The purpose of this study was to explore the potential connection between emotional awareness and resilience in a young child affected by HIV/AIDS. The study forms part of a broad research project, the Kgolo-Mmogo project, involving a multidisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Pretoria, South Africa and Yale University in the United States of America. The Kgolo-Mmogo project aims to investigate the adaptive functioning of children affected by HIV/AIDS, whilst potentially enhancing resilience. The project involves an assessment of the participating children, which is followed by a structured intervention and post assessment. The conceptual framework for my study was based on existing literature relating to early childhood development, emotional development, as well as children affected by HIV/AIDS and resilience. I followed a qualitative approach, anchored in the interpretivist paradigm. I utilised an instrumental case study research design and conveniently selected the participants, who were involved in the broader Kgolo- Mmogo project at the onset of my study. One five year old girl, her mother and the care workers who facilitated the intervention, participated in my study. I observed eleven intervention sessions, as well as the pre- and post assessment. In addition to observation, documented in the form of field notes, photographs and a research journal, I employed conversational interviews with the care workers, for data collection and member-checking purposes. I also conducted two semi-structured interviews with the mother of the participant. Three main themes emerged subsequent to thematic data analysis. The first theme relates to developmentally appropriate skills that remained constant throughout my study, with the sub-themes associated with the cognitive, emotional and social domain of development. The second theme concerns accelerated emotional functioning in certain areas of development, with the sub-themes being an increased frequency in referring to feelings, and an increased differentiation when referring to feelings and desires. The last theme entails the enhancement of social skills, with the sub-themes relating to the formation of trusting relationships and enhanced communication about experiences. Based on the findings I obtained, I can conclude that the Kgolo-Mmogo intervention seemingly provided some learning opportunities to foster emotional resilience in a young, vulnerable child. Copyright / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of three volunteer care workers in their role as facilitators of an intervention programme aimed at strengthening the resilience of pre-school children. The study forms part of a broad research project, the Kgolo-Mmogo project, involving a multidisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Pretoria and Yale University in the United States of America. One of the objectives of the project is to investigate the possibility of strengthening the resilience, as well as the adaptive functioning of children affected by HIV and AIDS. These children are living in poor urban communities in South Africa and their vulnerability is related to their mothers being infected with HIV. The conceptual framework for my study was based on existing theory relating to care workers, focussing on their responsibilities and experiences, and the process of facilitation. In addition I explored the concepts ‘resilience’ and ‘vulnerable children’. I followed a qualitative research approach, guided by an interpretivist epistemology. I employed an instrumental case study design and conveniently selected three volunteer care workers fulfilling the role of facilitators in the Kgolo-Mmogo project, as participants. These volunteer care workers were responsible for facilitating an intervention programme with a small group of 3 to 5-year old children. I observed five of the intervention sessions, which were presented by the participating volunteer care workers. I conducted a focus group discussion with the participants in order to explore their experiences as facilitators of the intervention programme. I furthermore conducted a follow-up focus group discussion with the purpose of member checking. In addition, I relied on a reflective journal, field notes and audio-visual methods, for data collection and documentation purposes. Four main themes emerged as a result of the thematic data analysis and interpretation that I completed. Firstly, I found that the foreseen scenario of the facilitation of an intervention programme differed from the real scenario of what such a role would entail. The role of facilitators of an intervention programme implied more than what the volunteer care workers had anticipated and implied diverse responsibilities. Secondly, from my results I concluded that the participants encountered a variety of positive experiences, including experiences of being meaningful and self-development, as well as feelings of pride, excitement and joy. Thirdly, the participants encountered some challenges in their role as facilitators of an intervention programme. They were required to deal with negative emotions, handle conflict more effectively, become more flexible, and deal with stress appropriately. The last theme that emerged relates to the participants experience of the importance of continuous support. This was offered by means of training and a structured manual, regular debriefing sessions by the volunteer care workers’ supervisor and the research coordinator, as well as support by colleagues. Based on the findings of my study, I concluded that the experiences of the volunteer care workers facilitating the intervention programme with young vulnerable children were diverse and multifaceted. As such, the role of facilitator implied multiple responsibilities, and led to the experience of a variety of benefits and challenges. In addition, my study highlights the value of continuous support in order to assist volunteer care workers to successfully facilitate intervention programmes they present. Furthermore, in dealing with the challenges they faced, the volunteer care workers in my study developed valuable skills that could be applied during future facilitation tasks, as well as in their personal lives. As such, their involvement as facilitators in the Kgolo-Mmogo project seemed to have contributed to their professional and personal development. Copyright / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

The adaptation of existing psychometric data data-collection instruments are is often utilized utilised in cross-cultural research as an alternative to the development of a new data data-collection instrument for a particular population, as the latter may not always be a viable option. However, given the relative novelty of this practice, several authors call for further research in this practicefield. The research assistants’ subjective experience in the administration of culturally tailored psychometric data data-collection instruments in a South African context was identified as a silence gap in the body of literature under review. The purpose of the study was to explore and describe the experience of research assistants during the administration of culturally tailored psychometric data data-collection instruments in order to broadly inform the practice of psychometric data data-collection instrument adaptation and cross-cultural assessment broadly. This study adhered to the meta-theoretical paradigm of Constructivism, while the methodological paradigm of qualitative research was adopted. Furthermore, a qualitative content analysis research design was employed, with document analysis of two focus focus-group discussions as a data data-collection strategy. The data was analysed by means of a theme analysis of the datea. The study found that the research assistants of the Kgolo Mmogo project experienced difficulty with regard to the language and comprehension of certain items of the culturally tailored psychometric data data-collection instruments. Their experiences also indicated the presence of culturally inappropriate questions, the presence of contradicting responses during the administration of the instruments, as well as the phenomenon of participants providing what they perceived to be the ‘correct’ response. Furthermore, the findings from this study suggested that the research assistants experienced the culturally tailored psychometric data data-collection instrument to have an informative and educational value. It seemed to informthat mothers felt informed about their children’s development, while it also served as a tool for HIV/AIDS education. Finally, the findings of this study suggested that the research assistants sometimes experienced that the assessment to placed an emotional strain on them. Their experience of emotional strain was related to difficulty with regard to role definition, as well as dealing with the often unrealistic expectations of the participants. The research assistants furthermore seemed to experience difficulty in relating to the interview-participant relationship. However, it seemed as if the research assistants’ experience of the participants’ spirituality rendered provided some relieve relief from the emotional strain they experienced during the assessments. Copyright / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted