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The Life Orientation teachers' lived experience of courageous conversations in the independent secondary school classroom

Dissertation (MEd (Humanities Education))--University of Pretoria, 2022.

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Other Authors: De Jager, Sarina
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2022
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 De Jager, Sarina
author_browse De Jager, Sarina
author_facet De Jager, Sarina
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2022 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Dissertation (MEd (Humanities Education))--University of Pretoria, 2022.
format Thesis
id oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/85564
institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:37:22.574Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2022
publishDateRange 2022
publishDateSort 2022
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
record_format dspace
source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/85564 The Life Orientation teachers' lived experience of courageous conversations in the independent secondary school classroom De Jager, Sarina christa.c.devilliers@gmail.com De Villiers, Christina Catherina UCTD Courageous conversations Lived experience Re-constructed identity Dissonance Ego depletion Self-regulate Vulnerability Racial cognisance Autonomy Critical agency Sustainable development goals (SDGs) Education theses SDG-03 Education theses SDG-04 Education theses SDG-05 Education theses SDG-10 Education theses SDG-16 Dissertation (MEd (Humanities Education))--University of Pretoria, 2022. The purpose of the study is to determine and describe how Life Orientation (LO) teachers attach meaning to the teaching of critical content they view as controversial and can only be facilitated as courageous conversations. The Independent Education Board (IEB) introduced the formal, structured facilitation of conversations on controversial topics in the LO classroom in February 2016. The LO curriculum covers vital topics such as race, sexuality, mental health, sexual orientation, gender identification, ethnicity, culture, belief systems and privilege that require courage and teacher vulnerability. To explore the phenomenon of LO teachers’ lived experiences of courageous conversations, my study had to determine the meaning teachers attach to these controversial conversations. This meaning-making is dependent on the LO teacher’s needs, skills and agency to facilitate courageous conversation in an open, trusting, safe and respectful environment. Currently, there is limited support to develop the skills to plan, facilitate and make sense of teachers’ lived experience of courageous conversations. Moreover, the lack of recognition of LO offers minimal incentive to facilitate these formative conversations as nation-building narratives. Social constructivism was utilised as a research paradigm in this study to construct meaning from lived courageous conversations. An inductive approach was used to analyse nine LO teachers’ individual lived experiences of courageous conversations, followed by a focus group discussion to interpret their collective experiences. Phenomenology was best suited to understanding and describing the complexities of their lived experience, anecdotes and emotions elicited during courageous conversations. A nominalist approach to this study supposed that socially and historically constructed teacher identities influenced the meaning gleaned from the lived experience of courageous conversations. Interpretivist theory was utilised during the critical phenomenological interviews as it allowed the researcher to enter the participants’ lifeworld and share their lived experiences within their specific context. A qualitative methodology allowed insight to be gained from exploring and unpacking these lived experiences. These insights clarified the participants’ identity and growth as they developed new knowledge and understanding. Positive narratives and meaningful interactions promote skills development regardless of the initial cognitive and emotional dissonance individuals may experience. mi2026 Humanities Education MEd Restricted SDG-03: Good health and well-being SDG-04: Quality education SDG-05: Gender equality SDG-10: Reduced inequalities SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutions 2022-05-18T09:43:43Z 2022-05-18T09:43:43Z 2022-09 2022-04-10 Dissertation * S2022 https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/85564 The Life Orientation teachers' lived experience of courageous conversations in the independent secondary school classroom en © 2022 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
Courageous conversations
Lived experience
Re-constructed identity
Dissonance
Ego depletion
Self-regulate
Vulnerability
Racial cognisance
Autonomy
Critical agency
Sustainable development goals (SDGs)
Education theses SDG-03
Education theses SDG-04
Education theses SDG-05
Education theses SDG-10
Education theses SDG-16
The Life Orientation teachers' lived experience of courageous conversations in the independent secondary school classroom
title The Life Orientation teachers' lived experience of courageous conversations in the independent secondary school classroom
title_full The Life Orientation teachers' lived experience of courageous conversations in the independent secondary school classroom
title_fullStr The Life Orientation teachers' lived experience of courageous conversations in the independent secondary school classroom
title_full_unstemmed The Life Orientation teachers' lived experience of courageous conversations in the independent secondary school classroom
title_short The Life Orientation teachers' lived experience of courageous conversations in the independent secondary school classroom
title_sort life orientation teachers lived experience of courageous conversations in the independent secondary school classroom
topic UCTD
Courageous conversations
Lived experience
Re-constructed identity
Dissonance
Ego depletion
Self-regulate
Vulnerability
Racial cognisance
Autonomy
Critical agency
Sustainable development goals (SDGs)
Education theses SDG-03
Education theses SDG-04
Education theses SDG-05
Education theses SDG-10
Education theses SDG-16
url https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/85564