Assessing the implementation of environmental education school policy in Buffalo City Metro Education District South Africa
- Authors: Damoah, Benjamin
- Date: 2021-12
- Subjects: Environmental education , Environmental policy -- South Africa , Education and state -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/21602 , vital:51703
- Description: Environmental Education (EE) is essential for addressing environmental challenges.The advantages of EE are undeniable; it might be used to address specific environmental concerns and their implications, as well as to modify behaviours that lead to environmental catastrophes.EE strengthens people's resilience to climaterelated hazards. Global environmental issues have heightened interest in educational policy outcomes and their implications for economic growth and social citizenship. It is worth noting that an effective EE policy has a significant influence on the development of learners' environmental literacy. This study assessed the implementation of environmental education school policy in the Buffalo City Metro Education District, South Africa. This study adopted the pragmatism paradigm of Mixed Method Research(MMR). Concurrent triangulation, which is a design that employs a single data collection technique in which quantitative and qualitative data gathering and analysis are carried out independently yet concurrently, was used for this study. The target population of this study involved 60,412 teachers, 1,770,289 learners in 5205 public schools, and 1 Pro-EE civil society organisation in the Eastern Cape province. This was narrowed down to over 268 public and independent schools, teachers, and principals within the enclave of the Buffalo Metropolitan education district. The study adopted stratified purposeful and simple random probability sampling. In this technique, the sampling frame of the study was divided into strata or groups (principals, teachers, learners, and CSOs) and a sample was purposefully selected from each stratum (Migiro & Magangi, 2011). The stratified purposeful random sampling techniques draw data from 10 principals, 175 teachers, 1500 learners, and 1 CSO. Structured questionnaire; Implementation of EE Policy Questionnaire (IEEPQ) whose reliability co-efficient value using Cronbach Alpha was 0.74, semi-structured interview and documents were the instruments used to collect data for this study. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics of percentage, mean, and standard deviation for the quantitative data while the thematic approach of sorting, coding, transcribing, and categorization was used for the qualitative data. The study revealed the following. When asked whether teachers had studied environmental education in tertiary institutions as part of their professional training, the majority of the teachers'respondents, 108, representing 61.7percent, disagreed with this view. On the flip side, a handful of teachers 67, (38.3percent) agreed with the view of having had some sort of EE knowledge during their professional training as teachers. With regards to the view that learners learn environmental issues through other subjects, most of the learner respondents, 1316 representing 87.7percent, agreed with this view. On the contrary, a minority of the respondents 184 (12,3percent) had a dissenting opinion. This indicates that most learners in school learn about environmental concerns through other traditional subjects. The study established that EE content is manifest in teachers' and learners' textbooks, teaching methods, and co-curricular activities. However, the study identified lapses in how teachers and learners integrate EE into their day-to-day practices. Therefore, the implementation of the EE policy seems to be an exercise in futility. The absence of a policy guideline document has made teachers and school administrators incapacitated in the implementation of EE school policy. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Education, 2022
- Full Text:
- Authors: Damoah, Benjamin
- Date: 2021-12
- Subjects: Environmental education , Environmental policy -- South Africa , Education and state -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/21602 , vital:51703
- Description: Environmental Education (EE) is essential for addressing environmental challenges.The advantages of EE are undeniable; it might be used to address specific environmental concerns and their implications, as well as to modify behaviours that lead to environmental catastrophes.EE strengthens people's resilience to climaterelated hazards. Global environmental issues have heightened interest in educational policy outcomes and their implications for economic growth and social citizenship. It is worth noting that an effective EE policy has a significant influence on the development of learners' environmental literacy. This study assessed the implementation of environmental education school policy in the Buffalo City Metro Education District, South Africa. This study adopted the pragmatism paradigm of Mixed Method Research(MMR). Concurrent triangulation, which is a design that employs a single data collection technique in which quantitative and qualitative data gathering and analysis are carried out independently yet concurrently, was used for this study. The target population of this study involved 60,412 teachers, 1,770,289 learners in 5205 public schools, and 1 Pro-EE civil society organisation in the Eastern Cape province. This was narrowed down to over 268 public and independent schools, teachers, and principals within the enclave of the Buffalo Metropolitan education district. The study adopted stratified purposeful and simple random probability sampling. In this technique, the sampling frame of the study was divided into strata or groups (principals, teachers, learners, and CSOs) and a sample was purposefully selected from each stratum (Migiro & Magangi, 2011). The stratified purposeful random sampling techniques draw data from 10 principals, 175 teachers, 1500 learners, and 1 CSO. Structured questionnaire; Implementation of EE Policy Questionnaire (IEEPQ) whose reliability co-efficient value using Cronbach Alpha was 0.74, semi-structured interview and documents were the instruments used to collect data for this study. