VIEWS OF YOUTH IN LOTUS GARDENS ON OUT-OF-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES IN THEIR COMMUNITY by PARESH BABULAL DEVCHAND RESEARCH ESSAY submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree MAGISTER EDUCATIONIS in COMMUNITY EDUCATION in the FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND NURSING at the RAND AFRIKAANS UNIVERSITY SUPERVISOR: DR D DANIELS NOVEMBER 1998 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To my supervisor Dr. D. Daniels I would like to say thank you for the encouragement, the patience, the sacrifice, the understanding, guidance and support you've given throughout this project. To professor E. Henning a sincere thank you for the constant positive motivation and words of encouragement, positive feedback, reassurance, and faith you communicated to us. They were inspiring. • To my wife, Anita ; and my mother-in-law, Champa, words cannot express the important role you have played in giving me the time to complete this essay. Thank you for the support, consideration, patience, thoughtfulness, understanding and sacrifices you had to make. I will make it up to you. To my mother, Pushpa and father Babulal thank you for a strong educational foundation and affording us the luxury of a tertiary education under difficult circumstances. It hasn't gone unnoticed and will always be treasured. To my friend Jayesh thank you for the constant inspiration, motivation and guidance. Also thank you for the running around that you did so unselfishly. Really a friend in deed. To my friend Anil despite being under tremendous personal stress thank you for finding the time to assist me. To the participants, Peter, Fadiel, Rakesh, Dinesh, Sharad, Noel and Sam, thank you for the interviews. It made this study possible. ii ABSTRACT his study was undertaken out of concern for the many youths in the community of Lotus Gardens who were involved in deviant and delinquent behaviour in and out of school. The findings of the essay describes possible factors that placed these youth at risk of dropping out of school and impacts on their social and emotional deVelopment. Their views regarding out-of-school programmes were investigated, as well as the different types of community programmes that could be introduced for the remediation and support of at risk youth. The research was carried out with seven at risk youth from the Lotus Gardens Secondary School who also resided in Lotus Gardens. The seven participants were interviewed in a focus group as well as individually. The data collected was analysed through open coding. The analysis brought to the fore numerous insights. The first was, that various factors combined to place youth at risk of dropping out of school. These could be broadly related to the family, the school, the environment, and the influence of peers. The second important insight, was that the entire school system needed to change to effectively address the complex problems faced by at risk youth. This included a change in the attitude of teachers and an amendment to the curriculum. The school itself, in future, needs to become more community orientated and function as a community facility to eliminate some root causes which place youth at risk. Thirdly, the inquiry showed that there was overwhelming support for the idea of community education programmes, not only to support at risk youth, but to assist youth in general, and parents and the community as a whole. The study revealed that through these programmes, stronger family ties would develop, thereby laying the foundation for a sense of community. This would address some of the factors that place youth at risk and may even eliminate others. In the light of the above analysis it is recommended that, from a community education perspective, the concept of a core-plus school, be given serious consideration. If considered, it could guide the community in addressing some of the social problems faced by the community, which would encompass the problem of at risk youth. Furthermore, in the long term, it would empower the community to address other social problems they might face in today's decadent world. TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements Abstract ii Section 1: Research topic 1.1. Introduction 1 1.2. Defining key concepts and phrases 1 1.3. Research interest and background to the study 5 1.4. Motivation for the research 6 1.5. Aims of the research 7 1.6. Research questions 7 1.7. Research design 8 1.8. Theoretical framework 9 1.9. Conclusion 10 Section 2: Conceptual framework 2.1. Introduction 11 2.2. Characteristics and symptoms of at risk youth 11 2.3. The lack of stable community and family support 16 2.4. The need for intervention 17 2.5. The role of the school 20 2.6. The school and community education 23 2.7. Conclusion 26 iv Section 3: Research design 3.1. Introduction 27 3.2. Identification of the sample and participants 27 3.3. Methodology. 29 3.4. Structure of the interviews 31 3.5. Data analysis 31 3.6. Conclusion 43 Section 4: Discussion of findings 4.1. Introduction 45 4.2. Discussion of data 45 4.3. Implication of the findings 52 4.4. Recommendations for further research 53 4.5. Conclusion 54 Bibliography 56 Appendix A. Interview guide 59 1 SECTION ONE RESEARCH TOPIC 1.1. INTRODUCTION his inquiry is conducted on 'at risk youth' of Lotus Gardens. With this T research the reasons why they are considered to be at risk, and the factors that cause them to be at risk would be investigated. This will then be applied to the youth of the community of Lotus Gardens. Their views on informal and non-formal activities and programmes will be explored, and various suggestions will be made as to how the youth of Lotus Gardens can be supported. Avenues which will be considered as possibilities in this regard, will be the conversion of the school into a core-plus school, and improving the relationship that exists and needs to exist between the school and the community. 1.2. DEFINING KEY CONCEPTS AND PHRASES At-risk youth ccording to Morris (1992: xiii) "youth at risk are those at risk of A dropping out of school before completing their high school education". Similar definitions are used by Beck (1992: 162) who states "youth at risk are those who are likely to emerge from school unprepared for further education and unprepared for the demands of a changing work place". Carter (1991: 68) says "youth at risk are those who dropped out of school or are potential dropouts from school". Morgan (1994:2) contends "children with learning, emotional and/or behavioural problems to the extent that they would no longer be eligible to attend school are at risk". The term 'at risk youth' may be new, according to Barr and Parrett (1995), as it was only coined a decade ago, but the children and youth they refer to are not. Through the ages the very same children have been referred to as 'dumb', socially and culturally 'deprived', 'disadvantaged', 'disengaged' and 'disconnected'. Teachers know them, and have known them as disinterested, and disruptive. They are known as those who refuse to learn, and those not to be able to learn. It is a new shine on old shoes. Drop-out efore continuing it is important to distinguish between youth at risk B and dropouts. In the article written by White (1985: 162) entitled The drop-out phenomenon of senior secondary pupils in black schools, various definitions are cited. According to, Astin, "A drop-out is one who fails to complete his initial study expectations". According to. Rosier, "a drop-out is one who has left school without completing the full high school course", and according to Brimer and Pauli, "a drop-out is a pupil who leaves school before the end of the final year of the educational stage in which he has enrolled." A drop-out then is one who has already left school, while a youth at risk is still a scholar with the potential to become a drop-out. Non Formal education on-formal education refers to education which is structured, N organised, planned and goal orientated. It takes place in an informal setting outside the framework of the formal system such as field trips and excursions. It provides selected types of learning to particular subgroups in the population, adults as well as children (Paulston & LeRoy: 223-337). Core-plus he core-plus concept refers to a school and a curriculum that has two parts. The core part and the plus part. The core part would be the state mandated obligations of the school, but the plus part would be determined by the school community itself. 3 Community he concept community is as broad as it is complex. Without delving T into these complexities, for the purpose of this essay, the term community refers to a group of peCple residing within a given geographical area. More specifically the group of people of interest to this discussion is the community of Lotus Gardens. Lotus Gardens is a small urban community with a population of about 10 000. It is situated 10 kilometres west of the city of Pretoria, near the township of Atteridgeville in Gauteng Province. Poor planning with regard to Laudium (a previously Indian community) resulted in both an acute housing shortage, as well as a shortage of more land. The House of Delegates, which was responsible for Indian Affairs in the Tricameral Parliament acquired Lotus Gardens as a solution to the problems experienced in Laudium. Presently after the completion of phases two and three of Lotus Gardens, no community facilities such as a sports field, library, clinic, police station, post office, community hall or shopping centre has been built.