Thesis (MTech(Public Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2006 / One of the challenges facing the South African community is the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The epidemic not only disrupts the economy but one of its emerging impacts is through the children who are left orphaned. The challenge has come at a time when economic circumstances are making it difficult for extended families to lend a helping hand to children who are orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS. The children left behind are usually left on their own or are absorbed through care and support centres which are being becoming popular. The challenge of these care and support centres has come at a time when an increase in abuse by the personnel of care and support centres has emerged internationally. Communities can no longer turn a blind eye to the atrocities that are being experienced by the children within these centres. This challenge is double edged as communities feel isolated by the care and support centres which are based within their communities. The challenge is how communities can breach the gap between children within care and support centres and children who are left on their own. The care and support centres available for HIV/AIDS orphans in Khayelitsha are predominantly run by foreign donors, which limit community participation. This has led to the isolation of community members and care and support centre staff and the core problem of this study will address the evaluation of the care and support centres. Questions such as what happens to children's properties after their parents' death, and do they belong in care and support centres or within their communities arise. These are the areas which will be scrutinized in the study. Areas in which this thesis will attempt to provide insights and make concrete recommendations. Simultaneously with the extensive exploration of care and support centres available for HIV/AIDS orphans theories include the : • Available care and support centres • Community participation within care and support centres • The concept of "ubuntu' in relation to family existence It is hoped that the focus on the care and support centres available for HIV/AIDS orphans will make some contribution to effective care and support centres in this areas, thereby increasing community participation which in turn will revive the concept of ubuntu within communities. Finally, recommendations such as the direct involvement of community members is required to attain which services the care and support centres can offer to the community and how the community play an active role within care and support centres will be offered in this thesis, as informed by the survey results, to effectively manage care and support centres for HIV/AIDS orphans in Khayelitsha.

M. Tech. Entrepreneurship / The purpose of this study was to assess the structures, systems and processes employed by departments, colleges and divisions in open distance learning (ODL) institutions used for the management of student enquiries on a day-to-day basis. The study also aims to provide ODL institutions with recommendations that will improve their management of student enquiries and service delivery.

Kinship care is increasingly supplementing the more traditional forms of out-of-home care. Because related foster care has potential great value, the possibility of placement with relatives needs to be explored first. At its best it provides the child love and security with known people and possibly in a familiar environment. Yet, important as it is, this area of practice is seriously underdeveloped - few publications especially in South Africa exist on how children fare in this arrangement. This situation exists in spite of the fact that many children find themselves in both legal as well as privately arranged related foster care placements. Equally of course no comprehensive study has been undertaken to study the black family's perception of formal foster care and their adjustment to formal foster care practice which for many is a new encounter in their lives. More clarity on these issues pertaining to kinship care will not only improve our understanding but can lead to a better service. Socio-political influences have weakened the mutual aid system in African families. This has resulted in needs· and problems which the African family find it difficult to deal with. This has prompted families to make use of non-family support particularly services from specialized and other welfare agencies. Formal foster care is a foreign practice to the black community as a result of their tradition and custom. It offers a new method of coping with child care problems and indicates a shift from the conventional patterns among South African blacks. As a result there is often confusion and a lack of understanding, making the community not to make proper use of this service. This study is exploratory-descriptive. The sample comprised thirty foster parents. The main objective of this study was to investigate the nature and practice of formal foster care in the black community with specific emphasis on related foster care and its perception. The study has raised a number of issues for practice and policy consideration. Notable findings were: the need to (1) promote much more active involvement of foster parents, foster child and their families (2) educate the community about foster care (3) prepare, train, support and supervise foster parents. The study revealed that these placements have become indistinguishable from natural parenthood and the foster children have become absorbed into the foster family. A need exists for permanency planning in foster care. It is hoped that the research findings will contribute to the existing body of knowledge and that more studies will be undertaken in future.

Thesis (DPhil (Social Work))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / The study aimed to explore and describe the experiences, perceptions and needs of unmarried adolescent fathers and to assess the attitudes and attentiveness of selected social workers and organisations that provide services to adolescent parents. In view of the position in which teenage fathers find themselves and with regard to stereotyping and the disregard for their role as fathers, no concerted attempt is made by organisations to provide services to them. They are marginalized and despite changes in legislation and a Bill of Human Rights their needs are not attended to. A mixed research methodology was employed in conducting this exploratorydescriptive study. The study was advertised in the waiting rooms of relevant organisations, in consultation with pregnancy help centres, social work agencies and youth services. Those who responded were interviewed according to inclusion criteria for the study and those who did not qualify were referred to appropriate services. Confidentiality was assured and consent to participate in the study was discussed. A non-random sample of 32 participants was identified, ranging from 13 to 19 years were located of who 15 agreed to participate. Further attrition resulted in the sample being reduced to 12. Interview schedules were used to facilitate the discussion and to ensure that all participants were asked the same questions. The second part of the study explored the attitude and attentiveness of services to adolescent parents. All organisations providing such services were invited and seven eventually agreed to participate. Of these, four indicated that they were participating in their personal capacity. Interviews were guided by an interview schedule which aimed to explored attitude, attentiveness and capacity to provide services to unmarried teenage fathers. The findings of the study revealed that teenage fathers want to be involved with their children, but social stereotyping, unrealistic expectations of partners and family, and social discrimination militate against them. However, the support of family and the natal partner and her family, are factors that determine continued involvement. Services were perceived and experienced as negative and dismissive of their role as fathers.

Thesis (M Social Work)--Stellenbosch University, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This research investigates the social support networks of single mothers. The basic premise underlying this research is the importance of social workers' understanding of the social support networks of single mothers. It is necessary for social workers to identify the social support systems that exist in a social support network, and to select those systems which would be relevant to the needs of the single mother. The aim of this study is to present guidelines for social workers to empower single mothers to utilise social support networks to fulfil their roles as parents. The research report includes identifying personal information, issues faced by singleparent families, the nature of single-parenthood, emotional and functional changes experienced since becoming a single mother and the social support networks of single mothers. Knowledge of these indicators will increase the awareness of social workers of the needs of single mothers. The research report includes identifying personal information, issues faced by singleparent families, the nature of single-parenthood, emotional and functional changes experienced since becoming a single mother and the social support networks of single mothers. Knowledge of these indicators will increase the awareness of social workers of the needs of single mothers.The research report includes identifying personal information, issues faced by singleparent families, the nature of single-parenthood, emotional and functional changes experienced since becoming a single mother and the social support networks of single mothers. Knowledge of these indicators will increase the awareness of social workers of the needs of single mothers. The research report includes identifying personal information, issues faced by singleparent families, the nature of single-parenthood, emotional and functional changes experienced since becoming a single mother and the social support networks of single mothers. Knowledge of these indicators will increase the awareness of social workers of the needs of single mothers. The empirical research involved the use of both qualitative and quantitative methods in order to explore the theoretical part of the research. This section was divided into two phases. The first phase was devoted to acquiring a sufficient understanding of the nature of what single-parenthood with an emphasis on single mothers, and also to get a better understanding of the single mothers' existing social support network. The second phase included conducting interviews with the single mothers (N=10) with the help of a questionnaire. The findings and responses of the respondents were analyzed and compared with the findings from previous studies undertaken by various authors. The findings of this research can be used as guidelines for social workers who need to assist a single mother with a need or problem, and more specifically can help the single mother to utilize her social support network. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie navorsing ondersoek die maatskaplike ondersteuningsnetwerke van enkel moeders. Die uitgangspunt van die navorsing is dat dit belangrik is dat maatskaplike werkers begrip sal hê vir die maatskaplike ondersteuningsnetwerke van enkelmoeders. Dis belangrik dat maatskaplike werkers die maatskaplike ondersteunings sisteme wat in die maatskaplike ondersteuningsnetwerk bestaan sal identifiseer, en om dan die sisteme wat relevant is tot die behoeftes van die enkelmoeder te selekteer. Die doel van die studie is om riglyne daar te stel vir maatskaplike werkers om enkelmoeders te bemagtig om maatskaplike ondersteuningsnetwerke te gebruik om hul rol as ouers te vervul. Die navorsings verslag sluit die volgende in: identifiserende persoonlike inligting, probleme wat enkelouer gesinne kan ondervind, die aard van enkelmoederskap, emosionele en funsionele veranderinge ondervind sedert enkelmoederskap en die maatskaplike ondersteuningsnetwerke van enkelmoeders in, Kennis van hierdie indikatore sal maatskaplike werkers se bewustheid van die behoeftes van enkel moeders verhoog. Vir die empiriese navorsing is kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe metodes gebruik om die teoretiese aspekte van die navorsing te ondersoek. Hierdie afdeling is in twee fases verdeel. Die eerste fase is uitgevoer om genoegsame begrip te verkry van die aard van enkelouerskap met die klem op enkelmoeders, asook om 'n beter begrip te kry van die enkelmoeder se bestaande maatskaplike ondersteuningsnetwerk. Die tweede fase behels die voer van onderhoude met enkelmoeders (N=10) met behulp van 'n vraelys, in Guguletu. Resultate en respondense is ontleed en vergelyk met die bevindinge van vorige studies wat deur verskillende navorsers onderneem is. Die bevindinge van die navorsing kan deur maatskaplike werkers gebruik word as riglyne om enkelmoeders wat behoeftes of probleme ondervind by te staan, en die enkel moeder meer spesifiek kan help om haar maatskaplike ondersteuningsnetwerk te gebruik.

