published_or_final_version / Dentistry / Master / Master of Dental Surgery

published_or_final_version / Dentistry / Master / Master of Dental Surgery

published_or_final_version / Dentistry / Master / Master of Dental Surgery

published_or_final_version / abstract / Dentistry / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Dentistry / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Legislation in South Africa pertaining to the care and protection of children is presently being revised and changed. Should alternative care be necessary for a vulnerable child, the Children's Act 38/2005 prioritises a foster care placement over a child and youth care centre of which a Children's Home is a part. Given the steady decline in traditional family living due to, amongst other things HIV/AIDS, poverty and unemployment in South Africa, the dominant view of family care being prioritised may not always be feasible in reality. The study researched this view by hearing the voices of children and their caregivers, in both foster care and in Children's Homes by conducting a qualitative study based on the exploratory and descriptive designs A purposive sampling strategy was used as there were clear criteria for the selection of participants. There were two sample groups. One consisted of child participants and the other consisted of caregivers viz. foster parents and child-care workers. Caregivers were included for the purposes of enhancing reliability, validity and trustworthiness of the study. Data was collected by means of semi-structured in depth interviews with the child participants. Two focus groups were held with the caregivers; one with the foster parents and the other with the child-care workers. Both the in depth interviews as well as the focus group discussions were guided by similar themes that were linked to the main objectives of the study. The findings revealed that children's voices were largely absent in decisions pertaining to their well being; that they preferred to live with families of origin as opposed to alternative care and should they be placed in alternative care, foster care was preferred to Children's Homes. The findings further emphasized the need for infrastructural support such as family preservation programmes, financial and social work support for all poverty stricken families and strengthened human resources for Children's Homes. Recommendations therefore centred around ways in which to capacitate families of origin; ways of including children in decision making and the necessary infrastructural support to ensure optimum care for vulnerable children. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2007

Paper 1 - Integrated Working and the Personal Education Plan: An Exploration of the Transition into Care for Young People in Key Stage 4: The Social Care and Education systems have undergone major reform in recent years, papers such as the Every Child Matters (DfES, 2003) and The Children’s Plan (DCSF, 2007) have acted as political drivers for the identification of children in care as an vulnerable group within education. In addition, the need for effective integrated working has been identified as a key area of development in terms of professional practice. The Personal Education Plan has been identified as a vehicle for raising attainment and promoting integrated working, however, the process of engaging in the Personal Education Plan has remained relatively unexplored. This study reports a qualitative exploration of integrated working in the support of young people entering care in Key Stage 4. The study specifically explored transition, integrated working and the application of psychology within this process. Data was collected using focus groups and interviews to elicit the views of the professionals who engage in supporting young people entering care. Data was analysed using Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The findings of the study identify the successive nature of changes experienced by the young person entering care as potentially detrimental to him/her and the supporting professionals. Findings from the study suggest that professionals supporting young people in care experience ambivalence regarding the usefulness of the PEP Personal Education Plan. The competent management of change, acknowledgement of psychosocial implications and effective group working were identified as areas of development for young people entering care and for the professionals supporting them. In addition, the study found that the knowledge and experience of Educational Psychologists’ is an under utilised but potentially valuable resource. Paper 2 - Inclusive Education and the Personal Education Plan: An Exploration of the Support for Young People Entering Care in Key Stage 4 Abstract The education system has undergone major reform in recent years, papers such as the Every Child Matters (DfES, 2003) and The Children’s Plan (DCSF, 2007) have instigated a re-evaluation of the process and context of the education system. One of the major implications of this reform has been the need to identify any groups within the population who underachieve educationally with the intention of providing additional support. The role of designated teacher and use of the Personal Education Plan has been established within school settings, however, the process of supporting young people entering care within college settings has remained relatively unexplored. This study reports a qualitative exploration of core subject teachers in the support of young people entering care in Key Stage 4. The study specifically explored professional engagement in the Personal Education Plan, classroom practice and support of young people entering care. Data was collected using focus groups to elicit the views of the professionals who teach young people entering care. Data was analysed using Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The findings of the study suggest that teaching staff identify individual need in response to conflict (in the form of response to presenting behaviour within school). The nature of additional need identified within the study was predominantly psychosocial. Additional support is therefore reactive. The dichotomy between inclusive legislation and practice is explored Teachers identified the need for a proactive response to supporting young people in care as an area for development at both the individual and systemic level. Future considerations for the application of psychology and research are identified.

Paper 1: This study focused on personal education plans for children in care and the related research around individual education plans. Children in care have been identified by the government and local authorities as a vulnerable group, at risk of failing to fully access education (DCSF, 2010). This paper examines the role of the educational psychologist in supporting children in care. There are three aims; 1. to explore the current role and work of educational psychologists in supporting children in care across local authorities, and within one local authority, 2. to generate, a more in-depth understanding of educational psychologists’ practice regarding children in care. 3. to use the analysis to formulate a framework that will inform an intervention to enhance the personal education plan process. Mixed methods were used to investigate the current role and view of educational psychologists and those involved in the personal education plan (PEP) process. The methods included online surveys, hardcopy questionnaires and semi structured interviews, which produced both qualitative and quantitative data. The findings of this research suggest that EPs most often work with Children in Care in school, and this seems to involve consultations, planning and reviewing meetings at a multiagency level. This study reports that EPs are not often involved in the PEP process but that most EPs have an understanding of the purpose of PEPs. A summary of the distinct contribution EPs believe they have to offer children in care has been presented, and the findings could provide EPs with improved role clarity in the future. A number of themes were also identified that would support the PEP process and a framework has been created that has the potential to enhance the process. Paper 2 - Collaborative Consultation: Background: Children in care (CiC) have consistently underperformed educationally, compared to other children. Personal Education Plans (PEP) were introduced to address this issue. This study aims to implement a PEP intervention (based on a framework from Paper 1) to enhance the educational experience of the child and explore the distinct contribution of the educational psychologist (EP). Method: Action Research was used to structure an intervention and gather the pre and post evaluation data in four case studies. The intervention consisted of an assessment of the child; there were three collaborative consultations with those involved in the PEP and attending the PEP meeting. Data collected include child assessments, notes from consultations, pre and post questionnaires and post semi-structured interviews with the professional. Results: The findings suggest the intervention had a positive impact on the PEP process and how those completing the PEP felt about the process. Changes to the child’s independent functioning could not be attributed to the intervention. The analysis developed and supports the finding in the framework from Paper 1. Conclusion: The revised framework offers a guideline to produce a consistent PEP process across all Local Authorities. Recommendations about the use of assessment and introducing psychological theories through consultation prior to the PEP are provided.

The problem of this study was to specify personality changes of children during their first five months of residence in an institutional home and school, as measured by the California Test of Personality.

This study investigates (1) whether infants cared for by a single caregiver exhibit more attachment behaviors than do infants cared for by multiple caregivers and (2) whether sex differences are found in these behaviors. Twenty-six Black infants, nine to twenty-three months of age, in a day-care center, were observed during one brief low-stress separation from a caregiver. Data were taken using six indices of attachment: maintaining proximity, visual regard, touching, protesting, seeking proximity, and greeting. Where subjected to a two-way analysis of variance, the obtained results showed no significant differences in the effects of the two types of care. However, visual regard and greeting behaviors were observed significantly more frequently in females than in males.