Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe

The so-called "evidence-policy gap": The case of the De Lange report

Hierdie artikel belig die literatuur oor die gaping tussen wetenskaplike getuienis en beleid binne die konteks van bewysgebaseerde of, soos ons dit gaan noem, navorsingsgesteunde beleid vanuit die studie van ŉ klassieke geval in Suid-Afrika, naamlik die sogenaamde De Lange-verslag na die onderwys van 1981. Ons vrae is: tot watter mate het die betrokke verslag wel gedien as grondslag vir die opdraggewer, naamlik die regering van die dag, se daaropvolgende beleid oor onderwys, en hoe kan die verhouding tussen die opdraggewer en agent verstaan word? Die De Lange-verslag en die daaropvolgende prosesse van beleidsformulering word in hierdie artikel gebruik as ŉ geval om die diskoers oor navorsingsgesteunde beleid te beoordeel. Die verslag wat in 1981 verskyn het, is ons fokus. Ons ontleding van hierdie dokument is aangevul met insigte vanuit sekondêre bronne wat oor die Raad vir Geesteswetenskaplike Navorsing (RGN)-ondersoek na die onderwys gepubliseer is, asook deur persoonlike onderhoude en argiefwerk met rolspelers vanuit daardie tyd. Hierdie artikel lewer ŉ tweërlei bydrae, naamlik tot die geskiedenis van navorsingsgesteunde beleidmaking in Suid-Afrika, en tot die sogenaamde gaping tussen twee gemeenskappe (navorsers en beleidmakers) as verklaring vir die beperkte invloed van navorsing op beleid. Die studie het bevind dat die mate waartoe die RGN-ondersoek na die onderwys wel regeringsbeleid beïnvloed het, ŉ direkte gevolg was van die mate waartoe dit die veelvoud van partypolitieke hindernisse en navorser-beleidmaker kompleksiteite kon oorkom. Dit is inderdaad ŉ eiesoortige geval wat buite die bestek van die algemeen geldende teoretiese beskouings oor navorsingsgesteunde beleidmaking val.

This article throws light on the literature about the evidence-policy gap in evidence-based or, as we are going to call it, research-informed policy following on the study of a classic case in South Africa, namely the so-called De Lange report on the provision of education in the RSA. The question is: to what extent did the said report serve as a basis for subsequent policy of the government of the day regarding education, and what was the role of the principal-agent relationship in this? An ongoing theme in the literature regarding research-informed policy (evidence-based policymaking) is the apparent inability of academics to influence policy with the results of their research. An investigation of the De Lange report therefore promises to supplement or refute elements of the literature. At the same time, this report comes from a period in the South African history when it foreshadowed the great changes, which would come a decade later in a striking manner, and which might even have partially initiated these changes. Our article may therefore also have intrinsic historiographic value. The article starts with a short overview of the literature, which is followed by an exposition of what we understand by the case study approach. After that, we discuss the origin, historical context, role players, course, results and outcome of the HSRC investigation into education. In searching for answers regarding the question about the extent to which the De Lange report gave direction to subsequent policy regarding education, we ask the following questions: • To what degree did the specific nature and intensity of interaction between members of the HSRC investigation and the policymakers determine the influence of the De Lange report on government policy? • To what degree did the spirit of the times and divergent policy agendas hamper or promote the acceptance of the recommendations in the De Lange report? The question regarding the influence of the specific nature and intensity of interaction between the HSRC role-players and the policymakers in government policy is guided by the literature about research-based policymaking. The preponderance of studies on this topic focuses on the interaction and supposed distance between policy advisers (researchers) and policymakers as explanation for the degree to which researchers succeed in convincing policymakers of the value of the research results. Although the nature of the interest groups within our case study corresponds to a large degree with what is described in the literature, this case shows a distinct overlap of interests between the interest groups which narrowed the "theoretical" gap between them in practice. There was in this case therefore no mention of a gap, which had to be bridged to convince the principal of the value of research. The literature regarding the distance between policy advisors and policymakers therefore does not explain this particular case. In order to promote the awareness and acceptance of the results and suggestions, the research team launched a comprehensive communication campaign, even before the official publication of the report. Probably as a result of its scientific integrity, the report could withstand the test of robust discussion and investigation. No conclusive evidence could be found that this campaign substantially strengthened the influence of the research report on the subsequent policy. It seems from the literature that strong divergent ideas, policy agendas, and political ideologies and interest groups could also influence the official reception of research-informed evidence. Hence, the question regarding the influence of the spirit of the times and divergent policy agendas on the acceptance of the suggestions in the De Lange report for policy. The interim education working party appointed by the government following the release of the De Lange report played a decisive role in preparing the research evidence for reception by government. This task team drafted a report, which translated the research report politically, before the official policy of government was published as a White Paper. This study shows that where the political principal was a senior person within the context of the Afrikaner Broederbond as well as the scientific community, he was relatively junior within the caucus and cabinet of the governing party, with the resulting limited personal influence. This, together with other issues, which at the time created an unfavourable party political climate for the principal, explain in part the time lapse between the submission of the De Lange report to the Minister in July 1981 and the introduction of the eventual policy in November 1983. These events, which influenced the period and extent of integration of the scientifically grounded recommendations in government policy and even legislation, confirm the doctrine of limited rationality in terms of policymaking. With its account of the HSRC investigation into education in South Africa, this article contributes to the use of the case study as approach to policy studies. Faithful to the nature of a case study, the article contributes to a context-rich description of the HSRC investigation into education as a case of research-backed policy. It is a distinctive case of how research results influence government policy. The extent and period of the influence between researchers and policymakers could clearly not be explained by means of the supposed gap between researchers and policymakers. The degree to which this research report did influence government policy also cannot be attributed to the appropriateness and validity of the scientific results. This study showed that the influence of the report on government policy could probably be attributed to the degree to which the integrity of the process could overcome the multiple party political obstacles within the specific historical context. The steady, fragmented, although sustained implementation of the results of the HSRC investigation into education in South Africa, is indeed a distinctive case which falls outside of the scope of the generally held theoretical views regarding research-backed policymaking.

