Magister Legum - LLM / The Cape Flats is known for poverty, gangsterism, over population and a general lack of basic necessities. What is often overlooked is where this negative perception emanates from. Generational poverty is an existent issue and has been influential in shaping the Cape Flats to what it is today. What this study aims to do, is to provide a background on a possible theory for this typecast that accompanies the areas broadly known as the Cape Flats. The study will show how the Apartheid era created a ripple effect for future generations, and how this may be the cause of these vulnerable groups of children being failed by a system which have long forgotten about them. The study demonstrates how vulnerable groups on the Cape Flats, struggling and pleading for State intervention in the delivery of basic human rights, have fallen on deaf ears. The study further reveals that the State has not fulfilled its constitutional mandate, neither has it lived up to the enabling provisions contained in international instruments which has been adopted by the South African government, and confirms that all three spheres of government have lacked in the accomplishments it set out to achieve upon the adoption of various pieces of legislation, notwithstanding the proclamation of domestic laws to help the State realise its socioeconomic rights obligations. The study was a particularly challenging task to undertake, as research topics on the issue of socioeconomic rights realisation on the Cape Flats is not a well-studied subject. The intention behind the study is to make an important contribution towards awareness of the issue under discussion, paving the way for future knowledge sharing and an open dialogue focusing on the role of the State in the realisation of socioeconomic rights of children on the Cape Flats.

Existing literature indicates that education is vital to overcoming poverty, yet educational prospects for those in persistent, generational poverty (GP) are often limited. This qualitative phenomenological study centered on the emergence from GP of individuals without formal education beyond 12th grade or a high school equivalency certificate, and explored how those who have done it perceived their experiences. Rutter's resilience theory was the conceptual framework for examining this phenomenon and its challenges and processes. A sample of five adult participants from the United States were recruited using a snowball method, completed a screening survey, and then participated in in-depth interviews. The multiple case study structure provided biographical narratives for each participant that thoroughly described the phenomenon. Analysis was done via interpretive phenomenological analysis which relied on careful scrutiny of the data and a full grasp of how the phenomenon was understood and experienced by participants in their unique contexts. Results indicated many parallels among the narratives. All participants reported GP-related anxiety during childhood and/or adolescence; each recalled the positive presence of at least one influential non-family member as critical to personal growth; and all reported positivity, work ethic, and personal agency as keys to emergence from GP. This conclusion of this study indicated the need for a model for the emergence from GP of individuals without formal secondary education. The social change implications are the potential development of mentoring programs based on the participants' perceived replicability of their accomplishments and their willingness to share their experiences in order to foster self-agency and self-advocacy among children and adolescents in GP.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine educators perceptions of the effects of generational poverty and adverse childhood experiences on student learning and to understand the factors that might facilitate breaking the cycle of generational poverty and adverse childhood experiences with respect to student learning. Data collection strategies included individual interviews and document review. Analysis of data occurred in three phases: categorization of data, building the explanation in narrative form and reexamination of the data. The analysis of the data was based on Payne’s idea of generational poverty and the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences(ACE) study. The credibility of the analysis was protected by triangulation of data through multiple sources of evidence, establishment of a chain of evidence, and member checking. After interviews were conducted the following themes emerged as ways to break the cycle of generational poverty and adverse childhood experiences: tutoring/after school programs, mentors/peer buddies, educating educators, parent involvement, and accountability. The results are detailed in the study.