Thesis (MEdPsych)--Stellenbosch University, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This research journey explores the lived experiences of children who had previously been living on the street and were now part of a house being managed by two voluntary organisations. The caregivers and boys are incorporated as co-researchers in a participatory action research journey within a post-modern, social constructivist paradigm. The following research curiosities inform the study: • How do the caregivers and children in the house stand up to homelessness and poverty? • How do their stories reflect the notion of doing hope? Positioning myself within the research journey necessitates the discussion of beliefs and constructs that inform the paradigm, such as post-modernism, social constructionism, discourses and the deconstruction of discourses. According to Denzin and Lincoln (1994:14), the research strategy comprises the practical application of the assumptions underlying the paradigm through the use of certain skills, and can be regarded as the paradigm in action which provides the methods for the researcher to engage in the research journey. In this study, a qualitative method is used to describe and understand human behaviour and the meaning attached to it in the participant's own terms. The coresearchers participate during all the aspects of the research journey, and the cyclical nature of participatory action research described by Babbie and Mouton (2001:315- 316) is honoured. The narrative approach is used in conducting the conversations. According to White (1991:28), it is a non-recriminatory, power-sharing way of interaction that provides a context where the consciousness and knowledges of the person are at the centre of the process of consultation. An opportunity is created for the boys and caregivers to story their experiences and to explore the meanings that they attach to these experiences. The main ethical principles that operate are autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence and validity. Tape-recordings, transcriptions, reflections and letters are used to document the research journey. Homelessness and poverty had been dictating certain behaviours to the boys, and it was even dictating their lived identities. At the time of the research journey, the caregivers are creating a community of support that is effectively doing hope for the boys, thus enabling them to loosen the grip of poverty and homelessness. Personal reflections indicate that I as researcher am not unaffected by the research journey. Although obstacles present themselves during the research journey, new possibilities are opened up for further exploration. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie navorsingsreis ondersoek die ervarings van kinders wat voorheen op straat gewoon het en wie nou in 'n huis woon wat deur twee vrywillige organisasies bestuur word. Die versorgers en seuns word betrek as medenavorsers in 'n deelnemende aksienavorsingsreis binne die raamwerk van 'n postmodernistiese, sosiaal konstruktivistiese paradigma. Die studie word toegelig deur die volgende navorsings-ondersoeke: • Hoe weerstaan die versorgers en kinders in die huis die impak van woningloosheid en armoede? • Hoe reflekteer die stories wat hulle vertel die idee van 'hoop doen'? Ten einde myself binne die navorsingsreis te posisioneer noodsaak 'n bespreking van die oortuigings en samestellings onderliggend aan die paradigma, soos postmodernisme, sosiaal konstruktivisme, diskoerse en die dekonstruksie van diskoerse. Volgens Denzen en Lincoln (1994:14) behels die navorsingsstrategie die praktiese uitvoering van die opvattings onderliggend aan die paradigma deur die toepassing van sekere vaardighede. Die navorsingsstrategie kan beskou word as die paradigma in aksie deurdat dit die metodes vir die navorser verskaf om betrokke te raak by die navorsingsreis. 