2011-NMMU-Research-Report - Research Management - Nelson ...

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NMMU Research and Innovation Report 2011 - Research Entities
National Identities
Dr Wendy Isaacs-Martin Ms Tobeka Mapasa
Dr Wendy Isaacs-Martin focuses on religious and gender studies,
as well as nationalism and national identity. Nationalism has many
types, as well as national identity research.
Among the issues she is exploring is
whether belief systems can be modified.
The fundamental question she is trying to answer is: “How does
one build a strong national identity?’’. She is undertaking empirical
work on national identity. Among the issues she is exploring is
whether belief systems can be modified.
Her main achievements in the period under review included research
on gender and xenophobia. This resulted in her publishing an article
in an accredited journal. She has a mentor in the USA, and also
works closely with Dr Petrus. Internationally, she collaborates with Dr
Mamphela (Vasser University) in New York, USA.
The fundamental question she is trying to
answer is: “How does one build a strong
national identity?’’.
In future she will be working on a three-year project in the Eastern
Cape, looking closely at the demographics of the Xhosa and Coloured
populations in Port Elizabeth and Graaff-Reinet - more specifically
fathoming how these groups internalise their national identity.
“Who do people perceive themselves as in these areas?” will be
central in what she is investigating.
Professional Development
Ms Tobeka Mapasa is a Lecturer in the School for Initial Teacher
Education responsible for the training of pre-service teachers. She
is a practitioner-researcher studying in the main how her teaching
practice can be improved. Ms Mapasa values excellence in her
practice as well as in the practices of her students. This value,
amongst others, is what motivated her to investigate how she can
improve her practice to align it with her educational values in order
to be in a position to provide an authentic and meaningful learning
experience for the students under her research supervision.
Ms Mapasa values excellence in her
practice as well as in the practices of
her students.
Action research is a field that fascinates her, and this is what she
would like to continue doing. She has benefitted from workshops
conducted on how to analyse data, the reduced workload, and the
financial assistance received from the University.
Her quest is recognition as an academic and she has realised that
achieving a doctorate is one of the stepping stones. Ms Mapasa
intends to work towards improving her position as an academic
by supervising more students at postgraduate level, presenting
at conferences, nationally and internationally, and publishing in
accredited journals.