Men's role in the quest for gender justice: A historical overview of antifeminism and profeminism

Die sosiale orde word deur die loop van millennia deur genderongelykheid gekenmerk. Dit het aanleiding gegee tot die vrouebevrydingsbeweging en feminisme. Mans was van meet af aan betrokke by die stryd om gendergeregtigheid¹ - weliswaar op verskillende maniere. Sommige het organisasies teen vroue (antifeministies) en ander vir vroue (profeministies) gevestig. Op hul beurt het vroue aanvanklik mans se betrokkenheid verwelkom (in die 1960's), maar teen die middel van die 1970's het radikale feministe mans se ondersteuning van die vrouebeweging grotendeels verwerp. In die 1990's het feministe ontevredenheid in eie geledere ervaar. Die kritiek teen sogenaamde hegemoniese feminisme was veral van vroue van kleur afkomstig. Alhoewel verskeie redes vir mans se betrokkenheid aangevoer word, word sodanige betrokkenheid meermale bevraagteken. Talle voorbehoude word derhalwe in hierdie verband gestel. Alhoewel profeminisme hoofsaaklik in Amerika en Europa ontstaan het, het dit uiteindelik na Afrika gemigreer. 'n Suid-Afrikaanse profeministiese organisasie, Sonke Gender Justice, dien as teenvoeter vir die antifeminisme van ʼn nuwe jeugbeweging (onder invloed van Julius Malema) en tradisionaliste soos Jacob Zuma.

Gender is central to social life. Yet, throughout human history, the social order has been characterised by gender inequality. The first active steps towards creating an equitable society can be traced to around 1792 when Mary Wollstonecraft's "A vindication of the rights of women" was published. An integral part of her advocacy for all human rights was her rejection of slavery and she often drew an analogy between the positions of women and those of slaves. From the outset, endeavours at achieving gender justice were either supported or loathed by men. In the mid 20th century, the responses to the effects of feminism and those of women's struggles for equality culminated in a so-called "men's movement". A distinction is generally drawn between two types of men's movement that lie at the opposite extremes of a continuum, namely, at the one end, conservative or anti-feminist (the men's rights movement) and, at the other, liberal/progressive or profeminist (the new men's movement). Men's rights groups reject women's liberation, claiming that women cover up the reality that men are most oppressed and that they (women) actually possess the power. South African examples of anti-feminist movements include Promise Keepers South Africa and the Mighty Men Conference Movement. Women, in their turn, either welcomed men's involvement or regarded it with suspicion. Even if, during the 1960s, the women's movement welcomed male activists, some feminists were sceptical of this development and, by the mid 1970s, radical feminism surfaced. It largely rejected men's support of the women's movement, its premise being that all men benefited from gender oppression. During the 1990s, discontent among feminists became apparent. Criticism against what was regarded as hegemonic feminism was expressed by women of colour. These women rejected the idea of a universal sisterhood. Although black women in South Africa had actively participated in the liberation struggle since the 1950s, a distinctly feminist consciousness was totally lacking. The first steps towards establishing organisations geared exclusively towards women's liberation only followed late in the 1980s. African feminists, because they are not only concerned about women's issues but about social issues, generally accept men as allies. While several justifications for engaging with men have been advanced, some concern has however been raised as regards the involvement of men or the so-called "men-streaming" approach advocated by international organisations. Several provisos have consequently been advanced in this regard, the most fundamental of these being that such inclusion/involvement should be seen to advance the overarching feminist aim of gender equality. The male activists in Britain and America who supported women's suffrage at the beginning of the 20th century are viewed both as the initiators of the men's liberation movement and the pioneers of the profeminist movement that gained prominence during the 1960s. In South Africa, Sol Plaatje and Steve Biko are regarded as having been profeminist. Although profeminist groups are found globally, they are more common in countries with relatively longer traditions of gender-equity endeavours. South Africa, because of its relatively short democratic history, does not feature among such countries. Although profeminism developed in the American and European contexts, it eventually ‒ like feminism ‒ migrated to Africa. Several reasons have been advanced as to why profeminism has lately gained momentum in South Africa, the main being that the country is confronted by two major public health issues, namely gender-based violence and HIV/Aids - both being issues inextricably related to gender inequalities. It would moreover seem that, in the little more than two decades of the new democratic dispensation, very little has actually been accomplished in terms of achieving gender justice. South African women remain the poorest of the poor and are subjected to some of the highest levels of gender-based violence in the world. Against this background, there is an increasing insistence that men and boys be involved to achieve accelerated change. Current debates no longer revolve around whether men should be involved but around the precise nature of their involvement. Apart from the involvement of both women and men, there is a growing awareness that civil society should be actively involved. Activism of this kind at grass-roots level by non-governmental organisations ‒ termed NGO-isation ‒ has increased. Sonke Gender Justice, a local profeminist non-governmental organisation, attempts to counter the anti-feminism of a new youth movement (influenced by Julius Malema) and traditionalists like Jacob Zuma. In light of the apparent anti-feminism and also the fact that gender justice has as yet not nearly been achieved, the struggle for gender justice is now more compelling than ever. Though profeminist men who support the cause are indispensable partners in the struggle, their numbers are still relatively small. Ideally, all South African men (and women) should accept the gravity of the situation. If this conviction is accompanied by a commitment to the central values of the Ubuntu philosophy and the Constitution, both women and men will embrace the feminist model for social reconstruction and react positively to the fundamental aim of feminism, namely the elimination of all injustices.