'n Kwalitatiewe metode word tydens hierdie studie gebruik om menslike gedrag te beskryf en te verstaan en om vas te stel watter betekenis die deelnemers self aan hulle belewenisse heg. Die medenavorsers neem deel aan alle aspekte van die navorsingsreis en die sikliese aard van deelnemende aksienavorsing soos beskryf deur Babbie en Mouton (2001:315-316) word gerespekteer. 'n Narratiewe benadering word tydens die gesprekke gebruik. Volgens White (1991:28) is die narratiewe benadering nie-blamerend en is daar 'n gelyke verdeling van mag. 'n Konteks word geskep waar die bewustelikhede en kennisse van die persoon sentraal geplaas word in die konsultasieproses. 'n Geleentheid word geskep vir die seuns en versorgers om hulle ervarings te vertel en om die betekenisse wat hulle aan die ervarings heg te eksploreer. Hoofsaaklik word outonomie, niekwaadwilligheid, goedgesindheid en geldigheid as etiese beginsels gerespekteer. Bandopnames, transkriberings, refleksies en briewe word gebruik om die navorsingsreis te dokumenteer. Woningloosheid en armoede het vantevore die gedrag van die seuns, sowel as die identiteite wat hulle uitgeleef het, voorgeskryf. Ten tye van die navorsingsreis is die versorgers besig om 'n gemeenskap van ondersteuning te skep wat effektief hoop doen vir die seuns en wat hulle in staat stel om die greep van woningloosheid en armoede te verbreek. Persoonlike refleksies dui aan dat ek as navorser nie onaangeraak gelaat word deur die navorsingsreis nie. Struikelblokke verskyn tydens die navorsingsreis, maar nuwe moontlikhede baan die weg vir verdere eksplorasie.

<p>Rape Crisis Cape Town Trust is an organisation that trains and supervises a team of women counsellors who provide a counselling service to women rape survivors. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of the counsellors and the counselling co-ordinator regarding their perceptions on whether the training provided by the personal growth and counselling skills course is adequate in dealing with rape and its complexities.</p>

<p>Rape Crisis Cape Town Trust is an organisation that trains and supervises a team of women counsellors who provide a counselling service to women rape survivors. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of the counsellors and the counselling co-ordinator regarding their perceptions on whether the training provided by the personal growth and counselling skills course is adequate in dealing with rape and its complexities.</p>

M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

This quantitative study was aimed at determining the value of the psychosocial services rendered by the staff members of the Godisanang OVC programme to OVC in Rustenburg in order to make recommendations on how these services could be improved. Fifteen caregivers, who were employed by the Godisanang OVC programme, were interviewed in October 2013. Data was presented in the form of statistics, tables and numbers. This study revealed that the psychosocial services that are rendered by the Godisanang OVC programme to OVC are of value. Therefore, it is recommended that the psychosocial services be extended to other regions of Rustenburg. / Health Studies / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)