Tidigare forskning gällande barn som förlorat en förälder genom dödsfall pekar på att det finns tydliga tendenser att fokus ofta läggs på den kvarvarande föräldern och att barnet många gånger kommer i skymundan eller glöms bort. Syftet med studien är att undersöka professionellas uppfattningar och yrkeserfarenheter om barns behov av stödinsatser då en förälder avlidit. Studiens teoretiska ansatser är; det salutogena perspektivet, ”den nya barndomssociologin” samt den konstruktivistiska struktureringsteorin. Metoden fenomenografi har använts för att fånga professionellas uppfattningar och materialet har samlats in genom sju semistrukturerade intervjuer. Resultatet och slutsatserna visar att professionella utgår från någon form av modell i sitt arbete och modellen vägleder den professionelle i hur barnet kan få information, råd och stöd. Barnets behov av stöd är oftast att finna nya strategier, för att hantera sin vardag och för att skapa en identitet utan ena föräldern. Olika stödinsatser kan hjälpa barnet att avdramatisera och normalisera sina känslor då en förälder avlidit. Ambitionen för de professionella är att lyssna till det enskilda barnet och dennes familjesituation. Detta eftersom barn inte är en homogen grupp och för att på bästa sätt tillmötesgå det behov av stöd det enskilda barnet har. Det viktigaste är att barnet inte upplever att denne även förlorar närvaron och omsorgen från den kvarvarande föräldern genom förälderns egen sorgebearbetning. / Previous research of children with parental loss shows visible tendencies that focus is on remaining parent and that the child easily tends to fall in shadow or becomes forgotten. The study aims to investigate professional´s views and experiences of children´s needs for support when losing a parent. The theoretical views of the study are; the perspective of salutogenic, ”the new sociology of childhood” and the theory of structuration in a constructive perspective. The study was performed with a phenomenographic methodological approach to capture professional´s views and experiences and the material consists of seven semi-structured interviews. The result and conclusions shows that professionals proceed from some kind of model in their work and the model then guide the professionals in giving information, support and advice to the child. The child´s needs of support is mainly to find new strategies to deal with everyday life and the creation of identity when losing a parent. Different inputs of supports can help the child to defuse and normalise their expression of emotions in losing a parent. The ambition of the professionals is to listen to the child in order to meet each individual child and his/hers family situation, since children are not an homogenous group, their needs also vary. Most important is that the child doesn´t feel that he/she also is losing the remaining parent´s attendance and caring for him/her, through the parent´s own grieving process.

The purpose of the study was to investigate individual professional development needs of teachers with the aim of developing guidelines that may assist foundation phase teachers to do individual needs analysis effectively. The main research question was: Which strategies can be used to conduct individual needs analysis effectively among the foundation phase teachers in order to improve their effectiveness? The researcher was guided by the interpretive paradigm which implies that participant’s interpretations, perceptions, meanings and understandings were regarded as primary sources. The qualitative research design was used to obtain participants’ primary data. Interviews and observations were used to collect data and to maximise trustworthiness of the findings. Purposive sampling was used to select key informants who were going to provide rich information to help achieve the objectives of the study. The researcher selected the sample of 10 foundation phase teachers, 5 principals and 5 Development Support Groups attached to primary schools under Imfolozi Circuit. Data analysis was done throughout data collection through open, axial and selective coding. The hierarchical category system illustrated in schematic representation representing the main theme and subthemes was used. The findings suggest that there is a serious gap regarding how individual professional development needs and provision of professional development are concerned. The focus was more on training teachers about the new curriculum leaving behind the individual needs of each teacher. The study identified some inconsistencies and lack of uniformity in the way needs analysis was currently done in schools. The major recommendation of this study is that needs analysis should be integrated within all school activities instead of once a year. There is a need for close monitoring of teacher development in order to improve the current learner performance in schools. The researcher believes the study will assist in understanding, informing and improving teaching practice. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)