Browsing by Author "Coetsee, Gideon Frederick"
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- ItemExploring role modelling for adolescent boys within the context of the single mother household(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-12) Coetsee, Gideon Frederick; Daniels, Doria; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Educational Psychology.ENGLISH SUMMARY : Growing up, we are all influenced and guided by significant adults in the decisions we make and in our understanding of the world. This study explored the role model phenomenon for boys growing up in female-headed households. The primary aims were to understand who adolescent boys see as their role models and what their motivations were for choosing these individuals. The participants were Grade 7 boys between the ages of thirteen and fifteen. The participants were purposefully selected from a working class community where all were attending the same primary school. The chosen community is a low socio-economic coloured community situated in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. A qualitative case study design was used and the methods of data collection were semi-structured individual interviews, a focus group interview, and individual collages made by the participants. The findings indicated that all of the participants could identify role models. However, few of these role models lived in the home or came from the community. The role models these boys choose were not always people that they knew personally. Through television, the Internet and social media these boys are constantly exposed to international sports stars and entertainers who they admire for their skills and financial wealth. An important finding is the discrepancy between the attributes that their chosen role models have, and the perceived attributes that the boys identify that role models should have in real life. It is the latter that they aspire to for themselves. The most agreed upon attributes of a role model included caring for others and animals, protecting and providing for your family, making other people proud, as well as having good manners and being respectful to others. The study’s findings highlight the limited opportunities and exposure to positive role models in their community. This has implications for the role that educational psychologists, teachers, parents and community leaders can play to create opportunities and facilitate events where positive role models are inserted into the life worlds of the children of the community. A role model program in the school where older children model positive behaviour to younger children could be used to provide a role model for younger children and create an opportunity to teach older children about being a role model themselves. Through the local and national media, national athletes could also promote positive behaviour through messages directed at adolescents.