Browsing by Author "Oosthuizen, Johannes Jacobus"
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- ItemRestoring the circle of courage in the lives of youth at risk through mentoring(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-12) Oosthuizen, Johannes Jacobus; Cloete, Anita Louisa; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Theology. Dept. of Practical Theology and Missiology.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: All youth are at risk. Some youth are just more at risk than others. The concept of youth-at-risk has received substantial attention in literature within various different disciplines and sciences. Sociology, Biology, Psycology and Theology all seek an understanding of what is causing youth to be at-risk, what to do to lower risk and how to intervene in the lives of those that are already at-risk. Each field makes its own contribution to address the problem, which unfortunately, leads to no unified concept of what the term youth-at-risk means or unified approach to intervention. The concept of mentoring, as an intervention approach for youth-at-risk however, has drawn attention from many social sciences. Mentoring as an intervention, understood as being primarily a relational approach, between an older, unrelated adult and a younger person, seems to be a promising vehicle to intervene in the lives of youth that are at-risk. It is especially the rise of Resilience Theory that has led to a greater understanding of the power of mentoring as an intervention tool. Resilience theory generally holds healthy adult relationships are necessary for young people to develop in various areas of their lives in order to live with strength and integrity even when faced with life’s most difficult challenges. One model that has developed from this theory, is that of the Circle of Courage that focuses on developing the belonging, mastery, independence and generosity of young people through relationships. Whether a mentoring approach, which integrated the Circle of Courage model to build resilience in the lives of youth, can be properly implemented within a high risk community, where violence, gangsterism and broken relationships are rife, was the aim of this study. The research is a programme implementation evaluation study and was concerned with the proper implementation of the programme as well as the experience of participants. The studies of other reseachers, such as Keller (2005) and the Elements of Effective Practice in Mentoring (2015), were used to develop a framework for programme implementation, as well as a detailed description of every element that should be implemented in such a programme. It was in light of this framework and these elements that the programme was evaluated. The youth-at-risk intervention organisation, LifeXchange NPC, was responsible for the design and implementation of the programme. 18 Mentors were recruited, screened, trained and matched with 18 young people classified in the imminent or active risk categories, by the programme staff. Even though a school referred the young people to the organisation, the project was a community-based project, thus mentors met with mentees, off-site and in the community. For twelve months the study collected various programme reports, surveys, questionnaires and interviews to learn from the implementation process and mentor/mentee experiences, using data triangulation methods. The need for a South African mentoring best practice model, the reluctance of the church to get involved in mentoring youth at risk and the overall mentor and mentee experiences of the implementation, are a few themes that emerged in the study. Since the study was improvement orientated, several recommendations as to how to improve the implementation of mentoring intervention programmes within a high risk community were made.
- ItemTrans-generational mentorship : a challenge to pastoral care as life care(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2007-12) Oosthuizen, Johannes Jacobus; MacMaster, L. L. M.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Theology. Dept. of Practical Theology and Missiology.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In Ecclesiastes 4 the author writes that two people are better than one and that a cord of three strands is not quickly broken (NIV). The Bible is full of examples how godly men and women such as Moses, David, Ruth, Paul, Mark and many others understood this concept and surrounded them with people that could mentor them through life. It important to notice that they were not only mentored in “spiritual matters,” but in life matters. In Jesus’ ministry on earth he often taught about finances (e.g. Matt 25:14-30), marriage (e.g. Matt 5:31), relationships (e.g. Matt 5:44), anxiety (e.g. Matt 6:27) etc. These ‘everyday life issues’ were never separated from spiritual issues such as the Kingdom, forgiveness, holiness etc in Jesus’ teaching. And it would not have been, for in the Jewish culture, as well as the Hellenistic culture of the time, one’s faith was interwoven with all dynamics of life (food, clothing, trade etc). To teach someone about taxes or food, was just as ‘spiritual’ as teaching someone about the attributes of God. Unfortunately the Enlightment era brought a ‘split’ between ‘spiritual’ and ‘life’ matters, which left us with a legacy of Christians who knew their religion, yet were unequipped to live life. In this research paper I believe that it is shown that the local congregation has all the gifts, expertise, wisdom and people from different walks of life that are needed to return to a ‘system’ of life mentoring. It is one of the calls and purposes of the church and is the definition of pastoral care. With the correct informal, yet managed approach, the local congregation can serve as an incubator and network of trans-generational mentoring relationships which will mentor its members as well as non-members to live life in full.