Masters Degrees (Sociology and Social Anthropology)

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Sociology and Social Anthropology) by Subject "Activists, Human -- Libraries"

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    Politics and performance of a literacy intervention in Cape Town : school libraries and the new subjection of volunteerism
    (2016-12) Carolus, Gabriela Penelope; Cousins, T.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology & Social Anthropology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Since 1994, policy-driven research in South Africa led by the Department of Education (DoE) and Library Information Sciences (LIS) in resource-poor schools has focused on the absence of teaching and learning the material, teacher support for poor numeracy, and literacy pass rates. In addition, research has been particularly concerned with teachers and poor literacy results across Grade 3 and 6 cohorts. I argue that "literacy" and "literacy rates" are complex political and educational concerns in South Africa. I argue further that a historical examination of the notion of a "school library" in South Africa, its deployment in education policies and programmes, and the effects of school libraries on individuals who work in them should inform our understanding of these concerns. Based on ethnographic research within a non-profit organisation in South Africa which aims to realise a school library in every school, I develop here a framework for understanding the complex processes that shape the school library as a particular kind of policy and political object. Investigating the school library in historical and political context allows for a more in-depth understanding of the outcome of a policy campaign and those implementing the policy. Through a close examination of the policy campaign, I aim to illustrate the relations between stakeholders and role-players in the context of the school library campaign developed by Equal Education and its spin-off, The Bookery. An ethnographic approach to the literacy campaign enabled me to develop an intimate knowledge of a particular non-governmental organisation and the complex relations between volunteers, employees, and activists.