http://ojs.uneswa.ac.sz/index.php/urej <div id="v1replybody1"> <div> <p>Southern African Journal of Social Sciences (SAJSS) publishes cutting-edge, innovative, original and timely research across the whole spectrum of social sciences and humanities (e.g., anthropology, archaeology, art, economics, geography, history, languages, law, literature, philosophy, political science, psychology, sociology and religion). Research articles may cover theoretical developments, concepts and methods, empirical analysis, policy assessments and modeling studies. In addition to research papers, UREJ publishes thematic reviews; both invited and submitted, that should have international relevance. A review article discusses and assesses (i.e. reviews) the state of knowledge in a particular field of natural or social science. The author’s original research should not be the main focus of a review article.</p> </div> </div> en-US <p>All articles published by SAJSS are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. This permits anyone to copy, redistribute, remix, transmit and adapt the work provided the original work and source is appropriately cited. The author(s) of the article retain the copyright of the article. The license and copyright holder are displayed on the published article.</p> smlipha@uniswa.sz (Dr. S. B. Mlipha) research@uniswa.sz (The Secreatary, URC) Wed, 01 Dec 2004 00:00:00 +0200 OJS 3.2.1.1 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 60 http://ojs.uneswa.ac.sz/index.php/urej/article/view/32 Teaching is an important profession in the sense that all other professions such as accounting, medicine, engineering, law, architecture, etc. depend on it. For that reason, it is crucial that teachers be properly trained and highly motivated. Teacher preparation programmes have been criticised on a number of fronts such as weak coordination, focus heavily on the process of teaching and less on the subject content, and for licensing teachers without having demonstrated mastery of the subject content and essential professional teaching skills. This paper reports the findings of a study which looked at the efficiency of the route for training Bachelor of Education (B. Ed) teachers at the University of Swaziland. The objectives of the study were to determine (i) the extent to which the academic qualifications of lecturers in teacher training colleges were qualitatively similar of different from the academic qualifications of lecturers in the Faculty of Education at the University of Swaziland, (ii) the extent to which the entrance requirements into teacher training colleges were similar and/or different from those of the University of Swaziland, and (iii) the extent to which the route of producing B. Ed. Degree teachers through teacher training colleges was efficient. The findings of the study were that (i) the teaching staff in the Faculty of education at the University of Swaziland (UNISWA) were qualitatively different from the teaching staff of the teacher training institutions; (ii) entrance requirements to diploma programmes at the teacher training colleges (especially the Secondary Teachers Diploma programme) were not qualitatively different from those of the UNISWA diploma programmes, and (iii) the college route of producing B. Ed. Teachers was too long and needed to be reduced. It is recommended that the Ministry of Education, the University of Swaziland, and the Teacher Training Colleges should engage in open and frank discussions about the issues raised in the preceding paragraph with a view to find the optimum, cost-efficient and cost-effective way of producing B. Ed. Degree teachers in Swaziland, if not all types of teachers. C.M. Magagula, S.E. Manyatsi Copyright (c) http://ojs.uneswa.ac.sz/index.php/urej/article/view/32 Wed, 01 Dec 2004 00:00:00 +0200 http://ojs.uneswa.ac.sz/index.php/urej/article/view/33 This article builds upon the theoretical propositions from the social problems literature and explores the processes through which the AIDS epidemic has come to be viewed as a social problem in sub-Saharan Africa. Although available data indicate that HIV infections and deaths from AIDS have been on the rise since the 1980s, the literature on the pandemic does not adequately account for the failure of institutions and individuals, in a number of instances, to treat AIDS as a social problem that merits attention. The paper is therefore predicated upon the view that cultural values and themes shape the definition of a social problem, and consequently contribute to the failure on the part of institutions to formulate effective policies and programmes for combating the pandemic. Drawing on evidence from Kenya and Swaziland, the paper uses the public arenas model to examine HIV/AIDS as a social