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Researchers facilitated a participatory action learning action research process with second year Social Sciences students at a University in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. This paper focusses on the facilitation of a participatory action learning action research process and the contribution of this to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning of the researchers. A social constructivist theoretical framework was employed. The significance of this research is that it adds to the understanding and implementation of participatory action learning action research, the evolving perception of participation as well as ownership within a participatory action learning action research process within the relatively less studied context of sub-Saharan African and South Africa more specifically. This paper demonstrates how utilising participatory action learning action research contributed to the researchers own "lifelong learning", particularly with regard to scholarship and collaborations in the process of knowledge production. The researchers' critical reflections and learning throughout this process could be of assistance to other researchers who are interested in embarking upon similar participatory research projects in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the experiences of adolescents in foster care placement with specific reference to participatory decision making in an indigenous African cultural context in South Africa. The emphasis is on the voices of foster adolescents in an indigenous African cultural context and their experiences of inequality when communicating and expressing opinions. The theoretical framework adopted was Interactional Communication Theory in which individuals interact through the use of symbols to co-create and interpret meaning. This theory incorporates some elements of systems theory with the emphasis on the interrelatedness quality as integral to the communication processes. A qualitative exploratory research study was done with 29 adolescents in foster care. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 adolescent participants and as well as enriching the data with two focus groups consisting of eight adolescents in each group. Findings indicate a lack of openness of the foster care system in terms of the communication approach, international covenants and legislation that was used. The approach used was not based on interactional practices and perpetuated inequalities amongst adolescents. Also, the socio-cultural context of the foster family played a major inhibiting and determining role for adolescents regarding the level of free and open communication in their placement pertaining to decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]