UWCScholar
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An auto ethnography of implementing productive practice
(University of the Western Cape, 2024) Davids, Jade Ethel
This autoethnographic research chronicles a thirteen-year journey of teaching Mathematics at a socio-economically disadvantaged high school in the Western Cape, South Africa. Positioned within a context marked by systemic inequality, resource scarcity and frequent institutional disruptions, this research provides a deeply personal and reflective account of growth. Through the lens of lived experience and ongoing reflective diary entries, it explores how the integration of productive practice structured, purposeful learning activities which served as a central strategy to enhance learner engagement, persistence and achievement, particularly in the face of high-stakes national examinations. The research considers multiple intersecting challenges that shaped the teaching and learning environment, namely: classroom management in overcrowded settings, learner’s foundational knowledge gaps, inconsistent homework completion and low levels of motivation and self-efficacy. Despite these difficulties, the research reveals how deliberate, scaffolded productive practice activities created space for learners to engage meaningfully with mathematical concepts, develop critical thinking skills and build confidence through collaboration and repeated exposure to problem-solving tasks. Central to this process has been the role of productive practice in transforming teaching strategies over time. The research illustrates how sustained self-reflection led to a shift in pedagogical focus from a traditional teacher-centred approach, towards a more learner-centered approach that values dialogue, mistakes and iterative learning. My evolving understanding of my learners’ needs, informed by day-to-day classroom experiences, enabled the development of more adaptive, responsive teaching methodologies that aligned with both curriculum and contextual realities. This research also highlights how small, consistent innovations like productive practice, rooted in care, reflection and intention can foster a sense of agency and academic growth. The research thereby offers insight into the complex interplay between teacher identity, reflective practice and learner development. It presents a hopeful and practical perspective on the potential for meaningful educational change within under-resourced schools, underscoring the power of commitment, creativity and critical reflection in shaping transformative teaching and learning experiences.
A Research Paper submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of master in ducation (adult learning and global change)
(University of the Western Cape, 2025) Jenekar, Regan
This study investigated the impact of a shift in the medium of instruction from face-to-face to online learning on the identity formation of students at Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges. Drawing on a Foucauldian lens, the study critically analyses and problematises the shift in power relations that students and teachers encounter in online teaching and learning environments. The main themes explored in this study were the conceptions of e-learning, autonomy and challenges in e-learning, online identity in e-learning, and students’ and lecturers’ shifts of power relations. The study employed a qualitative research approach, gathering data through semi-structured interviews at a TVET college in South Africa. The investigation explored how the shift to online learning has resulted in changes in students’ identities, particularly in relation to how identity shifts due to moving to an online teaching and learning platform. The study examined how students and lecturers negotiate and resist the exercise of power in online learning environments and how their identities are shaped and reshaped in response to these power dynamics The findings of this study contribute to an understanding of the complex interplay between identity formation, power relations, and online learning in the context of TVET colleges. This research has implications for policymakers, educators, and researchers interested in understanding the multifaceted nature of student identity in the digital age. As such, the study provided insights into the challenges and opportunities that students encounter in online learning environments and suggests recommendations for educational institutions to create inclusive and empowering online learning experiences for students.
Gender-based violence in higher education and research performing organisations: three steps in critique and reconceptualisation
(Bristol University Press, 2025) Hearn, Jeff; Strid, Sofia; Humbert, Anne Laure
The critique and conceptualisation of current policy and research on gender-based violence in higher education institutions (HEIs) and research performing organisations (RPOs) are matters of central importance. Building critically on recent European research and policy experience, and conceptual reflections arising from a large European multi-country research and innovation project, three key steps in critique and reconceptualising of gender-based violence in HEIs and RPOs are explicated. These are: first, clarification of differential definitions of and inclusions in gender-based violence in HEIs and RPOs; second, drawing on the recent European UniSAFE project survey and analysis of 42,000 university staff and student respondents in 46 institutions within 15 countries, differential contextualisations of prevalence and consequences, especially the need for multi-level and intersectional analysis of prevalence and consequences; and, third, engagement with ongoing theoretical and practical contestations in conceptualisation. The article concludes with discussion of further key issues for research and policy. These include how gender and gender-based violence are understood across national, organisational contexts, and the need for more focus on perpetrators, and the organisational relations between perpetrators and victims. In working towards violence-free and safe HEIs and RPOs, the connections between violence and organisational structures, processes and dynamics must be confronted proactively.