problem in sub-Saharan Africa. The analysis aims at pointing out how researchers can build upon insights from constructivist framework to fruitfully inform HIV/AIDS policy formulation and intervention strategies and, at the same time, provide valuable suggestions for further research. Agostino M. Zamberia Copyright (c) http://ojs.uneswa.ac.sz/index.php/urej/article/view/33 Wed, 01 Dec 2004 00:00:00 +0200 http://ojs.uneswa.ac.sz/index.php/urej/article/view/34 The student perspective on teaching and learning is too often neglected or underrated in educational research. The aim of the study was to find out what qualities students valued from their teachers. More specifically, what are qualities of good teachers as perceived by the students? What is the relationship between the subjects taught and the qualities? Are there any gender differences in the perceptions of the students? 910 students took part in the survey. The study found that indeed high school students were qualified to make judgments about the effectiveness of their teachers. Several good teachers were identified. The study also found that there were differences in perception between the different subject areas. The effect of gender was very minimal. Edmund Z. Mazibuko Copyright (c) http://ojs.uneswa.ac.sz/index.php/urej/article/view/34 Wed, 01 Dec 2004 00:00:00 +0200 http://ojs.uneswa.ac.sz/index.php/urej/article/view/35 This article discusses Theatre for Development (TFD) praxis as an agency for integrated rural development in Africa. Development is not limited to improvement in Gross National Product (GNP) and other economic indices, but in the ability of a people to take creative control of their destinies by contributing in a participatory manner to the development issues in the community. Theatre for Development is an instrument of non-formal education and a strategy used to enhance democratic exchange of information between development agents and the rural population. The paper surveys TFD practice in Africa, particularly Southern Africa. It laments non-representation of Swaziland in this project, and argues for the role the Department of Adult Education of the University of Swaziland could play in this regard. Dr. Patrick J. Ebewo Copyright (c) http://ojs.uneswa.ac.sz/index.php/urej/article/view/35 Wed, 01 Dec 2004 00:00:00 +0200 http://ojs.uneswa.ac.sz/index.php/urej/article/view/36 This study posits that the continued relevance of David Diop’s poetry contained in his collection Hammer Blows (1973), originally Coups de Pilon 1956, is attributable to a combination of its thematic and stylistic merits. Although marked by a strong period fascination with the anti-imperialist discourses of its day, this poetry has continued to hold the interest of readers by the aptness of its idiom as well as its didactic and liberationist teleology. By utilizing his and his people’s memories and experiences as postcolonial subalterns, the poet achieves a strategic marriage of art and pedagogy; he comes out as the poeta vates who wills/prophesies the liberation of his people by teaching the to appreciate the provenances of their predicament. Abdul R. Yesufu Copyright (c) http://ojs.uneswa.ac.sz/index.php/urej/article/view/36 Wed, 01 Dec 2004 00:00:00 +0200 http://ojs.uneswa.ac.sz/index.php/urej/article/view/37 Media discourse forms an important aspect of social’ discourse which not only sets the agenda for talk, but also predefines attitudinal consensus. This essay examines how the press is ideologically committed to reflecting new realities in Nigeria during the first six months of democratic rule. It examines the exploitation of the language of Newspaper headlines in reflecting a new culture of accountability and the rule of law against the immediate past military dictatorship. The investigation assumes the use of a particular type of linguistic construction called Metapragmatics. The study among other things shows that certain issues as so topical that they are decisively brought to the headlines as a manifestation of culture change against the background of what has been. Onuigbo G. Nwoye, Amen Uhunmwangho Copyright (c) http://ojs.uneswa.ac.sz/index.php/urej/article/view/37 Wed, 01 Dec 2004 00:00:00 +0200 http://ojs.uneswa.ac.sz/index.php/urej/article/view/38 An analysis of the poetic content, meaning and form of the didactic discourse Mbia will show that the words of the discourse are fraught with transitional impediments due to their restricted lexical code and cultural semantics. The SL and TL texts exhibit no interchangeability of concepts and situational features which are relatable for full translation equivalence to be realised. W.D. Kemera Copyright (c) http://ojs.uneswa.ac.sz/index.php/urej/article/view/38 Wed, 01 Dec 2004 00:00:00 +0200