The state of online open educational resources in Afrikaans: Afrikaans teaching as a case study

In hierdie navorsing is die stand van oop opvoedkundige hulpbronne vir Afrikaansonderrig ondersoek. Oop opvoedkundige hulpbronne verwys na materiaal vir onderrig, leer en navorsing wat in die openbaar met bepaalde lisensies gratis beskikbaar is. Hierdie verskynsel moet benader word in die konteks van oop onderwys, oopbronsagteware en oop inhoud. Dit is duidelik dat die gebruik en navorsing van oop opvoedkundige hulpbronne in 'n Suid-Afrikaanse konteks beperk is, maar besig is om uit te brei. Vanuit die literatuur rondom Afrikaans in die internetomgewing is daar wel navorsing wat raakpunte met hierdie navorsing toon en veral die belangrikheid van die Afrikaanse Wikipedia word reeds in literatuur beklemtoon. Vir hierdie navorsing is 'n dokumentanalise van webwerwe onderneem om hulpbronne in Afrikaans vir Afrikaansonderrig te ondersoek. Uit 'n databasis van 1 873 webwerwe is 22 bronne geïdentifiseer waarna die bronne induktief geanaliseer is ten einde tendense te identifiseer. Vir verdere klassifikasie is Krajcso (2016) se uitgebreide stel kwaliteitskriteria vir oop opvoedkundige hulpbronne in hierdie artikel gebruik. Uit die analise aan die hand van hierdie kriteria is dit duidelik dat die geïdentifiseerde bronne slegs met betrekking tot ontwerp en die algemene eienskappe van die inhoud en in 'n mindere mate tegniese aspekte wel hieraan voldoen. Met betrekking tot die stand van oop opvoedkundige hulpbronne vir Afrikaansonderrig is dit duidelik dat daar wel heelwat bruikbare bronne bestaan, maar hierdie bronne funksioneer nie werklik as oop opvoedkundige hulpbronne nie. Daar bestaan dus duidelik 'n behoefte aan die uitbreiding daarvan in Afrikaans en spesifiek in die konteks van Afrikaansonderrig.

The focus of this research was to determine the state of open educational resources available on the Internet for Afrikaans language teaching. Open educational resources (OER) refer to teaching, learning and research material that are available to the public for use and reuse, according to specific licencing conditions. These resources should be considered within the wider literature discourse concerning open education, open-source software and open content prevalent in an education context. It is clear from the literature review that in a South African context, the use of and research on open educational resources are limited. However, there has been a steady increase in interest in this field, especially within certain South African universities and organisations. Moreover, little research has been done with regard to Afrikaans and Afrikaans language teaching and open educational resources. The findings of this article can be linked with research that has been done on Afrikaans in online environments and the teaching of Afrikaans by means of online mediums. In this regard, the Afrikaans Wikipedia is an example of online content that shows characteristics related to open educational resources that have been explored in research literature. The research study made use of a document analysis of websites based on criteria linked to open educational resource characteristics. A total of 22 websites was chosen from a compiled database of 1 873 websites. These websites were then qualitatively analysed in an inductive manner. In addition, the open educational resource quality criteria, identified by Krajcso (2016), were also used to examine the nature of these websites. From this analysis it was evident that most of the Afrikaans language teaching resources only adhere to some of the open educational resource characteristics in terms of design, general characteristics of the content and to a lesser extent the technical aspects. The identified resources are not appropriate in terms of content when attitude, knowledge and competence were evaluated. In addition, the resources do not adhere to the didactical principles linked to open educational resource methodology, specifically with regard to goals, activities and tasks. Krajcso's quality criteria have also proven to be fitting when the suitability of resources in terms of general open educational resource characteristics was tested. Certain trends were identified during the analysis in terms of available online Afrikaans language resources. Although a single resource was published by a provincial education department and one by a language-related organisation, most of the resources are personal websites created by teachers. However, some of the resources were found to be limited in use, as most of the content is only available commercially. It is common for a number of resources to require registration. One of the resources showed promise in terms of e-assessments through the availability of online spelling tests. More than one general encyclopaedic resource exists. Extensive literature-related resources (especially for poetry and drama) exist for Afrikaans and cover both informal and more scientifically and peer reviewed resources. Finally, there are also websites that focus on linguistic content. Useful bibliographic resources were also identified - with some open content. Clearly, none of the identified resources can be regarded as an open educational resource. There seems to be room for improvement, especially in terms of reuse and easy open revisability. Very few Afrikaans online sources are subjected to peer review and there are questions regarding the quality of some of the resources. However, it would be possible to build on existing good practices in order to expand the Afrikaans language teaching open educational environment. There is definitely a need for Afrikaans language teaching open educational resource repositories that can fulfil both an archival and language planning role. It is, however, clear that extensive development and research are necessary in terms of open educational resources in the Afrikaans language teaching context.

