In recent years, deanship in universities has become more complex and challenging. Deans in South African universities take up their positions without appropriate training and prior executive experience, and with no clear understanding of the ambiguity and complexity of their roles. This paper calls for appropriate leadership development…

Since the 1990s there has been increased public interest, debate and research on workplace bullying. Little research has, however, been done on the abuse of educators or on the bullies per se. The aim of this paper is to expand the body of knowledge on workplace bullying by shedding light on the character of a bullying school principal. In 2008 I…

Orientation and mobility (O&M) practice is important because the population of persons with visual impairments is large enough to warrant planned action on measures to help them acquire independence and sustain their livelihoods. Most O&M practitioners in South Africa are full-time employees in non-governmental organizations. The few who…

This article explores issues of gender and race in the academic careers of female sociologists in South Africa by focusing on selected women who left academic departments in higher education institutions. In-depth interviews were conducted with 11 participants who left various Sociology departments at different times. It was found that young black…

Working in unfamiliar contexts and often alone, fieldworkers may face challenges for which their training and previous experience has not prepared them. While there is literature about the technical, ethical and moral aspects of fieldwork, there is little focusing on fieldworkers' actual experiences. Additionally, there is little constructive…

Husserlian phenomenology was used as the philosophical underpinning for this study, since its purpose is to describe human experience as it is lived by educators who have experienced workplace bullying. In-depth interviews were conducted with participants identified by means of the snowball sampling technique. Colaizzi's method for descriptive…

The aim of this study was to identify influences on the job satisfaction of previously disadvantaged school principals in North-West Province. Evans's theory of job satisfaction, morale and motivation was useful as a conceptual framework. A mixed-methods explanatory research design was important in discovering issues with which these principals…

This paper suggests that as university missions have adapted to accommodate major developments associated with, for instance, mass higher education and internationalisation agendas, university workforces have diversified. They now, for instance, incorporate practitioners in areas such as health and social care, and professional staff who support…

Our aim in this study was to examine the impact of HIV & AIDS on South African educators. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in public schools combining HIV testing and a face-to-face interview with participants from a nationally representative sample of public educators. The results show that HIV is highly prevalent among South African…

This study explores the usefulness of reflexive photography for qualitative research in the human and social sciences. The investigation was done in the context of how male academics construct their world in a university during transformation. A group of white, male academics in the human sciences were provided with a camera and were requested to…

Diversity communication and training are recent phenomena in South African workplaces. The demise of apartheid, new political dispensation, and reentry onto the world stage have all contributed to creating an opportunity for diversity. Accelerated corporate interest in this field may be linked to government pressure, globalization, and the much…

An attempt is made to assess the effect of human resource diversity in South Africa and provide strategies for managing such diverse institutions. A pilot study using questionnaires was conducted to determine the circumstances surrounding workforce diversity in a number of educational institutions. Thereafter, qualitative interviews provided…

This paper investigates attitudes of domestic workers in South Africa toward English and the process of learning the language. Interviews that were conducted with domestic workers in Durban are described. Several themes emerged from these interviews, including the need for workers to know English to secure employment, domestic employment as an…