Faculty of Education
School of Educational Studies
Department of Educational Psychology
Selected Highlights from Research Findings
Prof AC Bouwer participated in the first systemic evaluation of the South African education system commissioned by the National Department of Education, which in 2001/2002 looked at learner achievement at the Grade 3-level and contextual indicators. Her role involved adapting the assessment instruments to accommodate learners in special schools with five kinds of disability (blindness, partial sight, deafness, learning disability and physical disability). The research is especially relevant in developing local capacity for appropriate accommodations in assessment, contributing to a growing understanding of the cognitive development of learners with disabilities during the first few years of schooling, and informing the implementation of the policy of inclusive education in South Africa. In Grade 3, the developmental tasks of learners with a disability seem focused on optimally developing their intact abilities through mastering assistive learning skills (such as acute development of the intact senses, alternative modes of communication, attention and memory), rather than curriculum content per se. Failure to adapt the curriculum in teaching and/or assessing young learners with disabilities, therefore, might act as a severe barrier to their learning. A somewhat unexpected finding was that the social perceptions and life skills of the participants who are learning disabled appeared at least normal-for-age, quite contrary to theory that social insensitivity is often concomitant with learning disability. Learners at the Grade 3-level who are blind or physically disabled displayed above-average awareness and respect for the position of others. By contrast, the results of learners at the Grade 3-level who are deaf demonstrated severely dysfunctional social and language development.
Contact person: Prof AC Bouwer.
Studies in Inclusive Education. Results of a comparative study on the attitudes of teachers towards inclusive education indicate that teachers feel that they have inadequate knowledge, skills and training to effectively implement inclusive education. They also experience a lack of support, resources and facilities that would enable them to create inclusive learning environments for all the learners in their classrooms. This study suggests that there is a need to focus on ways in which teachers at a pregraduate and in-service level can be better supported during the implementation of inclusive education policies.
The results of a quantitative and qualitative study that explored stress and coping abilities of teachers faced with a learner with Down's syndrome indicate that teachers handle the inclusion of these learners by using problem-focused coping strategies, emotion-focused coping strategies and collaborative coping strategies. The most effective strategy was implementing a plan of action whilst maintaining a sense of humour. A further study focusing on the inclusion of learners with physical disabilities in a mainstream class indicate that teachers experience little or no stress. Teachers found that the physical adaptations required were non-stressful, and they treated the learner with a physical disability in the same way they would other learners. They did, however, indicate that they would have benefitted from pre-service training on inclusive education.
Results of a participatory clinical study of the coping processes of children infected and affected by HIV/AIDS indicate that their coping processes are complex, multifaceted and influenced by contextual factors such as health and educational factors, the effect on family life, psychosocial effects and the effect of orphanhood. The study suggests the need for in-depth explorations of indigenous coping processes of South African children affected by this pandemic.
Contact person: Dr I Eloff.
A pilot study on the accommodation of HIV/AIDS infected and affected children in South African rural communities indicated that certain of these communities still deny the HIV/AIDS phenomenon. Although extended family members look after children who have lost one or both of their parents as a result of HIV/AIDS, community members are of the opinion that extended family members will not be able to do this indefinitely and tend to depend on external organisations for help, especially financial aid and to provide facilities to house orphans.
Contact person: Ms R Ferreira.
A trend towards asset-based interventions in programmes for children infected and affected by HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa was identified. By analysing commonalities of sustainable intervention practices, continuing research aims at identifying additional ways to facilitate children's ability to cope with this pandemic. Research has successfully linked HIV/AIDS intervention within coping theory. Characteristics of various HIV/AIDS programmes in Southern Africa have been identified as community-based intervention, building and strengthening internal capacity, mobilising community resources, networking and establishing links to aid agencies, advocacy, using indigenous knowledge and practices, and information sharing. These generic characteristics are synonymous with an asset-based approach.
Contact person: Dr L Ebersöhn.
