Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.

Poor learner discipline, a problem for both educators and learners at South African public schools, ranges from violence to issues with classroom management. As a result of learner-on- learner violence, learners generally feel that schools are unsafe places to be in (Premdev, 2008). Schools have become challenging contexts for effective teaching and learning to take place in, owing to the presence of bullying, disobedience, drug addiction, vandalism, rape, assault, use of obscene language and disrespect for teachers (Anderson, 2009). With examination results on a downward spiral, De Lange and Mbanjwa (2008) report that poor learner discipline in schools is strongly implicated in learner underachievement. This study, which is an exploration of educators’ and learners’ perceptions of poor learner discipline, is underpinned by research in the construction of masculinities, which submits that masculine identity is a gendered social construction, and as such, is subject to transformation. The research project suggests that whilst schools, by virtue of the ways in which they tend to be organised, condone and perpetuate the formation of hegemonic masculinities in boys, they are also able to effect meaningful change and usher in emancipation to this locale. Some of the key findings include:- • Poor learner discipline in boys reflected their own constructions of dominant male gender identities, formed as a result of their life experiences in a world embedded with notions and practices of patriarchal hegemony; • Poor learner discipline and the ineffective management thereof contributed to a poor teaching and learning environment that disadvantaged all learners; • Female educators relinquish their agency to successfully deal with poor learner discipline when they choose to let male educators handle their disciplinary problems, thereby becoming complicit in entrenching notions of male superiority; • Male educators tend to resort to the use of corporal punishment; • Violence in the home and wider community is reproduced in learners at school. The study discusses approaches that may be employed in achieving a more just and empowering teaching and learning context for educators, as well as learners at schools.
Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

碩士
國立臺南大學
體育學系體育科教學碩士班
102
This research aims to discover the effects on the sprint start, speed and agility of primary school track team boys, looking forward to applied the result to the training in the future. There were ten track team boys in both experimental group and control group. (The average age of experimental group is 11.4±0.52 years and that of control group is 11.5±0.53 years. The average height of experiential group is 158.6±4.5 centimeters and that of control group is 157.8±2.94 centimeters. The average weight of experimental group is 40.4±2.41 kilograms and that of control group is 39.7±1.83 kilograms.) The experimental group was trained eight-week plyometric jumping training twice a week in addition to usual training, while the control group was trained as usual. All participants attended pre-test, post-test and postponed test which was conducted one month after the plyometric training. The testing items included crouching start, 30-meter sprint with crouching start, and four times 5-meter shuttle run. All the collected data would be shown via HLM 6.0 linear analysis, analyzing participants’ performance of three stages. In addition, the performance of two groups would be compared by t-test. The result showed that the 8-week plyometric training had significant influence on the sprint start. The performance of post-test had improved 7.5%, showing the great relation between the training and the scores, and the performance of postponed test remained (7.1%), showing the effectiveness of plyometric training. Secondly, the 8-week plyometric training had significant influence on the 30-meter sprint with crouching start. The performance of post-test had improved 2.9%, showing the great relation between the training and the scores, and the performance of postponed test remained (2.4%), showing the effectiveness of plyometric training. Finally, the 8-week plyometric training had significant influence on the four times 5-meter shuttle run. The performance of post-test had improved 5.7%, showing high effectiveness after the training, and the performance of postponed test remained (5.6%), showing the effectiveness of plyometric training. The result showed the plyometric training could effectively improve the spring start, speed and the agility, and it’d be suitable to be applied to the training course for the track team boys in primary schools.

The work brings up age structure, growth age and school success in boys in the first and fourth year of primary school. The surveying took place at fourteen basic schools in České Budějovice and its proximity in 2006.The sample was made up of 225 pupils in the fourth year and 235 pupils in the first year. The survey focused on detecting differences in school success between pupils whose school attendance had been postponed and those who had entered primary school at due age. In addition, the work looks into problem of age growth and its potential impact on school success. Based on questionnaires, the views of pupils´parents and teachers at primary school were recorded. The sample was made of 326 parents and 40 teachers.

Gender is a social construction. Society presents us with acceptable models of masculinity and femininity, and these teach us how to be masculine or feminine in a sense. We learn how to be as women and men through some sort of social conditioning, although we have some agency to resist such normative constructions. This study sets to explore how boys and girls responded to dominant constructions of gender in a rural primary schooling context. The idea was to explore ways in which boys and girls colluded with and/or challenged constructions that "boxed‟ them into particular versions and constructions of feminity and masculinity. A qualitative case study located within the critical paradigm was used. Poststructural feminist theory was used as a lens to understand how participants responded to the dominant constructions of gender. Participatory methods of generating data were used to address the key research questions, namely, transect walks, mapping, non-participant observations, and document analysis. The existence of alternative discourses in the voices of participants helped us to understand how boys and girls constructed, negotiated and performed gender in the context of the research study. Findings revealed that participants' views represented processes of constructing, reconstructing and negotiating their gendered social identities. This was not a static process. It was a confluence of fluid processes of pushing boundaries and challenging stereotypes and coded messages characterising dominant definitions and expectations of femininity and masculinity. However, on the other hand, it was a mixture of interrelated acts of submitting and colluding with dominant constructions of femininity and masculinity. In essence, with regards to participants' responses to dominant gender constructions, there existed a criss-crossing of competing discourses some of which had more powerful influences on participants, making the act of challenging dominant gender discourses a complex affair to construe.
Thesis (M.Ed)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.