Academic resilience in biology amongst orphans and vulnerable children at secondary schools in the otjozondjupa education region, namibia:
(University of the Western Cape, 2025) Verner, Victoria Namene
This study explored the lived experiences of academically resilient Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) in the Otjozondjupa Education Region of Namibia, with specific attention to the factors that enable them to succeed in Biology despite adverse socio-economic and emotional conditions. Grounded in Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model and the Theory of Resilience, the research investigated how individual, familial, school, and community systems interact to foster academic perseverance among OVC. A qualitative research design was employed, using semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and documentary evidence to collect data from ten Grade 12 learners identified as academically resilient. Thematic analysis guided the interpretation of findings, ensuring that emerging themes reflected both participants’ lived realities and the study’s theoretical foundations. The findings revealed that academic resilience among OVC is a dynamic, multi-layered process shaped by the interaction between personal strengths and contextual supports. Key enablers included personal motivation, a positive mindset, self-efficacy, and adaptability, which operated alongside external factors such as teacher encouragement, supportive family networks, peer collaboration, and community engagement. Access to educational resources and stable learning environments further enhanced resilience by enabling learners to sustain focus and academic performance. The study also found evidence of self-directed learning behaviours, including goal-setting, self-testing, and the strategic use of limited resources, illustrating that resilient learners actively manage their learning trajectories despite adversity. Drawing on these insights, the study developed the Resilience–Education Support Model (RESM)-a contextually grounded theoretical framework designed to explain and guide the fostering of academic resilience among OVC in Namibia and similar settings. The RESM integrates three interdependent components - Support Systems, Personal Motivation, and Access to Resources that interact dynamically across ecological levels and over time. The model emphasises that resilience is not a static trait but a developmental process shaped by continuous feedback between individuals and their environments. It further highlights the importance of emotional, academic, and material support as secondary enablers that reinforce learners’ capacity to adapt and succeed. The study concludes that effective educational responses to vulnerability must adopt a holistic, systemic approach-one that recognises the interconnection between personal agency, social relationships, and structural opportunity. The RESM thus provides both a theoretical lens and a practical framework for policymakers, educators, and community organisations to strengthen academic resilience through coordinated interventions. Ultimately, the study contributes to the growing body of African scholarship that reframes orphans and vulnerable learners not merely as recipients of support, but as active agents of transformation capable of sustained academic achievement despite adversity.
Information and communication technology (ICT) for accountable service delivery in informal settlements: A case study of Imizamo Yethu, Cape Town
(University of the Western Cape, 2025) Bidla, Babongile
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can potentially transform service delivery, uplifting living and socio-economic standards and fighting poverty (Ahmed, 2020, p. 9; Mashamaite, 2014, p. 231). In South Africa, metros like the City of Cape Town, City of Johannesburg, and City of Tshwane have been using some ICTs to help improve the quality of services provided in order to improve the quality of life for citizens; however, the benefits have not reached all. The objective of this study is to explore the effectiveness of using ICT for enhancing local government accountability in the informal settlement of Imizamo Yethu. This study used a qualitative methods approach employing semi-structured interviews, WhatsApp diaries and document analysis. This thesis uses an analytical framework that combines the E Participation Ladder and social accountability to assess the effectiveness of residents' use of ICT for local government accountability. The findings of this study indicated that residents’ use of ICT is effective to a certain extent in generating local government accountability for public service delivery. The findings indicate that there are various ICT channels available for the residents of Imizamo Yethu to use to engage with the City of Cape Town indicating frequent use of the fault reporting channels and social media as tools to hold the City accountable for public service delivery. Its effectiveness is influenced by factors such as access to actionable information, access to digital infrastructure, and the level of participation by residents in Imizamo Yethu. The findings show that several crucial factors influence residents of Imizamo Yethu to transition from simply having the information (passive participation) to taking deliberate action based on that information (active participation). These factors include the level of digital literacy, access to information, and access to digital infrastructure, as well as perceptions about the City of Cape Town, the effectiveness of ICT, and who benefits from it. However, when these channels become ineffective, residents opt to protest as a means of enacting accountability.