Browsing by Author "Bayat, Abdullah"

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    Countering testimonial injustice: The spatial practices of school administrative clerks
    (University of KwaZulu-Natal on behalf of the South African Education Research Association, 2018) Bayat, Abdullah; Fataar, Aslam
    In this article we discuss the phenomenon of how people's voices or opinions are taken up in relation to their professional status. We focus on administrative clerks in school contexts, people who occupy a professional category that is regarded as one of voicelessness and therefore easily ignored. Their low occupational role and status mean that their testimonies are deemed less credible than the testimonies of school principals and teachers. We refer to this situation as a form of testimonial injustice that is visited daily on these clerks. We illustrate how selected administrative clerks go about exercising their agency in the light of their experiences of such testimonial injustice and go on to establish a range of spatial practices that confer on them a credible professional status. This article is based on a qualitative study of three administrative clerks in selected South African public schools undertaken over a 12-week period, followed up by further interviews and site observations. Combining the theoretical constructs of testimonial injustice and rhetorical space, we argue that the administrative clerks we studied engendered transformed rhetorical spaces, which are negotiated social spaces that allowed for their voices and opinions to challenge the testimonial injustice they experience. We suggest that they achieved these rhetorical spaces through their continual and active presence in their work environments. They engender rhetorical spaces in which their voices are deemed legitimate by forming close relationships with others in their work environments, enhancing their professional capacity by furthering their educational qualifications, and the successful accomplishment of additional role tasks. Our main argument is that these clerks, despite occupying a marginalised occupational status and suffering testimonial injustice, are able to exercise their reflexive agency to improve their credibility and thereby resist the testimonial injustice visited upon them. This article contributes to nascent scholarship on school administrative clerks' contributions to their professional environments at their schools. We argue that their contribution is undergirded by spatial practices that can be understood partly as a type of resistance to their negative status and position at their respective schools. We suggest that while they are discursively projected as peripheral figures in their school environments, they nonetheless make valuable, yet under-valued, contributions to the functioning of their school.
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    Diffracting socially just pedagogies through stained glass
    (South African Association for Research and Development in Higher Education (SAARDHE), 2016) Bozalek, Vivienne; Bayat, Abdullah; Motala, Siddique; Mitchell, Veronica; Gachago, Daniela
    This article emerges from our relationship with Theo Combrinck, a colleague, a passionate social and academic activist, a recovering addict and a PhD student, who left our living space during 2014 - a death that was unexpected yet a consequence of an iterative desire to end a troubled/ing life. The intensity of Theo's physical absence retains a vibrant presence and continues to intra-act with us as we consider socially just pedagogies. Theo's work lives on through memories, audio recordings and different forms of texts written by him, all representing his views of socially just pedagogy. Our entanglements with Braidotti's posthuman and Barad's diffractive methodologies shape our understandings of the past and present intra-actions with Theo in time and space. The generative process of our individual and collective becomings through Theo illustrate how the collaborative energy of co-constituted relationships contribute an affective response towards developing socially just pedagogies.
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    Employing developmental mentorship to enhance the livelihoods and entrepreneurial capabilities of waste pickers
    (University of the Western Cape, 2022) Sambo, Mogamat Adeel; Bayat, Abdullah
    Waste pickers are individuals who collect waste from household and commercial bins as well as at landfills. The vast majority are unskilled with a low-level of education. Waste pickers find themselves in poverty for various reasons associated with the South African economy and their life trajectories, including a lack of skills. The consequence of this is that these individuals are unable to find secure employment in the formal economy. The income they obtain is from the recyclable items that they collect, which are then sold to buy back centres or parties who are interested in buying their valorised items.
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    Engaging in financial literacy education: Exploring debt with undergraduate students
    (University of Western Cape, 2021) Mange, Sive; Bayat, Abdullah
    In this thesis I explored the teaching of debt literacy, a sub-topic of Financial Literacy Education. To do this, I used an arts-based framework to experiment with teaching debt literacy using poetry. Prior to the main poetry intervention, I explored several arts-based approaches such as frozen scenes, image theatre and drama-based pedagogies but I eventually settled on using poetry. Poetry as an arts-based approach to research within the field of financial literacy education is the research design. These two poems are produced as knowledge artefacts that can be used in further research studies or even by current students as teaching aids.
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    ETHICAL PRACTICES OF THE MIDDLE MANAGERS IN A SOUTH AFRICAN UNIVERSITY
    (University of the Western Cape, 2019) Fadhl, Abraheem Qassim; Bayat, Abdullah
    Middle managers play an important role in contemporary organisations, particularly in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Research on middle managers in a HEI environment suggests that their roles, work practice and identities are under-researched. Middle managers occupy a central position in organisational hierarchies where they are responsible for implementing senior management plans. In HEIs in SA academic middle managers/heads of departments (HODs) face many challenges that are not commonly found in conventional organisations. In this qualitative study the contribution is based on the participants’ experiences in relation to an increasingly diverse workload and responsibilities. Using a fluid conceptualisation of identity and subjectivity, the researcher argues that academic middle managers are engaged in ethical and political practices through demands in the workplace. Drawing on theories on ethics put forward by Foucault, Levinas & Critchley, various aspects of ethics of ‘the self’ and ethics of ‘the other’ in relation to academic middle managers’ identities and practices are discussed. A case study was used with a cross-sectional research design to gather the data on academic middle managers in a single faculty in a South African HEI. Information gathered particularly focussed on the implementation of ethical practices. The findings show that middle managers’ work practices were dependent on their ethical goals and aspirations.
