School-based initiatives in support of the wellbeing of at-risk primary school learners
type: CreativeWork
description: The growing number of challenges related to cumulative risk, such as poverty, unemployment, hunger and HIV/AIDS, has distressing consequences for communities, schools, families, as well as individuals. As a result, there is a mounting need for psycho-social support provision to vulnerable youth in the South African context. In this country, the focus has increasingly moved towards communities taking responsibility themselves to address the challenges they face. Community-based coping (Ferreira, 2006) inevitably implies a prominent role by schools and teachers, who are key figures in any community. Against this background, the current study set out to explore school-based support initiatives that exist in South African primary schools in at-risk contexts. More specifically, this study aimed to gain insight into how primary schools (teachers) can support the physical, emotional and psychosocial wellbeing of children. The following research question guided the investigation: How do school-based initiatives support the wellbeing of at-risk learners in South African primary schools? Research was undertaken in eight schools situated in the Eastern Cape province, which have been involved in the STAR (Supportive Teachers Assets and Resilience) and FIRST-GATE (Food Intake and Resilience Support: Gardens as Taught by Educators) projects over recent years. I utilised interpretivism as meta-theory and followed a qualitative methodological approach applying participatory reflection and action (PRA) principles. I implemented, a case study research design, and generated and documented data by means of PRA-based activities and discussions, observation-as-context-of-interaction, field notes, a research journal and audio-visual techniques. Following thematic inductive data analysis, I identified four themes with related sub-themes. Firstly, participants indicated the aims of school-based support in terms of raising awareness and preventing social problems; addressing problems and the…
abstract: The growing number of challenges related to cumulative risk, such as poverty, unemployment, hunger and HIV/AIDS, has distressing consequences for communities, schools, families, as well as individuals. As a result, there is a mounting need for psycho-social support provision to vulnerable youth in the South African context. In this country, the focus has increasingly moved towards communities taking responsibility themselves to address the challenges they face. Community-based coping (Ferreira, 2006) inevitably implies a prominent role by schools and teachers, who are key figures in any community. Against this background, the current study set out to explore school-based support initiatives that exist in South African primary schools in at-risk contexts. More specifically, this study aimed to gain insight into how primary schools (teachers) can support the physical, emotional and psychosocial wellbeing of children. The following research question guided the investigation: How do school-based initiatives support the wellbeing of at-risk learners in South African primary schools? Research was undertaken in eight schools situated in the Eastern Cape province, which have been involved in the STAR (Supportive Teachers Assets and Resilience) and FIRST-GATE (Food Intake and Resilience Support: Gardens as Taught by Educators) projects over recent years. I utilised interpretivism as meta-theory and followed a qualitative methodological approach applying participatory reflection and action (PRA) principles. I implemented, a case study research design, and generated and documented data by means of PRA-based activities and discussions, observation-as-context-of-interaction, field notes, a research journal and audio-visual techniques. Following thematic inductive data analysis, I identified four themes with related sub-themes. Firstly, participants indicated the aims of school-based support in terms of raising awareness and preventing social problems; addressing problems and the…
language: en
keywords: Unrestricted, UCTD, School-based interventions, Learner wellbeing, Psychosocial support, Educational psychology, Resource-constrained schools, Rural education, Participatory Reflection and Action (PRA)
date published: 2017
date modified: 2026-07-24T03:52:23Z
provider: University of Pretoria
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Pretoria

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/2263/67774