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics of percentage, mean, and standard deviation for the quantitative data while the thematic approach of sorting, coding, transcribing, and categorization was used for the qualitative data. The study revealed the following. When asked whether teachers had studied environmental education in tertiary institutions as part of their professional training, the majority of the teachers'respondents, 108, representing 61.7percent, disagreed with this view. On the flip side, a handful of teachers 67, (38.3percent) agreed with the view of having had some sort of EE knowledge during their professional training as teachers. With regards to the view that learners learn environmental issues through other subjects, most of the learner respondents, 1316 representing 87.7percent, agreed with this view. On the contrary, a minority of the respondents 184 (12,3percent) had a dissenting opinion. This indicates that most learners in school learn about environmental concerns through other traditional subjects. The study established that EE content is manifest in teachers' and learners' textbooks, teaching methods, and co-curricular activities. However, the study identified lapses in how teachers and learners integrate EE into their day-to-day practices. Therefore, the implementation of the EE policy seems to be an exercise in futility. The absence of a policy guideline document has made teachers and school administrators incapacitated in the implementation of EE school policy. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Education, 2022
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Bayesian spatio-temporal zero-inflated mixed models for overdispersion on chronic disease mapping
- Osuji, Georgeleen O https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8408-3928
- Authors: Osuji, Georgeleen O https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8408-3928
- Date: 2021-12
- Subjects: Medical mapping , Bayesian statistical decision theory
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/23644 , vital:58230
- Description: Background: Life expectancy in most developing countries has remarkably increased and decreased in mortality, but under 5 years old mortality has increased due to HIV and Tuberculosis incidence. Many factors have been established to influence the mortality rate among HIV patients and understanding the factors contribution to the risk of under 5-year-old mortality is important for designing appropriate health interventions. Excess zeros usually occur in such HIV mortality count data. Mixed models consisting of count part and zero part are often used to describe the observed excess zero in the data. Poisson models are popular modeling inference, but Negative-Binomial models are more flexible in analyzing count data and dealing with overdispersion. Method: This research proposed to develop two-part hurdle models in analyzing areal zero count data. A spatial Bayesian lognormal-logit hurdle model (BLLHM) with random effects characterizes and cross-spatial dependencies were introduced. The parameter inferences and predictions were evaluated using the Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm. The model proposed was applied to HIV-positive under 5-year-old mortality collected from the Eastern Cape Department of Health. Results: Bayesian lognormal-logit hurdle model is selected as the best model fit. It is observed that the total number of HIV patients not on ART-HIVnotTB (0.000612, p <0.000) was positively and statistically significantly associated with the HIV-positive mortality of under 5 years patients. Both CD4 counts were done on newly diagnosed HIV rate (CD4count) and HIV-positive new patients screened for TB rate (HIVTBrate) were negatively and statistically significantly associated with the HIV-positive mortality of under 5 years patients (-0.6294, p = 0.000 and -0.00056, p = 0.0052). However, the covariate HIV positive Tuberculosis Preventive therapy (TPT) uptake rate (HIVandTB) was not statistically significantly associated with the HIV-positive mortality of under 5 years patients (-0.00155, p = 0.5392). Conclusion: The model is flexible to deal with zero-inflated and over-dispersed count data. There is a need to consider the risk of cause-specific under-5-year-old mortality in terms of spatial effects. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science and Agriculture, 2021
- Full Text:
- Authors: Osuji, Georgeleen O https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8408-3928
- Date: 2021-12
- Subjects: Medical mapping , Bayesian statistical decision theory
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/23644 , vital:58230
- Description: Background: Life expectancy in most developing countries has remarkably increased and decreased in mortality, but under 5 years old mortality has increased due to HIV and Tuberculosis incidence. Many factors have been established to influence the mortality rate among HIV patients and understanding the factors contribution to the risk of under 5-year-old mortality is important for designing appropriate health interventions. Excess zeros usually occur in such HIV mortality count data. Mixed models consisting of count part and zero part are often used to describe the observed excess zero in the data. Poisson models are popular modeling inference, but Negative-Binomial models are more flexible in analyzing count data and dealing with overdispersion. Method: This research proposed to develop two-part hurdle models in analyzing areal zero count data. A spatial Bayesian lognormal-logit hurdle model (BLLHM) with random effects characterizes and cross-spatial dependencies were introduced. The parameter inferences and predictions were evaluated using the Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm. The model proposed was applied to HIV-positive under 5-year-old mortality collected from the Eastern Cape Department of Health. Results: Bayesian lognormal-logit hurdle model is selected as the best model fit. It is observed that the total number of HIV patients not on ART-HIVnotTB (0.000612, p <0.000) was positively and statistically significantly associated with the HIV-positive mortality of under 5 years patients. Both CD4 counts were done on newly diagnosed HIV rate (CD4count) and HIV-positive new patients screened for TB rate (HIVTBrate) were negatively and statistically significantly associated with the HIV-positive mortality of under 5 years patients (-0.6294, p = 0.000 and -0.00056, p = 0.0052). However, the covariate HIV positive Tuberculosis Preventive therapy (TPT) uptake rate (HIVandTB) was not statistically significantly associated with the HIV-positive mortality of under 5 years patients (-0.00155, p = 0.5392). Conclusion: The model is flexible to deal with zero-inflated and over-dispersed count data. There is a need to consider the risk of cause-specific under-5-year-old mortality in terms of spatial effects. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science and Agriculture, 2021
