Whynie Jeaneene ADAMS is a Research Project Manager with the national Department of Social Development (DSD) in Pretoria, South Africa. Ms. Adams’ duties include the following: initiating and managing inter – disciplinary and multi-sectoral social sciences research projects including writing project proposals and specifications; commissioning research contracts; designing, managing and monitoring research activities; evaluating research reports and advising on policy and programme implications of research findings.
Ms. Adams holds a MA – degree in Research Psychology from the University of South Africa (UNISA, 2003). She obtained her Honours degree in Research Psychology at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in 1993. In 2001 Ms. Adams was awarded a bursary to attend the SADC/Rhodes International Certificate on Environmental Education at Rhodes University. This two-month course was divided into four themes namely (1) Environmental issues and risks; (2) Responding to the environmental crisis; (3) Environmental Education Methods and Processes and (4) Curriculum development, Programme Development and Materials Development for Environmental Education Processes.
Prior to joining the Department of Social Development, Ms Adams was employed as a senior researcher in the Integrated Rural and Regional Development (IRRD) Research Programme at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). She has worked extensively on education related research projects, e.g. Environmental Education Curriculum Development (1997); Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) (1997 – 2001) and Second International Information Technology in Education Study (SITES) (2001).
Ms. Adams is an international GLOBE trainer and was the South African GLOBE co-ordinator. GLOBE is an international science and environmental education programme and involved training teachers in undertaking environmental observations and liaising between the different GLOBE participants. Part of her duties as GLOBE co-ordinator included establishing contact with and liaising with external partners in the field of environmental education. She was also responsible for organising various workshops, e.g. GLOBE teacher training workshops and has assisted with the organising of other events, e.g. the SITES workshop (2001), the HSRC’s participation at the WSSD in Johannesburg in 2002, etc.
Her research interest and work since 2001 includes rural development, focusing on the social, sustainable and environmental aspects thereof. Research topics here include the following: South African migration: Causes and Consequences; Land Tenure and HIV/AIDS and Community Based Tourism Development. She has been the author and co-author of various research reports on these and other topics.