2007 Research

During 2007 the project got off to a good start, as every one of the five study areas started working towards achieving their outcomes.

The first study area, Reflexive methodologies in studying teachers' lives in the age of AIDS, under the leadership of Dr Pillay and Prof Wedekind, focussed on exploring teachers' lives in teaching in a rural area, such as Vulindlela. A masters student, Shereen, in supervised and supported by Dr Pillay, worked with eight teachers using various methods of data production, such as collage, life history interviews and so on.

In the second study area, School Leadership and Management, under the leadership of Prof Moletsane and Dr Buthelezi, work was done around the schools' management of learners who are vulnerable and who have been affected by HIV/AIDS. A masters student, Fumane, supervised and supported by Prof De Lange and Dr Buthelezi, worked with the two School Management teams at the two schools, exploring how they address the issues around learners who are vulnerable. She used focusgroup interviews with the SMTs to produce data, and then went on to bring the two SMT's together, to collaboratively engage with each other and share ideas.

The third study area, Teachers and Young People as Knowledge Producers: Participatory practices into action in the context of HIV and AIDS, under the leadership of Dr Stuart, engaged with peer educators at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, who were exposed to various arts-based methodologies in addressing issues around HIV/AIDS. They tried their newly acquired knowledge and skills out at one school in Vulindlela.

The fourth study area, Community partnerships for addressing gender violence, under the leadership of Prof De lange, Bhana and Mitchell, separately engaged with a group of male and female teachers at one school, to explore their constructions of gender-based violence.

The final study area, Partnerships and pedagogies in preparing new teachers, under the leadership of Prof Balfour and Wedekind, explored teachers teaching practice experiences in three rural schools in the Vulindlela district.

Every Voice Counts

The 'Every voice counts' project addresses rural teacher development in the age of AIDS in rural KwaZulu-Natal. The reseachers are from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and McGill University in Canada. Two senior secondary schools in the Vulindlela district are engaged in the project.