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The perceived success of selected therapy programmes on mitigating the relapses of patients with substance use disorders in Gauteng, South Africa
- Authors: Chatikobo, Nyasha
- Date: 2021-12
- Subjects: Substance abuse -- Treatment , Psychotherapy
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/21860 , vital:51833
- Description: This study aimed at evaluating the perceived success of selected therapy programs in mitigating the relapse of patients with substance use disorders at two selected rehabilitation centres in the Gauteng province of South Africa. The methodology used for this study was a mixed-method approach, although more emphasis was on qualitative methods. The qualitative data was collected from four focus groups, and 6 in-depth interviews from key informants. The quantitative data was collected using questionnaires that were completed by 100 primary carers of discharged patients from the selected drug treatment centres. The main findings of the study showed that substance use disorder is a complex disease that requires several factors to be considered to avoid any relapses. The study showed that rehabilitation centres are hugely contributing to efforts of solving substance use in Gauteng and South Africa as a whole. These rehabilitation centres offered various treatment programs to individuals who suffer from substance use disorders. The findings also indicated that the selected therapy programmes at the rehabilitation centres met their objectives. However, some of the programmes were successful in mitigating the relapses of patients recovering from addiction to a lesser extent. The study also found out that the number of individuals who relapse is relatively high, however, the study did not dive into the depth of the causing factors. This may be room for future studies. Findings further indicated that the rehabilitation centres lacked in the application of a holistic approach to addiction treatment, even though there were several treatment programs offered. The issue of exorbitant residential fees in private rehabilitation facilities was also highlighted by the data collected. The research concluded by suggesting several recommendations such as research to improve policy for substance use with a focus on the human rights approach to the drug problem. Recommendations to the Department of Social Development which is responsible for the rehabilitation centres in South Africa. To ensure that all centres that are registered for offering treatment for substance use disorder be mandated to use a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach, diversifying and individualizing treatments for better outcomes. Lastly, recommendations were suggested to the social work practice, to support rehabilitation facilities by providing continuous specialized training to their social workers. Recommendations to social work training and curriculum to include in-depth substance use disorders during education, training, and field placements, for best practice amongst new social work practitioners placed in rehabilitation centres. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2021
- Full Text:
- Authors: Chatikobo, Nyasha
- Date: 2021-12
- Subjects: Substance abuse -- Treatment , Psychotherapy
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/21860 , vital:51833
- Description: This study aimed at evaluating the perceived success of selected therapy programs in mitigating the relapse of patients with substance use disorders at two selected rehabilitation centres in the Gauteng province of South Africa. The methodology used for this study was a mixed-method approach, although more emphasis was on qualitative methods. The qualitative data was collected from four focus groups, and 6 in-depth interviews from key informants. The quantitative data was collected using questionnaires that were completed by 100 primary carers of discharged patients from the selected drug treatment centres. The main findings of the study showed that substance use disorder is a complex disease that requires several factors to be considered to avoid any relapses. The study showed that rehabilitation centres are hugely contributing to efforts of solving substance use in Gauteng and South Africa as a whole. These rehabilitation centres offered various treatment programs to individuals who suffer from substance use disorders. The findings also indicated that the selected therapy programmes at the rehabilitation centres met their objectives. However, some of the programmes were successful in mitigating the relapses of patients recovering from addiction to a lesser extent. The study also found out that the number of individuals who relapse is relatively high, however, the study did not dive into the depth of the causing factors. This may be room for future studies. Findings further indicated that the rehabilitation centres lacked in the application of a holistic approach to addiction treatment, even though there were several treatment programs offered. The issue of exorbitant residential fees in private rehabilitation facilities was also highlighted by the data collected. The research concluded by suggesting several recommendations such as research to improve policy for substance use with a focus on the human rights approach to the drug problem. Recommendations to the Department of Social Development which is responsible for the rehabilitation centres in South Africa. To ensure that all centres that are registered for offering treatment for substance use disorder be mandated to use a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach, diversifying and individualizing treatments for better outcomes. Lastly, recommendations were suggested to the social work practice, to support rehabilitation facilities by providing continuous specialized training to their social workers. Recommendations to social work training and curriculum to include in-depth substance use disorders during education, training, and field placements, for best practice amongst new social work practitioners placed in rehabilitation centres. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2021
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