Today’s parents are raising adolescents in a world far removed from the era of ‘Ozzie and Hamet’, that is about thirty years ago. Young people are challenged with rapid social changes, shifting of moral and social values. There is an increasing shift of decision making responsibility from society to individual (Naude and Bodibe n.d: 4). The research presented in this mini dissertation reviews the middle adolescent stage as a challenging time, one of life’s fascinating and perhaps most complex stage, a time when they take on new responsibilities and experiment with independence. Often that result in a certain amount of rebellion and defiance as normally seen with females. The purpose of this research study is to explore and describe the lived-experience of the middle female adolescents against the background presented. It hopes to provide some base for developing guidelines to support the middle female adolescents during this challenging time. The participants in this research study were middle female adolescents from the Rustenburg District of Education, Bojanala West region. All the girls who participated were all fifteen (15) years old and in grade ten (10). The research design followed a qualitative pattern because of its explorative, descriptive and contextual nature. The qualitative researcher’s emphasis is on studying human action in its natural setting and through the eyes of the humans themselves, together with an emphasis on detailed description and understanding phenomena within the appropriate context (Babbie and Mouton 2004:278). This research was conducted in two phases. During phase one of the study, data was gathered through phenomenological interviews. Ethical measures were clearly laid out. A tape recorder was used for record purposes with each participant, and also field notes were used in support of the purposes. The central question was for each participant to tell of their experience as a middle female adolescent in a rural area. 6 Data was analyzed using Tesch’s method of data analysis (Tesch 1990:142-145 in Cresswell, 2003:192). The services of an independent coder were utilized and a consensus discussion was reached on the analysis of the data. The following categories and subcategories were identified after data analysis. The middle female adolescents described this life stage as ‘the most challenging time in life’. The experience is described throughout with double messages, such as ‘great but fun’. The following categories were identified:- • The middle female adolescents’ relationship with their parents was described as trying in related to lack of communication. • They also experienced challenges in relation to physical, emotional, self image and in the society. • The adolescents also demonstrated internal resources in terms of responsibility and a sense of hope about their future. The research findings indicate that middle adolescent girls lack effective communication with their parents, they feel not to be understood and trusted by their parents. A striking issue is the demonstration of internal resources by the middle adolescents. There is therefore a need for guidelines to support middle female adolescents and their parents. In phase two of the study, based on the categories, guidelines were described to support middle adolescent girls in their challenging time. Recommendations were made based on the pathway and the approach that would effectively improve the interpersonal relationships. The recommendations are measures for policy makers, service providers, community or youth organizations, and all those concerned with the well being of middle female adolescents. These would also be an intention to reduce the risks, involvement in risky behaviours and prevent misbehaviour in schools. / Prof. C.P.H. Myburgh Prof. M. Poggenpoel
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:6919 |
| Date | 08 May 2008 |
| Creators | Mosiane, Mmakhidi Veronica |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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