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    Ethico-political leadership in public organizations in Zimbabwe
    (University of the Western Cape, 2022) Mabwe, Nosheni; Bayat, Abdullah
    The study investigated the ethico-political leadership in two Zimbabwean State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). Since Zimbabwe attained its independence in 1980, the citizens have witnessed an alarming rate of unethical activities within public organisations. Reports of dishonest behaviour such as embezzlement, bribery, self-serving interest, no answerability, and dishonesty of managers in public organisations are widespread. A case study research design was engaged to encompass an in-depth description of the experience of managers in the two public organisations. A qualitative research approach was used because it allows for a systematic approach to describe life experiences and meaning.
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    An evaluation of the present status of the certificate in, school business management
    (Academic Journals, 2011) Naicker, Visvanathan; Combrinck, Theodore; Bayat, Abdullah
    By almost any measure, most South African public schools, and especially schools in the Western Cape, have under-performed academically. For a number of years, there has existed a wide degree of consensus among education stakeholders, and particularly in government, that the problems in our schools extend beyond mere academic under-achievement. Principals need to be occupied with the tasks of managing and leading teaching and learning, that is, instruction leadership, and not managing routine administrative matters only. In recognising the potential of school administrative personnel to provide relief and support for the administrative role of principals, the Western Cape Government initiated a training course in July, 2008 for school business administrators. The course was modelled on a very successful training course developed in the United Kingdom.
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    Exploring agency in marginalised occupations: School administrative clerks’ deployment of “participatory capital” in establishing practice-based agency
    (University of Free state, 2020) Bayat, Abdullah; Fataar, Aslam
    Popular conceptions of school administrative clerks and school secretaries imply that they have little agency because they are deemed as subordinate support staff. However, the literature across a range of fields suggests that these subordinates exercise agency. We set out in this article to explore the workings of subordinate agency. The article suggests that it is through their involvement and interaction in the socio-cultural context of the school that school administrative clerks are able to expand the range of their agency and thereby reposition themselves at school.
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    Exploring entrepreneurs’ responses to the Covid-19 crisis
    (University of the Western Cape, 2023) Hendricks, Mogammad Rifat; Bayat, Abdullah
    The study investigates the entrepreneurial responses of a wide range of entrepreneurs in Cape Town who faced economic adversity during the Covid-19 pandemic. There is limited research with a paucity in the knowledge on how entrepreneurs deal with external threats. My research is an attempt to address this by focusing on entrepreneurs in Cape Town and understanding their responses. My theoretical approach combines insights from prosocial interactive theory, effectuation thinking and the debates on opportunity identification and creation. The framework allows me to investigate the iterative processes between the entrepreneur and her environment using effectuation thinking to discover or create opportunities.
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    Exploring ways to deepen undergraduate students understanding of financial literacy
    (University of the Western Cape, 2020) Kondlo, Ayanda; Bayat, Abdullah
    This thesis reports on my investigation into undergraduate students' knowledge of financial literacy (FL) and explores ways of improving their FL by using and experimenting with alternative Financial Literacy Education (FLE) methods and techniques. In attempting this, I report on the educational interventions that I attempted. These are critical literacy approaches that included drama teaching techniques that formed part of a praxis approach to FLE. Low levels of financial literacy are of great concern in South Africa because South Africans have high rates of debt which the researcher asserts are an indication of misconceptions, misunderstanding, and also a lack of financial literacy. South Africa needs to have undergraduate students that are financially literate who apply critical reasoning to make critical financial decisions.
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    Factors affecting consumers’ intention towards purchasing halal food in South Africa: a structural equation modelling
    (Routledge, 2018) Bashir, Abdalla M.; Bayat, Abdullah; Olutuase, Samuel Oladipo; Latiff, Zul Ariff Abdul
    This research study highlighted the factors that influence the intention of consumers to buy halal food products. In this study, the researchers have chosen to address the gap in the literature pertaining to non-South African consumers’ purchase intention. Non-South Africans are foreign people who reside in South Africa including immigrants, workers, and students. Through utilising the theory of planned behaviour, this study aims to determine the attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behaviour control, and awareness of non-South African towards purchasing halal food products. This also attempts to identify the strongest factor that influences the purchasing intention of halal food by non-South African consumers. The sample of the study consisted of 230 non- South African consumers in Cape Town. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to identify the structural relationships among the constructs identified and to test the study hypotheses. The findings of this study indicate that there is a significant relationship between awareness and buying behaviour. Interestingly it found that only the attitude dimension of TPB had a significant relationship with purchase intention, whereas subjective norms and perceived behavioural control did not show a significant relationship with the consumer intention variable.
