Exploring Digital Storytelling: Towards HIV and AIDS Knowledge Production in an Affluent Girls’ School
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Exploring Digital Storytelling: Towards HIV and AIDS Knowledge Production in an Affluent Girls’ School Maureen Inge St John-Ward Exploring Digital Storytelling: Towards HIV and AIDS Knowledge Production in an Affluent Girls’ School Maureen Inge St John-Ward In fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg December 2014 DECLARATION I hereby declare that this whole dissertation, unless specifically indicated to the contrary, is my original work. Maureen Inge St John-Ward 1 December, 2014 i ABSTRACT This research project is a qualitative study that explores the use of the participatory visual arts-based method of digital storytelling in the context of addressing HIV and AIDS in a secondary school classroom in an independent school in South Africa. The study is located within the research area of how HIV and AIDS are understood in an affluent school in South Africa in the context of youth-as-knowledge-producers. It is concerned with Elite Studies since affluent schools are an understudied research site in South Africa. In this media- making project I build on the key concept of convergence within a participatory cultures framework, and multimodality as conceptualised by the New London Group (Kress, 2003; 2010). My participants, 70 Grade 10 girls from an independent girl’s school in KwaZulu- Natal, produced a digital story about their understanding of HIV and AIDS. Of the 70 stories, 15 form the core study group and are analysed in depth. Analysis of the content of the digital stories takes into account the responses of the producers, the texts themselves, and the responses of the audiences who viewed them. This analytical approach draws on the conceptual work of Fiske (1987), Stuart (2006) and Fairclough (1995) in recognising the interrelatedness of the story texts, and discourse and sociocultural practices, and invites an analysis of the multimodal nature of the girls’ digital stories. The project provides insight into how adolescent girls in an affluent school understand HIV and AIDS, and offers a deeper understanding of this work in the context of Elite Studies as a sociological phenomenon. This work contributes to expanding the idea of youth-as- knowledge-producers in the context of sexuality and HIV and AIDS in South African schools. The outcomes of the project contribute to addressing the application of a multimodal analysis to work with digital stories to help fill the research gap identified by Jewitt (2014b) ii and others. I conclude that it is critical that more work be carried out in South African independent schools, particularly given the misinformation that is currently circulating about HIV and AIDS, but also in recognition of the keen interest of the participants in this study to learn more. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the following for their support and contribution to the writing of this research report. To my supervisors Professor Claudia Mitchell and Dr. Jean Stuart for their expertise, constructive advice and guidance and tireless dedication to assisting me throughout this thesis. To Dr. Ann Smith the final editor of this thesis who worked with such dedication, competence and efficiency. To Dr Peter Rule for his assistance in the beginning stages of my thesis. To the Royal Dutch Foundation (Koninkrijk der Nederlanden) and Erik Hofstee from Exactica for assisting me in developing my skills for the proposal of this thesis. To my sponsors who assisted me financially with my studies. To the administration staff at the University of KwaZulu-Natal both at Edgewood and in Pietermaritzburg, for all their assistance in the administrative matters. To the principal, parents and girls of the school in which this research took place. Without their willingness to allow me to use the necessary data, this report and achievement of my Doctor of Philosophy degree would not have been possible. To my colleagues and friends Fiona Hedderwick for proof-reading this document, to Heather Ashton and Patrick Harty for helping me when I needed advice, to Jean Clarke, Jeremiah Padayachee and Neveshree Balvadoo for the technical assistance given to the girls and myself in all aspects of the digital story process. To my family and friends for their support and encouragement, and for being so understanding whilst everything was put on hold because the thesis took top priority. To Arthur my husband, Brian my son, Belinda my daughter-in-law for their tolerance, patience, support encouragement and love. To my son Hayden, whose untimely passing from this world was very difficult for me to endure. As a result of this I needed something to keep my mind occupied and so the idea furthering my studies was born. iv To my grandson Quinn and granddaughter Paetyn, for your patience whilst