Fleeing to exploitation: The case of immigrants who work as car guards

'n Groot getal immigrante steek jaarliks Suid-Afrika se grense oor, hetsy wettig of onwettig, op soek na werksgeleenthede. Sonder die nodige dokumentasie word talle immigrante genoodsaak om hulle tot die informele ekonomie te wend waar arbeid nie na behore gereguleer word nie en werkers uitgebuit kan word. Die praktyk waar mense teen 'n fooitjie na voertuie op winkelsentrums se parkeerterreine omsien, is kenmerkend van Suid-Afrika se stedelike landskap. Motoroppas spruit uit die land se hoë misdaadvlakke en die vrees vir viktimisering. Behoeftige en gemarginaliseerde mense, met inbegrip van onwettige immigrante, werk as motorwagte en dit bied 'n tydelike uitkoms vir die groot getal werkloses in Suid-Afrika. Hierdie artikel doen verslag oor die ervarings van 90 immigrante teenoor 54 Suid-Afrikaanse burgers wat as motorwagte in Pretoria werk. Alhoewel die bevindinge statisties beduidende verskille uitwys tussen immigrante en plaaslike motorwagte ten opsigte van hul opvoeding, huishoudelike dinamika, verhoudings met klante en kennis van arbeidswette, is immigrantmotorwagte aan dieselfde finansiële uitbuiting onderworpe as wat motorwagte in die algemeen ervaar. Immigrante wat die ekonomiese en politieke onrus in hul eie lande probeer ontvlug en as motorwagte in Suid-Afrika werk, vlug moontlik net na verdere uitbuiting.

Car guards form an integral part of South Africa's urban landscape. The phenomenon has its roots in the dual realities of unemployment and crime in the country, in particular vehicle-related offences. Car guarding commenced in Durban in the early 1990s when unemployed persons started looking after the vehicles of drivers in exchange for a donation, and the practice soon burgeoned across the country. Drivers are, however, not obliged to pay car guards for the services they provide since the practice of tipping often depends on internalised attitudes towards tipping and to reward good quality service. A distinction is made between formal and informal car guards, where the latter provide car guard services on public streets, mostly in inner city areas, and the former offer their services at the parking areas of shopping centres outside the central business district. Car guards are required to have undergone the necessary training and registration with the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority of South Africa and some local authorities have introduced bylaws to regulate the car guarding industry. Furthermore, media reports suggest that formal car guards have to pay a daily fee to the managers/owners of shopping centres simply to offer their services to drivers. These matters prompted research into the car guard phenomenon in Pretoria and an article was published about the implications of the survey for private security policy and practice. The current contribution entails a closer analysis of the data with the aim of differentiating the experiences of immigrants from those of South Africans who work as car guards in the capital city. In the absence of a sampling framework, 144 car guards were interviewed using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Ninety were immigrants and 54 were local citizens. Owing to the sampling strategy used, and because the data did not show a normal distribution, significant differences between the two groups were identified by means of the Mann-Whitney U test for which effect sizes were calculated. Immigrants who worked as car guards were significantly younger, had higher levels of education, were more likely to be the breadwinners of their families and they had fewer children compared to their South African counterparts. They were also more likely to have been unemployed in the past and they were less likely to blame the political environment for their situation. They received compensation for their services less frequently and were significantly more often subjected to verbal abuse by clients. Interestingly, immigrants who work as car guards were less likely to consider their work as important in preventing crime and they presented significantly lower levels of knowledge of labour laws and municipal bylaws regarding the car guard industry. Despite these significant differences, immigrants who work as car guards were equally subjected to financial exploitation by having to pay a daily fee for the parking areas where they worked. The exploitation even extended to some car guards having to pay for the identifying clothing they wore every day. Roughly a third of the car guards' monthly income was paid to the owners or managers of shopping centres, and sometimes car guards could not secure sufficient funds to pay for the daily fee to "rent" parking bays. Most of the car guards reported that they were merely surviving from day to day, and the industry was providing extremely limited prospects of promotion. In fact, many car guards did not have a written contract securing their employment, thus exacerbating their vulnerability and potential for exploitation in the informal economy. In addition, the undocumented status of immigrants who worked as car guards made it difficult for them to complete the necessary training and to register officially with the regulatory authority. While having left their countries of origin owing to political and economic turmoil, illegal immigrants who end up working as car guards might well unknowingly be fleeing to exploitation in South Africa.

