CHAPTER: 4 - DATA ANALYSIS
4.2. A Description of the Research Site 1 Source of information
4.3.2. Profile: 2 - Teacher Y
She had received no formal training in HIV/AIDS education, nor had she attended any workshops in this regard. This educator was merely presented with textbooks from within which, she had to structure and organises her lesson plans and learning activities. Supervision, in the form of guidance and support from her heads of
department, was minimal. Getting her records prepared, according to the demands of the senior primary head of department, added to her stress levels as did the
preparation for the up and coming baseline evaluation in the integrated quality management system (IQMS). Professional development was left to her own initiatives. She was placed in a precarious situation, where she had to find her own way.
At the time of this study, he was involved in the teaching of Life Orientation at Grade six and Grade seven levels. His area of expertise lies in Special Needs Education.
Having come from a "special school" background he was in a position to handle learners,from a vast kaleidoscope of backgrounds, with a tremendous amount of empathy and sensitivity. He had nineteen years of experience, in dealing with learners with special needs.
He is a seasoned teacher who has been in the profession for thirty one years. Being in his early fifties, his maturity and expertise in the subject matter had made it possible, for him to engage in dialogue and discussion on HIV/AIDS, with greater ease than other members of staff. He has a particular interest in working with learners from disadvantaged home backgrounds. At the institution under study, he was regarded as a
"father figure". Learners from all grades, especially those from the senior classes, felt particularly comfortable in seeking assistance from him, in an advisory capacity. His skills, as a counselor, came in handy as several of the learners posed behavioural and social problems. Being a parent of two adolescent children himself, added to his experience in dealing with learners in this age group.
Despite being a male he expressed little reservations about speaking, to both sexes, about sex and sexuality. On the contrary, he admitted to enjoying his Life Orientation lessons, especially with the Grade seven learners. Being a non-believer in anyone particular religion, his all embracing and universal approach to religion and
spirituality, enabled him to see issues relating to sex and sexuality, from a broader and
In fact he was actively involved in encouraging many level one educators to explore issues, relating to sex and sexuality, in a more open manner with their learners. In this way he had hoped to assist in the personal and professional development of various staff members. Acting in a supportive and advisory capacity, he was able to successfully change the perceptions of many an educator towards the benefits of introducing HIVIAIDS education into their classrooms. At the time of this study he was also involved in liaising with other educators on the staff who had been for HIVIAIDS education training, in an attempt to establish an HIVIAIDS awareness committee for learners at school level. He rated his command of the Zulu language as being average.
4.3.3 Profile: 3 - Teacher Z
This educator hails from a Human Movement (Physical Education) background. She is a fully fledged senior primary teacher, trained to teach Grades four to seven. At the time of study, she was a Grade six teacher. Her allocation oflearning areas included Mathematics, Afrikaans, Social Science and Life Orientation. She is a permanent level one educator. Her total teaching experience amounted to seventeen years.
This teacher was actively involved in professional development at school level. She was part of the Integrated Quality Management System Committee (IQMS) at school.
Consequently, she had attended numerous workshops in that regard. In addition, she had received training on HIV/AIDS education, in her capacity as a level one
intermediate phase teacher. Being a mother of two children aged eleven and eight years respectively, she had the necessary skills to handle children in the age group she was teaching.
At the time of the study, she was involved in preparations for a workshop on HIVIAIDS education to be conducted at school level for all members of staff. The purpose of this workshop would be to educate teachers, who have not been to workshops on HIVIAIDS education, as to how they could incorporate basic information on the topic in their Life-Skills and Life Orientation lessons. Basic information on The National Policy on HIV/AIDS, as well as on the School Policy, would also be cascaded to teachers during these sessions. Resource materials on the topic, in her possession, were to be duplicated and circulated to teachers. In addition, ideas as to how these could be incorporated into Life Orientation lessons were to be suggested to teachers.
Coming from an Islamic background, she admitted that it was particularly difficult to engage in "open" discussion and dialogue with learners on HIV/AIDS. Sex and issues pertaining to sex and sexuality, were seen as "taboo" in Islamic society. Even though the need for such discussion has proved to be pertinent, she contended that Islamic society was still somewhat conservative in this regard especially regarding sexual relations outside the realm of marriage. Although the great majority of learners were not from an Islamic background, she still admitted to not being totally comfortable with the idea of presenting lessons pertaining to sex and sexuality to these learners. She contended that her skills in communicating in Zulu were limited and confined to what she had acquired over the years in her experiences, with
teaching African children. The acquisition of her Zulu vocabulary could be regarded as,"Kitchen Zulu", as she termed it.
4.4. Analysis of Data Obtained in this Study
4.4.1. Approach Used in the Reporting ofthe Findings of this Research Project A thematic based approach was used in this study. The field-notes obtained in the interviews and observations, as well as the topics that emerged, in the analysis of the various documents used in the study, were used as a basis of selecting recurrent themes. Perceptions of the participants, authors and researchers in the area of study, educational experts, and those of the researcher in this study, observations and practices noted in the study, as they relate to these emergent themes, were documented and analyzed.
The literature works that supported or contradicted these findings were discussed in the capacity of the relation they might have borne to the area of study. Hence, the preliminary literature reviewed in Chapter Two comes under much introspection in this section of the study, especially in the light of the findings of the research, as evident in the data that was obtained. My own personal insights and critique, of both the literature reviewed and the data that was collected, also permeate much of the discussion, in the reporting of this research project.
4.4.2. Themes that Emerged from the Document Analysis and that were explored