Browsing by Author "Collett, Mark Charles"

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    The mediation of family disputes in terms of the Children's Act 38 of 2005: Experiences and views of social workers
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-12) Collett, Mark Charles; Green, Sulina; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Social Work.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Conflict is pervasive in society and is especially prevalent in families. The nature of social work has meant that social workers have inevitably played a large role in resolving conflict. A methodology that has long been employed to resolve conflict is mediation. In recent years the value of mediation has been increasing recognised and has seen changes in the law to formalise mediation in the dispute resolution process. The entrenchment of mediation in the law has coincided with a recognition that social workers are appropriate mediators of family conflict. Mediation has traditionally fallen into one of three different kinds: facilitative mediation, evaluative mediation and transformational mediation. In recent years a hybrid approach has also been adopted by some mediators. Changes brought about by the Children’s Act 38 of 2005 mirror the international shift to mediation as an appropriate dispute resolution mechanism in family disputes. The Children’s Act names social workers as appropriate mediators in a wide variety of disputes and the involvement of the social worker includes eliciting the participation of the child in decisions regarding the child. The goal of the research was to provide an insight into the role of social work mediators mediating family disputes in terms of the Children’s Act 38 of 2005. The research approach taken has both qualitative and quantitative features. The research design was exploratory and descriptive because of the lack of existing research in the field in South Africa. However, there is literature available internationally on the topic and this international literature was used as a frame of reference for the study to compose a literature review which then was used to design a semi-structured questionnaire. The sample was drawn by using a snowball technique in that social worker mediators were recruited and asked to identify other social workers whom they knew to meet the criteria for inclusion and who would be prepared to participate in the study. This process continued until saturation point was reached. In total the sample comprised of seventeen (n=17) participants. The researcher e-mailed the questionnaire to each participant, and each participant was given the opportunity to raise any queries regarding the questionnaire in a follow-up telephone call from the researcher. The most prominent findings are that mediation as a dispute resolution methodology offers benefits to disputing parties and to the children affected by conflict. It is a useful skill and tool for the social worker who is approached to help parties resolve a dispute. Social workers practising mediation in South Africa tend to supplement the social work skills with mediation and domestic violence knowledge in order to provide a professional service to clients and mitigate the risk carried in a developing mediation system. Based on these findings several recommendations and areas for further research were identified.