Church and state in two reformed church orders: An analysis of the orders of the Reformed Churches in South Africa and the Dutch Reformed Church post-1962

Die houding van kerke oor die verhouding kerk-staat toon ook elemente van die betrokke kerk se houding oor kerk en samelewing. Die benadering van twee Suid-Afrikaanse gereformeerde kerke na 1962 in hulle Kerkordes oor die verhouding kerk-staat, word ondersoek: die Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid-Afrika (GKSA) en die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk (NGK). Beide kerke verteenwoordig 'n standpunt wat tot op die Kerkorde (DKO) van die Nasionale Sinode van Dordtrecht in 1619 teruggaan. Soos in die DKO speel die Nederlandse Geloofsbelydenis van 1561 'n rol in die hantering van die saak deur beide Kerkordes. Die invloed van latere neo-Calvinistiese denkers skemer ook deur: sterker in die Kerkorde van die NGK as van die GKSA. Beide Kerkordes vertoon tekens van hulle eie tyd, hoewel die Kerkorde van die NGK hiervan ook meer dra as dié van die GKSA.

The viewpoint of churches on the relation between Church and State shows signs of the specific churches' view on church and society. This article investigates the attitude of two South African reformed churches, namely the Reformed Churches of South Africa (RCSA) and the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC), to church and state in their church orders post-1962. Both churches accepted the term "reformed" in their name and subscribed to reformed confessions of faith. They are attempting to be reformed in their church government and, in so doing, their church orders. It is accepted in reformed churches with reformed confessions that their confessions of faith should be a true and acceptable interpretation of Scripture on the core issues of the Christian faith. Confessions are, therefore, an expression or formula of the unity of faith. The reformed confessions of the RCSA and the DRC are, in fact, called "The Three Formulas of Unity". These churches accept the Word of God as the first and highest norm (norma normans) in church life, followed by the confessions as the second norm (norma normata) and an answer of faith to Scripture. If that is the case and if the confessions express the core issues of faith, the church order of a reformed church should obey and follow the confessions and, in doing so, Scripture. This means that a church order should also follow Scripture and the confessions in formulating the church's attitude to the state or states in which it finds itself. State borders cannot restrict the church as an institution of faith. In addition, a church order is only binding on the church that accepted it. The church order of the National Synod of Dordrecht in 1618-1619 (DCO) for reformed churches was, at that time, accepted as an example of a scriptural church order. Post-1962, the church orders of both the RCSA and the DRC strived to be an offspring of the DCO. In the same process, Article 36 of the Dutch Confession of Faith played a determining role in Article 28 of the RCSA's order, while neo-Calvinist thought, in the reformed tradition, strongly influenced Article 65 of the DRC's order, both on the topic of church and state. The DCO followed the Dutch Confession of Faith in that it accepted it as the task of the state to obey God and His commandments and to protect and promote the true Biblical doctrine of the church by the means of the state, if necessary. This was not the case in the order of the DRC. In 1967, the order of the RCSA was changed. It now refers to the task of believers to show respect for state authority, in general, because it is ordained by God. Prior to 1998, the order of the DRC referred to the protection of the church by its state authorities in showing gratitude for this, an emotion seldom found in a church order. In the stormy 1960s in South Africa, it also promised the government not to undermine its effort to uphold the authority of the state. In 1998, the order of the DRC was changed and its explicit support for the state authorities was omitted. Some of the verbal influence of neo-Calvinist thinkers was also omitted. Article 67 of the present church order of the DRC endeavours to adhere to the essence of Romans 13 on the state. TO CONCLUDE: Both the church orders of the RCSA and the DRC are reformed in nature, but the former keeps a more verbal tie with the DCO. This is also the case in this order, in general. On the contrary, the DRC's order uses a freer attitude, but keeps the topics of the chapters of the DCO and some of the wording. In comparison with the order of the RCSA, the DRC's order shows far more links with the situation in which it finds itself, namely Southern Africa and the Afrikaner

Outlining a quartet configuration: Notes on minor and major literatures

Deleuze en Guattari se konsep van mineurletterkundes het 'n belangrike gegewe in die literatuurteorie van die afgelope aantal dekades geword. Gewoonlik word hierdie konsep met verwysing na drie kern-eienskappe getipeer, naamlik deterritorialisasie, die politieke aard daarvan en die kollektiewe uitdrukkingswaarde wat dit sou veronderstel. Wanneer mineurletterkundes egter teen die agtergrond van Deleuze en Guattari se ander filosofiese werk geïnterpreteer word, blyk dit vinnig dat hierdie konsep veel genuanseerder aangewend behoort te word. In hierdie artikel beoog ek om presies dít te doen: die filosofiese kontekstualisering van mineurletterkundes met betrekking tot die gemeenskaplike oeuvre van beide denkers. Dit geskied deur veral na hulle konseptualisering van groeperings te verwys, oftewel hulle modellering van sosiale strukture en dinamikas in terme van (her)territorialisasie-deterritorialisasie en inhoudsvorm-uitdrukkingsvorm-asse wat mekaar kruis. Die betoog sluit af deur op sekere onderbeligte aspekte van mineurletterkundes te dui en 'n alternatiewe model voor te stel, waarmee mineurletterkundes beter getipeer kan word as die blote verwysing na die drie gesimplifiseerde kern-eienskappe, soos hierbo vermeld.