In collaboration with colleagues from the Faculty of Health Sciences, Prof Drienie Naudé is involved in various transdisciplinary research projects, attempting to merge biomedical research and educational enquiry in order to shed light on learning behaviour. The first project involves neuropsychology and HIV/AIDS related learning difficulties. MR Imaging demonstrated deterioration of cognitive functioning among HIV/AIDS patients, with more salient deterioration of the brainstem and cerebellum, the subcortical white matter (especially the basal ganglia), the parietal lobe, as well as the frontal lobes. Demyelination of the central nervous system, subcortical dementia and reduced reaction time to visual stimuli were also noted.
The second project focused on learning difficulties associated with post-natal jaundice. It was found that high levels of unconjugated bilirubin affects the basal ganglia and the formation of astrocytes, as well as the hippocampus, the thalamus and central parts of the cerebellum, resulting in depressed verbal memory. Thalamic dysfunction was associated with problems in activation and arousal, suggesting a special type of Attention Deficit Disorder associated with high levels of unconjugated bilirubin.
A third project focused on physiological arousal and responsivity to stress by examining EEG physiological profiles, demonstrating that exposure to violence produces greater CORT response and a more asymmetrical alpha EEG response in the temporal lobes. It was also found that certain brain functions are reorganised with stress, specifically a global reduction in intellectual functioning and verbal processing abilities. Stress-induced hormonal secretion causes hypertrophy of the amygdala, resulting in elevated episodic memory, while the explicit memory mediated by the hippocampus and anterior cingulate gyrus is functionally depressed with demonstrated poor error detection and restoration, in keeping with depressed prefrontal functioning and orbitofrontal cortex dysfunctioning.
Prof Drienie Naudé is, in samewerking met kollegas in die Fakulteit Gesondheidswetenskappe, betrokke by verskeie transdissiplinêre navorsingsprojekte wat poog om biomediese navorsing en opvoedkundige studies te konvergeer ten einde lig te werp op leergedrag. Die eerste projek omsluit neuropsigologie en MIV/VIGS en verbandhoudende leerprobleme. MR beelding het agteruitgang in die kognitiewe funsionering van pasiënte met MIV/VIGS gedemonstreer, met meer opvallende agteruitgang in die breinstam, serebellum, die kortikale area (veral die basale ganglia), die pariëtale lobbe, asook die frontale lobbe. Demiliënisering van die sentrale senustelsel, subkortikale demensie en vertraagde reaksietyd op visuele stimuli is ook opgemerk.
Die tweede projek fokus op leerprobleme geassosieer met post-natale geelsug. Daar is bevind dat hoë bilirubien-vlakke die basale ganglia en die formasie van astrosiete, sowel as die hippokampus, die talamus en sentrale dele van die serebellum affekteer, met gevolglike onderdrukking van verbale geheue. Disfunksie van die talamus is geassosieer met probleme rakende aktivering en opwekking, wat 'n besondere tipe Aandagtekort suggereer wat verband hou met hoë vlakke van onafgebreekte bilirubien.
'n Derde projek fokus op fisiologiese opwekking en kortikale responsiwiteit teenoor stres, deur ontleding van EEG fisiologiese profiele. Die resultate dui aan dat blootstelling aan veral geweld hoër CORT response en meer assimmetriese alfa EEG response in die temporale lobbe lewer. Daar is ook bevind dat sekere breinfunksies met blootstelling aan stres herorganiseer, met 'n onderdrukking van globale intellektuele funksionering en veral onderdrukking van verbale prosesseringsvaardighede. Sekresie van streshormone veroorsaak vergroting van die amigdale, wat resulteer in verbeterde episodiese geheue wat met emosioneel-betekenisvolle inligting verband hou, terwyl die eksplisiete geheue wat deur die hippokampus en die anterior singulaat girus gemedieer word, funksioneel onderdruk word met gepaardgaande swak foutopsporing en -herstel, in ooreenstemming met onderdrukking van prefrontale en orbitofrontale korteks funksionering.
Contact person: Prof H Naudé.
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