Indigenous literature as a tool to promote children’s psychological well-being

Date
2024-03
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Publisher
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
Abstract
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Children’s psychological well-being is a neglected aspect of universal and specific support interventions both globally and within South Africa. Despite the prevalence of psychosocial challenges in South Africa, there are limited mental health providers able to support children. This lack of support calls for increasing culturally sensitive, community-based preventative mental health services which engage social-ecological stakeholders. Book sharing or bibliotherapy is a potential lay person’s intervention that could promote children’s psychological well-being. This study employed a Qualitative Systematic Literature Review to synthesise the best available evidence exploring the aspects of children’s psychological well-being that can be promoted using indigenous literature. Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological systems model, the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) framework for social emotional learning and Carol Ryff’s theory on the six dimensions of psychological well-being were used as complementary theories to conceptualise children’s contextual development, social emotional learning and psychological well-being. Through the process of thematic analysis, four themes emerged, confirming that high-quality culturally responsive indigenous children’s literature can be used as a social emotional learning tool by lay social ecological stakeholders to promote children’s psychological wellbeing. These findings were synthesised to formulate a practical parent/teacher resource – ‘Culturally Responsive Book Screening and Book Sharing’. This resource is intended to provide guidance to parents, teachers and other social-ecological stakeholders in selecting, screening and sharing indigenous children’s books to promote children’s psychological wellbeing.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Kinders se psigologiese welstand is ’n verwaarloosde aspek van algemene en spesifieke ondersteuningsintervensies wêreldwyd en in Suid-Afrika. Nieteenstaande die voorkoms van psigososiale uitdagings in Suid-Afrika is daar ’n beperkte aantal verskaffers van geestesgesondheiddienste wat wel kinderondersteuning verleen. Die gebrek aan ondersteuning noodsaak die uitbreiding van geestesgesondheidsdienste wat kultureel sensitief, gemeenskapsgebaseer en voorkomend is, en sosio-ekologiese belanghebbendes betrek. Deur gedeelde boeke of biblioterapie kan ’n leek se intervensies moontlik kinders se psigologiese welstand bevorder. Hierdie studie gebruik ’n kwalitatiewe, sistemiese literatuuroorsig en sintetiseer die beste beskikbare bewyse deur die verkenning van aspekte van kinders se psigologiese welstand wat deur inheemse literatuur bevorder kan word. Bronfenbrenner se bio-ekologiese sisteemmodel, die CASEL-raamwerk vir sosiaal-emosionele leer, en Carol Ryff se teorie oor die ses dimensies van psigologiese welstand word as aanvullende teorieë gebruik om kinders se kontekstuele ontwikkeling, sosiaal-emosionele leer, en psigologiese welstand te konseptualiseer. Deur die proses van tematiese ontleding is daar vier temas geïdentifiseer wat bevestig dat hoëgehalte-, kultureel-responsiewe inheemse kinderliteratuur ’n sosiaal-ekologiese leerinstrument kan word wat sosiaal-ekologiese belanghebbendes as leke ter bevordering van kinders se psigologiese welstand kan gebruik. Hierdie bevindings is gesintetiseer en daarvolgens is ’n praktiese ouer-onderwyser-hulpbron saamgestel, te wete “Culturally responsive book screening and book sharing” (kultureel-responsiewe boeksifting en boekdeling). Die oogmerk met hierdie hulpbron is om leiding te bied aan ouers, onderwysers en ander sosio-ekologiese belanghebbendes wat betref die keuring, sifting en deling van inheemse kinderboeke ter bevordering van kinders se psigologiese welstand.
Description
Thesis (MEdPsych)--Stellenbosch University, 2024.
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