I was working on my “pieces”. To God who gave me the strength to continue especially when the going was tough. v ETHICAL CLEARANCE vi TURNITIN REPORT Turnitin Originality Report ST JOHN WARD by Eugene Marais From Thesis Plagiarism check - Part 1 (Moodle 12330397) (2010 Education Postgraduate support group (Moodle 3862849)) Processed on 26-Nov-2014 10:05 AM CAT ID: 482865489 Word Count: 74779 Similarity Index 4% Similarity by Source Internet Sources: 3% Publications: 2% Student Papers: 1% sources: You are currently viewing matches for the following source only: < 1% match (Internet from 19-Apr-2011) http://cvm.za.org/files/Annual%20Report%202006-2007.pdf paper text: CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION If you believe in something and even if you just do a little thing towards it, you will feel better about yourself…. And instead of just sitting around and talking about it, go out and do something about it. I think one thing you can do is learn more about it and if you learn more about it, you can inform others about it and share your opinions with others and maybe they’ll feel the same way…. (Mia, cited in Goldman-Segall, 1998, p. 205)1 HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and AIDS (Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome) remains one of the greatest public health challenges the world is presently facing (World Health Organisation (WHO), 2014). South Africa has the most widespread HIV epidemic in the world (UNFPA South Africa, 2013) According to statistics one in every ten South Africans is living with HIV – about 5, 26 million people, as opposed to 4 million in 2002 so, as we can see, the total number of people who are HIV positive has risen by over 1 million people over little longer than a decade (Health24, 2013). In the age group of 15-49 years, an estimated 15, 9% of the population is HIV positive (Health24, 2013; Statistics South Africa, 2013). Knowledge about HIV and AIDS, however, remains a serious concern. Only 43.5% of male youth and 40.6% of female youth aged 15-24 can properly identify means to prevent sexual transmission of HIV, and are familiar with the misconceptions about the transmission of the disease (UNFRP South Africa, 2013). Because of this, the issue of HIV and AIDS cannot be ignored by schools – public or affluent independent ones. I agree with Kelly (2002) that education has an important role to play in remedying combating this lack of knowledge. I also concur with Goldman-Segall (1998) who maintains that, as teachers, “[w]e provide the tools, expertise and ideas about how to get the pieces (procedures) to work well in wholes (programs). And we (teachers and researchers as a community) provide the context, an environment in which these projects [such as HIV and AIDS projects] could develop” (p. 75). 1 Throughout the thesis, and especially at the beginning of each chapter I use a quotation from Goldman Seagall's book, Points of Viewing Children’s Thinking. I vii have found her idea of 'point of view' a critical one in the work I do, and particularly in relation to young people producing knowledge. A much quoted slogan in South Africa, “everyone is affected or infected” is applied in schools to speak about the need to raise awareness for all teachers and all children as well as all other communities. Peltzer et al., (2012) observe, “In South Africa social and behavioural communication interventions are a critical component of HIV and AIDS prevention, and various campaigns have been implemented … over the past decade” (p. 1). However, something often ignored is that learners in affluent independent schools are also infected and affected; social responsibility should be acknowledged as part of being affected by HIV and AIDS. EVERYONE’S RESPONSIBILITY: TEACHING IN AN AFFLUENT SCHOOL In the light of the high rate of HIV infection in South Africa, and from an all-inclusive view of the issues, I take seriously the idea that everyone is affected. As a teacher at an independent school for girls in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, it is my responsibility to be pro-active given my awareness that, on the surface, my school, along with others like it, is seen to be catering more than adequately to the needs of its learners. Affluence brings with it responsibilities in relation to HIV and AIDS but before these can be defined and carried out, our learners must be made conversant with the facts behind, and implications of, this slogan. In South Africa race and class are, for the vast majority of the population, inextricably intertwined. As a white teacher of IsiZulu I was, I felt, in an excellent position to model crossing this racialised class divide between those more likely to be infected and those more likely to be affected. Independent schools in South Africa The independent school in which I teach is one of 1584 independent schools in South Africa, as of 2013.