Since their publication of Kafka: Toward a Minor Literature in 1986, Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari's concept of minor literatures has become a very productive critical tool within the context of literary theory. Usually minor literatures are defined with reference to three core characteristics that would determine any literature as being minor: 1) the language of minor literatures is affected with a high coefficient of deterritorialisation, 2) it always is political and has a political immediacy and 3) it represents a collective assemblage of enunciation. However, if the general use of this theoretical concept is set against the background of the collaborative philosophical work of Deleuze and Guattari, it quickly becomes evident that literary theorists often simplify its rather nuanced meaning. Deterritorialisation, its political nature and collective enunciation become shorthand to describe any number of literary works that are believed to undermine given normative values, whether it be linguistic or otherwise. This article endeavours to do exactly the opposite to what usually transpires, i.e. it undertakes a philosophical contextualisation of minor literatures mainly with reference to the collaborative work of Deleuze and Guattari, with a special emphasis on relevant ideas from A Thousand Plateaus. This could seem rather problematic, since the philosophy of both thinkers is infamously rhizomatic in nature and their philosophical motifs also tend to evolve over time. There is, however, one theoretical concept of theirs that lends itself to be used as a way to frame the argument presented here. Their conceptualisation of assemblages, i.e. their "model" to describe the inner workings and dynamics of the elements of societies, is used as the main point of reference. Assemblages have gained some theoretical traction in recent times, with the best example being the work of Manual DeLanda, who, with his Assemblage Theory (2016) sets out to develop a realist social ontology inspired by the work of Deleuze and Guattari. Assemblages refer to both the non-essentialised elements or parts of any societal whole and the extrinsic relations between them. According to Deleuze and Guattari assemblages comprise horizontal and vertical axes, which determine the nature of all collectivities or groups. The vertical axis refers to what they call forms of content and forms of expression. These two kinds of forms relate to the two extremes of the axis and (using an extremely crude simplification) represent societal bodies and the ways these are expressed. The vertical axis slides from a deterritorialisation extreme to a (re-)territorialisation extreme and refers to the less or more pronounced normative stability of the respective content-expression continuum involved. Literary discourse not only forms part of (various) assemblages, but its dynamics can also be mapped onto both its horizontal and vertical axes. Using these and other theoretical conclusions about assemblages, it should become clear that minor literatures are to be conceptualised in a much more nuanced manner: it becomes evident, for instance, that its purported political nature and its status as representing a collective enunciation cannot be regarded as being exclusive and defining features. The argument concludes with the suggestion that the underrepresented theoretical analysis of the interaction between minor status and the nature of minorities could be one reason why the definition of minor literatures sometimes runs into difficulties. An alternative model is therefore presented, where a quartet of concepts is suggested with reference to Deleuze and Guattari's horizontal (deterritorialisation-(re-)territorialisation) and vertical (forms of content-forms of expression) axes structuring all assemblages. These four concepts are consequently brought together and related in a quartet configuration, similar to the two axes of assemblages: minor-minority-major-majority. Mapping literary discourse or literary assemblages onto the linear relations formed between the four concepts will represent a much easier way to define and think about minor literatures.

The aesthetic disposition as psychotherapeutic quality in a mainly apathetic, digitalised environment

Die psigoterapeutiese ruimte word gekenmerk deur onder andere invoelende deelname, oftewel ŉ empatiese gevoeligheid vir die problematiek van die bestaan en betekenis van alles. Die estetiese ingesteldheid word as ŉ eis aan die terapeut gestel ten einde op eksistensiële wyse ontvanklik te wees vir la condition humaine. In hierdie artikel voer ek aan dat bogenoemde psigoterapeutiese kwaliteit, soos ook te vinde in die opvoedkundige sielkunde, moontlik in die lig van ŉ ongebreidelde digitalemediakultuur bedreig word. Ek ondersoek die aard van hierdie kwelling aan die hand van verweefde teoretiese en filosofiese benaderings, sowel as van voorbeelde uit die poësie en letterkundige prosa. Daar word aan die hand gedoen dat die opleiding van sielkundestudente in die algemeen, en studente in opvoedkundige sielkunde in die besonder, wat met digitale media grootgeword het, opnuut in oënskou geneem behoort te word. Wanneer aanlyn digitale media die oorwegende gereedskap word waarmee betekenis ontsluit en vertolk word, sê dit moontlik iets van die wyse waarop mense hul wêreld epistemologies en ontologies benader. In hierdie opsig dien die steeds uitdyende digitale verbruiksgeoriënteerde bestaan, gekenmerk deur nut/utiliteit en onmiddellikheid, toenemend as hubris waardeur die mensdom tot ondergang gedoem skyn te wees. Hierdie ondergang het nie noodwendig te make met die uitsterwing van Homo sapiens nie, maar het eerder betrekking op ŉ verarming van die funksie van woord- en taalgebruik en denke in die mens se strewe na betekenisskepping. Onlangse navorsing wil te kenne gee dat die snelle hibridisering (die mens-masjien-versmelting) waaraan die mensdom blootgestel is, ten koste van sekere kennisverwerwings- en betekenisskeppingsfunksies geskied. Een van dié funksies is die soeke na samehang deur middel van diepgaande interpretasieraamwerke ten einde weg te beweeg van chaos en versplintering op sosiale en persoonlik-psigiese vlak. Hiervolgens gaan dit veral om die verarmde rol van denke en taal as noodsaaklike lewensmiddele om die fyn netwerk van skakerings van gebeure en belewenisse te artikuleer. ŉ Oorwegend gedigitaliseerde kultuur wat nouliks staanplek aan die ryk register van persoonlike ervarings gee, kan daartoe lei dat synsbetekenis gereduseer word tot gefilterde kitsklaar belewenis- en kennisbrokke wat van noodsaaklike nuansering ontdaan is. In hierdie artikel poog ek om aan die hand van verskeie teorieë in die filosofie en sielkunde, analitiese letterkundebesprekings, en onlangse inligtingswetenskaplike navorsingsbevindinge helderheid te verkry oor die wyse waarop die digitalemediakultuur verband hou met die behoefte aan ŉ estetiese ingesteldheid, spesifiek as ŉ psigoterapeutiese kwaliteit. Ter verrekening hiervan verduidelik ek die wyse waarop sekere kunsvorme as rigtingwyser vir die estetiese ingesteldheid die denkhandelinge van die psigoterapeut en opvoedkundige sielkundige kan bevorder en verryk. Ons wêreld is betrokke op die middels waardeur ons dit benader. Derhalwe is die geskiedenis gedeeltelik die geskiedenis van gereedskap. Daardie ou houtkapper se byl was die bril waardeur hy die wêreld gesien het, en deur die voel van sy steel het hy alles gevoel. Marthinus Versfeld (2008:46)

