Browsing by Author "Witbooi, Lene Jade"
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- ItemExploring parental support for disengaging primary school students(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-12) Witbooi, Lene Jade; Collair, Lynette; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Educational Psychology.ENGLISH SUMMARY : Disengagement is multidimensional and has negative implications for academic success. Students that are disengaging may display behaviour that includes a lack of participation in class and school activities, not becoming cognitively involved in learning, not developing or maintaining a sense of school belonging, and/or exhibiting counterproductive behaviour (Finn & Zimmer, 2012). One of the most effective ways to enhance the educational achievement of students is to engage their parents in their education; this has been one of the strongest trends in education reform (Lemmer, 2007). The aim of this research was therefore to explore parental support for disengaging primary school students attending a primary school situated within a rural, low socio-economic area. To accomplish this, the researcher used a qualitative instrumental case study that is embedded within the interpretive paradigm. Participants were purposively selected and invited to participate in the study after which six parent participants willingly participated. Semi-structured interviews were used as the primary method of data collection. The researcher’s reflexive notes, the literature review, analysis of artefacts and an inductive process of qualitative thematic content analysis was used to analyse the data. The results showed that for the parents, providing parental support for disengaging students within a low socio-economic background is not easy. They face contextual barriers caused by poverty such as limited skills and knowledge; socio-economic difficulties such as inadequate housing, limited resources, unemployment and alcohol and drug use, all of whichleads to low levels of self-efficacy. The parents understood support in terms of being emotionally present and engaging in encouraging conversations with their children. The parents are aware of the challenges their children face, and the possible causes of these challenges, but they entrusted ‘professionals’ to obtain support for their children or guide them in how they can utilise the support. The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) should thus place more attention on how to support these parents, especially within low socio-economic backgrounds, that do not know how to utilise the resources around them.