The limitations of this study, some of which were previously mentioned in the methodology chapter, need to be reiterated here when reading this chapter on
Page | 178 conclusions and recommendations in order to provide a suitable context for this discussion. They are:
a) As social workers are encouraged to start where the client is and to move at the client’s pace, it may be considered that this information is not novel and therefore irrelevant. However in South Africa as a result of apartheid, all the races have lived parallel lives and generally have not had much contact with each other. Therefore some social workers may not have the in depth information required to understand the intricacies and nuances of Zulu marriage. In addition most people are not aware of the extent that one’s world view influences one’s thinking, values, beliefs and behaviour. As Pedersen (2009) mentions, therapists’ sense of cultural identity will influence how issues are viewed and it will influence the purpose and the process of counselling, and therefore he suggests that a cultural centred approach expands the repertoire of responses available to counsellors, and emphasises the importance of the clients’ context. Thus asking about these four values of belonging, spirituality, respect (hlonipha) and ubuntu that have been identified that have relevance in Zulu marriage, will ensure the social worker can ask the client for their personal clarifications of meaning and expectations of each.
This is important as Clark (2000:6) warns that using a group-membership version of culture results in overgeneralisations – “it fails to recognize that people who share the same group membership often exhibit considerable cultural variation”. This is particularly important to be aware of with the Zulu culture that is in a state of flux, and so there may be huge variations in how each couple thinks about and manifests these values.
b) I spoke to twelve couples, nine family elders, and ten social workers in order to triangulate the sources of information that I obtained. This information was then discussed and evaluated with the social work staff of FAMSA Durban and FAMSA Pietermaritzburg. However, this is a small sample and the participants were mainly based in Durban, and in a town in Northern KwaZulu-Natal and in some of the rural areas within 50 km of that town.
Other Zulu participants from other areas of KZN may have different views.
Hence any generalisation cannot be undertaken, as per the clear finding that
Page | 179 even within this area, there are many variations in the practice of spirituality and ancestor veneration, the use of ubuntu, as well as in the practice of social roles and respect.
c) This research was focussed on Zulu people in KwaZulu-Natal, and so it is only applicable to Zulu people in this area. People from other tribes within this area, or from other race and ethnic groups will have different views, particularly if one considers the underlying concept of social constructionism.
Understanding from this study how richly layered cultural experiences, beliefs and values may be in one tribal group, this illustrates how cautious one needs to be in applying these results to other regions and groups.
d) As mentioned in Chapter 4, I am a white, middle-aged, middle-class, urban woman and in this study, I was speaking to Zulu people of all ages, all classes, living in both rural and urban areas. Therefore my own social background will have influenced my interviews as well as influenced the themes that I noticed in my results. However, my sister-in-law, who is Zulu, and was brought up in and who still often visits a rural area and who lives in the small town in Zululand accompanied me to most of the interviews in town and in the rural areas. She also translated for me when necessary. She was able to ask for further information, or to explain the nuances of an interview with me in the presence of the participant if necessary. I was also aware of reflexivity and debriefed regularly with my supervisors. This may have coloured the results in two ways: that results were more authentic as they were thoroughly appreciated by a research assistant who understood some of the complexities of culture and /or that adding the research-assistant who is my sister-in-law, may have resulted in over-emphasis of aspects that did not merit attention, as my sister-in-law would have erred on the side of caution. Interestingly, when I have met any of the participants later in other settings, they were eager to continue our conversation and to provide me with more information. This demonstrates their comfort in having shared and wanting to continue to share information with me.
Page | 180 e) There was a great deal of data to transcribe; hence the audiotapes were given
to Typescript Pty Ltd for transcribing. Some of the interviews were translated, and these translations were checked by the staff at Typescript Pty Ltd. It is unlikely that information during transcription was lost or misinterpreted as Typescript Pty Ltd is a reputable company that deals with court reports regularly. Each transcript is produced with a proof reader’s certificate.
However, based on the extent of information produced from the audiotape of the interviews, it is possible that fatigue may have given way for some transcription to be inaccurate.
The following represents a summary of the key findings of the study, consistent with the objectives set out above, and within the framework of the above limitations. I will first describe some of the conclusions of potential problems, and then at the end I will suggest some recommended guidelines that could be useful in counselling with Zulu couples.