The psychotherapeutic space is characterised by, inter alia, empathetic participation, that is, sensitivity for the problematic nature of the existence and meaning of everything. The aesthetic disposition is a demand made on the therapist to be receptive to la condition humaine in an existential manner. In this article, I contend that in the face of an unbridled digital culture, the above-mentioned psychotherapeutic quality may be threatened. Furthermore, I scrutinise the nature of this concern in the light of interwoven theoretical and philosophical approaches, and of examples from poetry and literary prose. It is suggested that the training of postgraduate psychology students in general and educational psychology students in particular who have grown up with digital media ought to be reviewed. When online digital media become the predominant tool with which meaning is unlocked and interpreted it probably says something about the way people approach their world epistemologically and ontologically. In this regard, the ever-expanding digital consumerism, characterised by utility and immediacy, increasingly serves as hubris through which humanity appears to be doomed to collapse. This collapse would not necessarily mean the disappearance of Homo sapiens, but rather refers to an impoverishment of the function of language and thought in humankind's pursuit of meaning creation. Recent research contends that the rapid hybridisation (that is, the fusion of human being and android/machine) to which humankind is exposed occurs at the expense of certain knowledge-gaining and meaning-creating functions. One of these functions is the search for coherence by means of in-depth interpretation frameworks in order to steer away from chaos and fragmentation at the social and personal-psychological levels. Specifically, it concerns the impoverished role of language and thought as vital conditions for the articulation of the fine network of nuances of events and experiences. A predominantly digitalised culture in which the rich register of personal experiences is hardly given a place can lead to the ontology of existence being reduced to filtered, instant experiences and knowledge fragments stripped of their essential nuances. Another factor contributing to indifference in the context of the psychotherapist's thinking actions is the inherent fragmentation of the profession of psychology. This often makes it difficult for therapists who pursue the humanistic principles of solicitude and endeavour to fathom the greatest depths of humanity, to position themselves simultaneously within various social systems. Gardner believes "an effective counsellor must radically change his or her perspective on a client throughout the day, viewing the client first through the client's own eyes; then through the eyes of a legal authority or insurance entity; and possibly even through the eyes of a particular agency or school, whose own policies may differ widely from the counsellor, client, or payer" (Gardner 2016:88). According to Gardner, the orientation of metamodernism, characterised by continuous movement and reform, can serve as a conciliatory paradigm to deal with fragmentation and conflicting contexts peculiar to psychotherapeutic practice. She illustrates this fragmentation with reference, in particular, to the one-dimensional reliance on "neo-medical strategies" (Gardner 2016:89), namely rigid treatment plans, diagnostic criteria and DSM¹ codes and categories, as opposed to a humanistic approach characterised by human autonomy and integrity. It is suggested that metamodernism as an attitude becomes a way for the educational psychologist of positioning herself in ambivalent environments by means of a to-and-fro movement between conflicting contexts and metaphysical issues related to psychology, such as good/evil, male/female, conscious/unconscious, psychological distress/prosperity, rather than a total rejection of boundaries as in postmodernism. In this article, with reference to several theories in philosophy and psychology, analytical literary discussions and recent information science research findings, I endeavour to gain clarity about how the culture of digital media relates to the need for an aesthetic disposition, specifically as a psychotherapeutic quality. In considering this, I explain how art as a direction indicator of the aesthetic disposition can be applied to advance and enrich the thinking of the psychotherapist and educational psychologist.

