http://hdl.handle.net/11189/2679 2026-08-16T06:54:21Z http://hdl.handle.net/11189/9989 Title: Sign language marginalisation in early childhood development education in Zimbabwe: towards linguistic inclusivity Authors: Nendauni, Lutendo; Matende, Tawanda Abstract: This study addresses a gap in the literature by examining the marginalisation of sign language in early childhood development education (ECDE) in Zimbabwe and proposing an inclusive approach for Deaf education. Using a qualitative descriptive methodology, researchers focused on two mainstream schools that accommodate Deaf learners and two special schools for the Deaf. Data collection included a literature review, observations, and semi-structured interviews, framed by the Critical Language Policy framework. Findings highlight a shortage of qualified ECDE teachers and the predominance of the direct method and audio-linguicism as key factors marginalising sign language. Additionally, limited parental involvement and a lack of language acquisition support hinder Deaf learners’ development. The study advocates for increasing learning facilities and qualified sign linguists and establishing inclusive teaching and learning policies to improve Deaf education in ECDE settings. 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/11189/9924 Title: Enabling inter-institutional co-design and co-facilitation of a postgraduate diploma module in educational technology: Uncovering sites of struggle, negotiation and accommodation among course facilitators Authors: Strydom, Sonja; Titus, Simone; Waghid, Faiq; Gachago, Daniela Abstract: The development of a curriculum for a diverse group of students is challenging, whether at the undergraduate or postgraduate level. Various social, organisational, political, cultural, and personal factors are at play in the process of designing a curriculum that is learning-centred and responsive to societal needs. The notion of learning-centred curriculum development has been addressed extensively in the literature; however, scant research focuses on the interests of agents, as well as the cultural and structural considerations at play, when designing a postgraduate module for participants from diverse and unequal backgrounds. Analysing written reflections and reflective conversations on the various events, mechanisms, and structures encountered during the process of curriculum development, we shed new light on the covert issues facilitators have had to acknowledge when designing a learning-centred curriculum for participants across vastly diverse higher education contexts in South Africa. Drawing on sociologist Margaret Archer’s research, we seek to provide insight into the interplay between structure, culture, and agency when course facilitators from different institutional backgrounds collaboratively designed and facilitated a postgraduate module in educational technology. 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/11189/8507 Title: Policy analysis as “text” in higher education: challenging South Africa’s “Use of Official Languages Act” : a case-based approach Authors: Ralarala, M. K. Abstract: Policy science literature demonstrates that deeper insight into notions of the policy process, such as of policy formulation and policy-making, can be drawn from policy analysis. Some scholars have consequently paid serious attention to policy analysis. In this article, definitions of policy offered by scholars in the field of policy science are deliberated. Thereafter, the article engageswith policy analysis from the perspective of policy text. This article employs a case study to scrutinise the Use of Official Languages Act 12 of 2012,particularly the South African Qualification Authority’s language policy development and formulation process as a unit of analysis. From a conceptual and analytical perspective, the article draws on the notion of presupposition as a viable tool for analysing policy text. Furthermore, a textual cycle is proposed, and an account of pertinent research questions is provided. Finally, the article highlights some implications for transformation in higher education pertaining to policy text. 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/11189/7454 Title: Travelling into the other’s world: South African preservice teacher education students’ construction of difference, belonging and identity Authors: Gachago, Daniela; Bozalek, V; Ng’ambi, D Abstract: Against the backdrop of continuing racism ‒ both overt and subtle – in South Africa’s classrooms, this article describes one lecturer’s attempt at facilitating conversations around race relations in South Africa with nine pre-service student educators. Using Bamberg’s (2012) positioning analysis to analyse how students constructed stories of difference, belonging and identity it transpired that students tended to position themselves first and foremost along racial lines, revealing their experiences of continuing academic and social segregation. Although students expressed a desire to overcome these divides, they struggled to visualise a world where black and white students could engage beyond their comfort zones, moving beyond the narratives with which they grow up. Lugones’ (1987) concept of world-travelling and her suggestion that world travelling might be more difficult for those who are at most ease in their lives, was useful to unpack and understand the different roles students performed. Students’ stories also showed the importance of destabilising dominant understandings of subjectivity, by allowing the emergence of fragmented narratives in difficult conversations. Recommendations of how to use narratives to facilitate students’ world travelling include the emphasis on intersectionality, fluidity and complexity in students’ stories but also discuss the challenges when facilitating such a process and the importance of self-reflexivity on the part of the facilitator 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z