Street children are present in every metropolitan city around the world. Their
presence has provoked varied responses from academics, the media and others. However, despite the
proliferation of responses, current solutions are not always commensurate with the resources
expended in this area. Are current responses
a part of the problem or a part of the solution? Following the precedence established by other
researchers and calls for greater reflexivity, this study attempts to provide a critical analysis
of selected South African writings on and about street children. Particular focus is accorded to
how selected academic and popular writings construct street children. The specific aim is to
facilitate an examination of the underlying discourses that inform South African writings on street
children. The role that academic and popular writings fulfil in selectively maintaining the status
quo over which their authors sometimes voice disapproval is also examined. Wherever possible the
origins of such discourses and the powers that maintain them are referred to. The extent to which
the discourses evident in writings on South African street children converge with the dominant
discourses present in developmental psychology as a whole are reviewed.
The complimentary techniques of transformative inquiry and discourse analysis are at the heart of
the methodology in this study. As an analytical tool discourse analysis is used to deepen current
understanding of perceptions of street children. Discourse analysis helps to chart the underlying
discourses drawn on in texts and shows how writings have influenced, intentionally or otherwise,
the perceptions of subjects of research. Transformative enquiry as a significant ยท
complimentary, albeit implicit, feature of discourse analysis enables a reflection on the research
process itself.
Four main discourses are discussed, each of which is centred around several sub-discourses. The
first discourse, "He who pays the piper calls the tune" involves an objectification of street
children, conveying negative' images of street children. The second discourse, "St. Jude the Patron
Saint of Lost Causes" is rooted in the ideas of hopelessness, helplessness, victimology and
ubiquitousness. The third discourse, "natured versus nurtured" is located in ideas of biological
determinism within which street children are described as bestial, abnormally sexual, inherently
racially inferior and unresponsive to initiatives designed to provide shelter for them. The fourth
discourse, "Us and them cum us against them" arises from ideas that view street children as
inherently different to mainstream children and adults, thereby pitting street children against
society at large and representing them as enemies. These four interrelated discourses ultimately
converge to produce both enabling and constraining effects that are sometimes contradictory in
nature. Discourses intended to render street children visible sometimes ironically make them and
their plight invisible. The study is concluded with discussions of methodological limitations,
suggestions for future
investigation and the pyscho-emotive shifts I experienced during the research process. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/824 |
| Date | 06 1900 |
| Creators | Levy-Seedat, Alicia Vincenti Nerine |
| Contributors | Terre Blanche, M. J. (Martin J.) |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | 1 online resource (xvi, 208 leaves) |
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