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    Report on review of the current status of the pilot Certificate in School Business Administration (CSBA) 2008-2009: Guidelines for CSBA 2010
    (University of the Western Cape: School of Business and Finance, 2010) Naicker, Visvanathan; Combrinck, Theodore; Bayat, Abdullah
    Executive Summary: By almost any measure, most South African public schools, and schools in the Western Cape, are underperforming academically. For a number of years, there has existed a wide degree of consensus among education stakeholders, and particular government, that the problems in our schools extend beyond academic under-achievement. Massive budget allocations, overhauling curricular, restoring skewed learning resources, retraining educators and attempting to deal with the more pressing community problems and social ills that influence the results of a school are all necessary interventions. But, unless there is a concurrent improvement of schools from a „business‟ management point of view, there is no guarantee that the resources allocated to schools, both materially and in the form of educators, will be optimally deployed. Principals need to be occupied with the tasks of managing and leading teaching and learning i.e. instruction leadership, not managing routine administration. In recognising the potential of school administrative personnel to provide relief and support for the administrative role of principals, the Western Cape Government initiated a training course – the CSBA – in July 2008 for school business administrators. The ground-breaking pilot programme was completed in February 2010. Thereafter the WCED commissioned an evaluation of the results achieved. The purpose of the evaluation is to inform the WCED‟s plans for development of the course going forward. This report represents a synopsis of the findings of the evaluation.
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    The spatial practices of school administrative clerks: making space for contributive justice
    (University of the Western Cape, 2012-12) Bayat, Abdullah
    The article aims to contribute to our analysis of social justice by suggesting that we broaden our focus on social justice to include issues of contributive justice. It highlights how those who are denied contributive justice do not simply lie down and accept their fate but that they actively counter the contributive injustice visited upon them. Contributive injustice is where workers’ opportunities for self-development, gaining self-esteem and recognition by others is thwarted by the unequal division of labour that assigns them simple, mindless, and routine tasks (Gomberg, 2007; Sayer, 2009, 2011). I agree with the assertion by the proponents of contributive justice that the unequal division of labour leads to the curtailing of opportunities for self-development for those who are denied complex work (Sayer, 2011). However, I posit that administrative clerks do not passively accept this inequality of opportunity but through their agency, reflexivity and tactics, carve out spatial practices of self-development and, in the process, gain self-esteem and recognition at school level. Literature on the practice of school administrative clerks in South Africa is sparse (Van der Linde, 1998; Naicker, Combrinck & Bayat, 2011). These clerks suffer inequalities of opportunity because of the division of labour which relegates them to a role that offers low remuneration, little recognition and limited participation. Studies of the roles of administrative clerks in schools (Casanova, 1991; Van Der Linde, 1998; Thomson, Ellison, Byrom & Bulman, 2007; Conley, Gould & Levine, 2010; Naicker, Combrinck & Bayat, 2011), higher education institutions (Szekeres, 2004; Mcinnis, 2006; Whitchurch & London, 2004) and businesses (Fearfull, 1996, 2005; Truss, 1993) found that they are regarded as marginal and invisible even though their contributions are essential for the smooth running of their workplaces.
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    The financial sustainability challenges of an energy efficient intervention project in a low-income earning urban community: lessons from the Kuyasa clean development mechanism (cdm)
    (Universty of the Western Cape, 2024) Maphosa, Thembinkosi; Bayat, Abdullah
    This research study explores using a mixed method approach the energy-efficient intervention project situated in the Kuyasa low-income community, Khayelitsha, in Cape Town. The renewable energy-efficiency project was an initiative that utilized renewable energy sources and minimized energy consumption through efficient technologies and practices. I constructed an IntegratedParticipatory Sustainable Framework. This theoretical study framework drew on the theories of sustainability, systems theory, energy transition and access, and community empowerment and participation. The implications of the theoretical framework are that for a renewable energy-efficiency project to be sustainable, it must have (a) a guaranteed revenue stream, (b) a repayment plan, (c) a contribution mechanism, and (d) an empowerment plan that takes into consideration community complexities. The study investigated the Renewable Energy Efficiency Technologies (REETs) energy-saving interventions that aimed to address South Africa’s electricity challenge, mitigate greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), add value to Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) houses, change consumer behaviour and attitudes towards energy-efficient technologies, create employment, and to alleviate poverty.
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    Towards a learner-centred approach: Interactive online peer assessment
    (Researchgate, 2016-01) Naicker, Visvanathan; Bayat, Abdullah
    The tremendous workload produced by multiple assessments that aim for a learnercentered approach to learning in huge classes and the inability to provide results timeously, often results in lecturers’ maintaining teacher-centered approaches to learning even if they appreciate the benefits of learner-centered approaches. One step toward a learner-centered approach is to incorporate peer assessment. In this study we went one step further and combined peer assessment with e-learning. Interactive online peer assessment can lessen the workload on lecturers and may be an important step towards designing courses that are learner-centered. In this study we report on the lessons and experiences of an interactive online peer assessment system. An evaluative case-study approach was undertaken. The theoretical underpinning of this study is activity theory. Lecturers monitored and evaluated the progress of the students who undertook this course and this article is a report of the study. Interactive online peer assessment can be enhanced if s