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Degree

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, Cross-Cultural, International Education, 2008.

Abstract

A recent South African study estimated that nationwide, 20,000 teachers in primary and secondary schools leave the profession each year (Samodien, 2008). It is important to ascertain what factors contribute to teacher job satisfaction, in order to promote quality education in South African schools (Mwamwenda, 1995; Steyn and van Wyk, 1999) and end the teacher retention crisis. Psychological sense of community (PSOC) might contribute to job satisfaction for teachers in under-resourced schools in South Africa. Before the effects of PSOC on job satisfaction can be studied, teacher communities must first be studied to verify that PSOC exists in the South African context. Building on the literature about PSOC, teacher community, and urban Black South African schools, this thesis examines Xhosa teachers PSOC in Langa, South Africa, in the context of the indigenous African philosophy of ubuntu. Applying qualitative methodology in the form of interviews and observations, this study explains how two male and three female teachers at Sandile Primary School (a pseudonym) conceptualize their community, as well as how they incorporate ubuntu philosophy into their work lives. Utilizing McMillan and Chavis’s (1986) theory of PSOC as a framework for analysis, this study examines the ways in which the participants construct and sustain their teacher community. This study concludes that a strong PSOC does exist among the teachers at Sandile. Additionally, the 5 participants feel very strongly about the relevance of ubuntu philosophy to their roles as educators, as they practice it in their everyday work lives. This thesis provides a foundation for future studies on the potential effects of PSOC on job satisfaction.

Subject Headings

African history; Education; Educational psychology; Personal relationships; Psychology; Teaching

Keywords

Xhosa; teacher community; psychological sense of community; South Africa; Langa; ubuntu; PSOC; township; qualitative methodology

Committee / Advisors

Dr. Patricia Kubow, PhD (Committee Chair)
Dr. Mark Earley, PhD (Committee Member)
Dr. Catherine Stein, PhD (Committee Member)

Pages

128p.

Document number: bgsu1225405676
Permalink: http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1225405676

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