Productivity in the education system: Can it be improved on a continuous basis?

Die doel van hierdie artikel is om aan te dui hoe onderwysproduktiwiteit binne die raamwerk van die struktuur en funksionering van die onderwysstelsel verbeter kan word en dit te doen met spesifieke verwysing na die Suid-Afrikaanse onderwysstelsel. Daar word aangetoon dat die teikengroep verwag dat die onderwysstelsel op die mees bekostigbare wyse in die onderwysbehoeftes van die teikengroep moet kan voorsien. Die onderwysstelsel moet dus materieel-ekonomies en finansieel-ekonomies wees. Daar word aangetoon dat daar genoeg elemente in die onderwysstelsel is wat reeds (selfs op onwetenskaplike wyse) gebruik word om die uitsette en insette van ŉ onderwysstelsel te meet. Dit is dus moontlik om die onderwysproduktiwiteit van die onderwysstelsel te bepaal. Daar word van die funksionarisse en gebruikers van die onderwysstelsel verwag om besliste maatreëls te tref ten einde op 'n volhoubare en bekostigbare wyse in die onderwysbehoeftes van die teikengroep te voorsien. Enkele voorbeelde van praktiese maatreëls wat getref kan word om die produktiwiteit van die Suid-Afrikaanse onderwysstelsel te verbeter, word in die vooruitsig gestel.

In the public and scientific discourse about education in South Africa, it has become commonplace to refer to the poor quality of the South African education system. Another frequently mentioned topic is the discrepancy between the investment from the national budget in South African education and the return on this investment. Therefore, this article will refer to economic principles in an attempt to arrive at a better understanding of productivity in the education system in general, with specific reference to productivity in the South African education system. While the focus on productivity in the education system may possibly be criticised as presenting a narrow neoliberal view of education, it should be emphasised that the neoliberal economic revolution has had a substantial influence globally and contributes, by means of the introduction of particular measures, to greater efficiency in many institutions, such as the use of productivity indices to understand the functioning of a particular institution. It is pointed out in the article that the primary aim of the national education system is to provide for the educational needs of the target group, namely the citizens of that country. An education system is effective if the education supply provides, in an attainable and sustainable manner, for the actual educational needs of the target group. It follows that the education system is materially and financially efficient if educational needs are provided for in the most affordable manner. Different role players in the national community have an interest in the output of a particular education system, including, for example, parents, the state, commerce and industry, together with other organisations in the community. To ensure that the education system provides effectively for their educational needs, these role players provide financial and infrastructural resources to the functionaries of the education system. The trust of these role players in the education system is strengthened if they are convinced that the resources will be used in the most attainable, sustainable and affordable manner and that the application of these resources will be towards the primary function of providing education and training on pre-primary, primary, secondary and tertiary levels. Thus, it is clear that an education system is successful if - • its elements are integrated in such a manner that it effectively provides for the actual educational needs of the target group; • the education interest groups are convinced that the resources they make available are applied in the most attainable and sustainable manner; and • the particular education system functions according to the reciprocal relationship between the internal and external trends to ensure that the maximum outputs are realised. Productivity is a concept that is rarely used by education practitioners and education researchers in relation to education and the education system. Many educationists may suspect that the use of concepts from the financial and managerial world, such as productivity, input and output, will result in the commercialisation and corporatisation of education systems. However, it is argued in this article that modern commercial and management concepts should be made applicable to the education system in order to ensure a learner-centred education system, which will assist learners in equipping themselves with the required competencies to fulfil their unique roles in life. By focusing on principles such as effectivity and efficiency, the functionaries of the education system will be able to ensure that its beneficiaries have trust in the outcomes of the education system. In essence, productivity means that one should do as much as possible with the resources available. Therefore, productivity represents the relation between available resources and the outcome of the use to which the resources have been put. The productivity index can be calculated as follows and should be used to improve the operation of a particular education system: P = O/I [P represents the productivity index, O the output and I the input] Productivity can be improved by either reducing the input and maintaining the same output, or increasing the output and maintaining the same input, or increasing the output and, at the same time, decreasing the input. Productivity can be improved by working more cleverly, rather than simply working harder. The endeavour to improve the productivity of the education system should not be a random exercise, but rather a deliberate, planned, continuous and managed project. The first step in this exercise should be a thorough and objective analysis of all elements of the education system and the required actions to change whatever is deemed to be in need of improvement. A second guideline is that productivity improvement should be executed in a balanced manner. The possible positive and negative consequences should be considered in the context of the relevant internal and external trends. The third guideline is that the productivity improvement exercise should be done on a continuous basis and by using uncomplicated indicators involving input and output. It is important that the information acquired from the productivity exercises should be used in the planning of and budgeting for the education system. The external and internal contextual trends should be concretely acknowledged, especially the internal contextual trend of a reciprocal nature. Another important aspect concerns a thorough analysis of the organisational management structures - the flatter, the better. Particular attention should also be given to the elements of the structure for teaching as a component of the education system in order to find places where productivity should be improved. Regarding the education support services, due consideration should be given to whether it is better to provide the services within the education system or to use qualified external services. We conclude that a focus on productivity can and should result in improving the operation of education and the education system.

Redakteursnota

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