Hannes Van der Walt

Bio: Hannes Van der Walt is an academic researcher from North-West University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Educational leadership & Organization development. The author has an hindex of 6, co-authored 15 publications receiving 138 citations.

Health, well-being and wellness: An anthropological eco-systemic approach

Abstract: More than two decades ago, Fritjof Capra commended - and indeed advocated – a paradigm shift in health science and care. In his book The Turning Point (1982) he talks of a major shift from the preoccupation with micro-organisms to a careful study of the ‘host organism and its environment’, of ‘significant attempts to develop a unified approach to the mind/body system’ in Western medicine, of ‘a new holistic paradigm’ (as opposed to ‘the old biomedical paradigm’) regarding the problem of health and healing, of ‘a holistic and humanistic approach to primary care’, and of ‘a holistic therapy’ as opposed to ‘the traditional biochemical practice of associating a physical disease with a specific physical cause’. Our concern in this article is with the paradigm shift advocated by Capra in this book and the progress that has since been made. Opsomming Meer as twee dekades gelede het Fritjof Capra ‘n pleidooi gelewer vir ‘n paradigmaskuif vanaf die bio- mediese model na ‘n meer holistiese, ekosistemiese model van gesondheid en genesing. Die vraag wat in hierdie artikel aan die orde kom is of praktisyns in die veld van die gesondheidswetenskappe sedertdien daarin geslaag het om die oorgang na die aanbevole paradigma te maak. ‘n Oorsig van die literatuur sedert 1982 toon dat die skuif nog nie regtig gemaak is nie. ‘n Ander literatuuroorsig toon voorts dat die terme ‘gesondheid’, ‘well-being’ en ‘wellness’ as uitruilbaar beskou word en dat hulle betekenisse meermale afhang van die gebruikskonteks. Op grond van hulle bespreking van die antropologiese ekosistemiese benadering tot gesondheid en genesing stel die outeurs voor dat die terme ‘gesondheid’ en ‘wellness’ as korrelatiewe gebruik word, en dat die term ‘well-being’ gebruik word vir al die domeine van menslike lewe en bestaan wat kan bydra tot gesondheid, oftewel ‘wellness’.

What inspires South African student teachers for their future profession

Abstract: The need for an inspired professional teacher corps to haul South African school education out of its current low level of quality was the driving force behind this project. Its aim was to determine what counted as sources of inspiration for student teachers and hence for future teachers. Based on a conceptual-theoretical study, a questionnaire that could probe student teachers’ sources of inspiration was completed by a sample of student teachers (n = 1,683). A factor analysis of their responses revealed the following as their sources of inspiration, from most to least important: extended) family, religion, the teacher education institution, teaching practice, friends, and personal life. A comparison with similar research elsewhere revealed that, in this sample of respondents, considerations, such as education being the only accessible profession or being forced to enter the teaching profession because of economic circumstances, did not figure at all.

A strategy to support educational leaders in developing countries to manage contextual challenges

Abstract: The central theoretical argument of this paper is that educational leadership and organisational development and change in educational institutions in developing countries will not be effective unless school leaders are aware of the challenges posed by contextual factors that might have an impact on their professional activities. The article contributes to the discourse on educational leadership in developing countries by explicating three such sets of contextual forces that educational leadership ought to take into account: (1) the contours of the education system in which school leadership, organisational change and development occur; (2) societal and (3) international contexts. These forces are viewed through Cultural Historical Activity Theory as theoretical lens, and then illustrated with findings from an empirical study in a developing country. The article concludes with a strategic plan for exercising school leadership that takes contextual conditions into account. Keywords: developing countries; educational context; educational leadership; organisational development and change; societal context

Citizenship education in the Netherlands and South Africa: A comparative study

Abstract: Citizenship education in the Netherlands and South Africa: A comparative study In modern societies, citizens form part of a context that is constantly and rapidly changing. Some of the issues with which one is confronted typically become manifest in the local and national surroundings of citizens, but increasingly such issues are also encountered on a transand international scale. It follows that citizens have to learn (how) to cope with such issues in all of these dimensions, though particularly in respect of their personal surroundings.

A generic model of "the" education system for the purpose of making critical comparison and policy

Abstract: The education system per se, despite its central position in the field of study proclaimed by the scholarly community of Comparative and International Education, has never taken a central stage/role in Comparative and International Education scholarly enquiry. Through the various stages of its history, Comparative and International Education research has either focused on the societal-contextual forces (geography, demography, social system, economy, political system, religio-philosophical viewpoints) shaping education or on the societal outcomes/effects of education, to such an extent that the education system has always remained the blind spot in the centre of the field. A model explaining the structure of the education system which shows the components of “the” education system and their interrelationships has resultantly not been developed. This article attempts to address this shortcoming by discussing and outlining the structure of the education system on the basis of recent epistemological developments. Four components of the education system, along with their elements, are identified: education system policy, organisation and administration, structure for teaching, and support services. Key words: Comparative Education; education; education system; post-modernism. --- Obrazovni sustav per se, usprkos svojoj sredisnjoj ulozi za koju se zauzimaju strucnjaci unutar Komparativne i međunarodne edukacije nikada nije bio u žaristu znanstvenih istraživanja u spomenutom podrucju. Istraživanja unutar Komparativne i međunarodne edukacije do sada su, u razlicitim razdobljima svoje povijesti, bila usredotocena ili na drustveno-kontekstne snage (geografiju, demografiju, drustveni sustav, ekonomiju, politicki sustav, religijsko-filozofski svjetonazor) koje oblikuju obrazovanje ili na ishode/ucinke obrazovanja na drustvo do te mjere da je obrazovni sustav uvijek ostajao nejasan u odnosu na glavni dio toga podrucja. Stoga jos uvijek nije razvijen model koji bi objasnio strukturu obrazovnog sustava prikazujuci komponente ,,obrazovnog sustava“ i njihove međusobne odnose. U ovom se radu nastoji istaknuti taj nedostatak putem rasprave i prikaza strukture obrazovnog sustava na temelju novijih epistemoloskih razvojnih ideja. Identificirane su cetiri komponente obrazovnog sustava, kao i njihovi elementi, a to su: politika obrazovnog sustava, organizacija i administracija, struktura potrebna za nastavu i službe podrske. Kljucne rijeci: komparativna edukacija; obrazovanje; obrazovni sustav; postmodernizam