Back to top

Gauteng Doctoral School

Social Patterns of Loss to Follow-Up and Non-Adherence in the Limpopo Province Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission Programmes

Introduction: Though the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) programmes have been widely implemented with increased availability and improving coverage of services, there have been concerns of increasing numbers of mothers who are loss to follow-up (LTFU) and those who failed to adhere to treatment after giving birth. This has led to increasing new infections of Mother-to-Child Transmission (MTCT) during post-natal periods (UNAIDS 2017). Extensive research has focussed

A Study of African and Western Epistemic Intuitions and Implications for Decolonisation

Discussions surrounding decolonisation in academic spaces in South Africa took a turn in 2015 when student protests forced the academy or academic landscape to revisit its relationship with Eurocentrism. This had far reaching consequences, as institutions of higher learning began to interrogate different aspects of academic culture including knowledge production. My thesis looks at decolonisation from an epistemic lens by principally interrogating the use of epistemic intuitions and their relevance to the decolonisation project.

A Qualitative Analysis of the Informal Social Networks of Street Traders in the Pretoria Central Business District, South Africa

The study investigates informal social networks’ role, contribution, and significance to street traders within the Pretoria Central Business District (CBD). This locale was considered ideal for this study because the City of Tshwane is the single-largest metropolitan municipality in South Africa. Furthermore, the metropolitan is centred around Pretoria, which is a capital city. As such, the city attracts a diverse and large amount of street traders, both local and foreign.

Dental occupations in transition: Boundary contestation and curricula for oral hygienists in South Africa

This study sought to understand how changes to the scope and autonomy of the oral hygiene occupation in South Africa have influenced relations among dental occupations. Over the past two decades, legislative advances in South Africa have sanctioned new possibilities for mid-level dental occupations such as oral hygienists, allowing them greater independence and additional procedures. The division of labour within the dental profession is that oral hygienists and dental therapists supplement the work that dentists do by offering some of the basic dental services.

Shifts, Changes and Continuities in Heritage Commemoration and Memorialisation of the 21 March 1960 Sharpeville Massacre: 1960-2010

The Sharpeville Massacre was a key turning point in modern South African history. The massacre ended the non-violent civil rights-style political activism and flickered three decades of armed confrontation with the colonial apartheid regime. Most importantly, it became the catalyst for the declaration of apartheid as a crime against humanity by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in 1966. However, most of the studies on the massacre focus mainly on documenting the events of that day, and very little has been written about the historical re-presentations of the shooting beyond this.

The mental health of children and youth in the Ehlanzeni education district of Mpumalanga province: associated risk and resilience factors

This study investigated the prevalence of mental health and associated risks and resilience factors in children and youth aged 10 to 19 years in the Ehlanzeni Education District of the Mpumalanga Province. A sequential explanatory mixed- methods approach was used to conduct the study in three phases. During the first phase, the quantitative design used the Child and Youth Mental Health Profiling System (CYMHPS).

Ukusetshenziswa kokuxutshwa kwezilimi kusukwa esingisini kuyiwa esizulwini emagunjini okufundela anabafundi abakhuluma izilimi ezehlukene ezikoleni za Kwazulu-Natal, esiyingini ugu

Nakuba uMthethosisekelo waseNingizimu Afrika ubalula ukuthi abafundi banelungelo lokufunda ngezilimi ezisemthethweni kuleli lizwe abazikhethela zona ezikoleni (kusukela emabangeni aphansi kuya emabangeni aphezulu), iningi labafundi abamnyama lisazithola lifunda ngolimi lwesiNgisi, ulimi elingazikhethelenga lona. Ezikoleni lapho abafundi befunda ngolimi lwesiNgisi, okuwulimi abazithola bephoqelelwa ukufunda ngalo, othisha basebenzisa izindlela ezehlukene zokufundisa, okubalwa kuzo ukuxuba izilimi.

Exploring the use of Khelobedu as a medium of instruction in the Foundation Phase: A survey in Mopani District, Limpopo Province

Dialects such as Khelobedu are perpetually denied the chance to flourish and help promote the local culture and national identity through their use as a medium of instruction in the Foundation Phase classrooms of South Africa. As tools of communication, such dialects have the potential to be used as media of instruction in schools and contribute significantly to the development and education of learners who speak them.

The manipulation of language in E.D.M. Sibiya’s novels: a stylo-linguistic critique

The aim of this study is to investigate and critically appraise E.D.M. Sibiya’s manipulation of the isiZulu language in his novels. Sibiya has contributed greatly to the growth of isiZulu literature. Despite being an award-winning novelist, his works, particularly novels, have not received the amount of attention they deserve as there is relatively less research done on them. Most research on Sibiya’s novels has focused on literary elements such as characterisation and social ills as depicted by themes. There is very little that has been done on evaluating language in his novels.

English second language students’ perceptions and experiences of academic writing in a blended learning context: a survey of a South African technical and vocational education and technology college

This study aimed to examine the ESL students' perceptions and experience of academic writing with blended learning applications at a South African Technical and Vocational Education and Technology (TVET) college in the Western Cape. This study's aim was to come up with recommendations and interventions for improving the English academic writing skills of first-year students with blended learning applications and therefore the focus was on the students and their experiences. The study utilised a mixed-methods approach to obtain and analyse the data obtained from the study respondents.