OBSERVE
3.4 PLANNING AND VENUE OF THE TRAINING PROGRAMME
3.3.8. Recording the data
The content and process notes were written by the research assistants and later typed out and kept in a file. The evaluation forms were handed out at the end of each training session, then collected up and kept in a file. This only occurred from session four onwards. The focus group discussions were tape recorded and later transcribed.
3.3.9. Interpreting the data - inductive analysis
Inductive analysis was employed in that themes emerged out of intensive reading of the data rather than being imposed prior to data collection and analysis. The qualitative method used to guide the structuring and analysis of the data was community based action research. The four stages of planning, action, observation and reflection was applied to the data and used to analyse and present the data in Chapter four.
with their child and what the causes were. They would report that no clear explanation had been provided to them by the 'specialists'.
The Director felt that the CORC could fill this gap in terms of building awareness, explaining the importance of early interventions, and empowering these
caregivers by informing them about their child's disability and teaching them basic skills to assist the child. Furthermore, an underlying belief in Childrens' Rights and their right to an education, added to her commitment to intervene at this level. In addition, her interactions with the caregivers highlighted their heavy reliance on traditional beliefs and the idea that their child had been cursed. The director felt that these beliefs may inhibit a fuller understanding of the difficulties experienced by the child and thus prevent certain useful
interventions from taking place.
logistically, the director also realized that mothers could not access resources in town due to distance. By empowering them through training and encouraging them to return to their communities, there was the hope that this limitation could be solved.
The Director thus envisaged that the training programme would result in a:
cohesive, dedicated group of trainees who would grow together during the course, to take back into their communities an awareness of childhood disability.
She hoped that an outcome would be that these trainees would then undergo trainer training so that they may be equipped to return to their communities and run courses there. Furthermore, she planned for the CDRC to then run
specialised courses on childhood disabilities for hospitals, creches, teachers and nurses.
The Director approached the Director of the Child and Family Centre (CFC), University of Natal - Pietermaritzburg, to assist in the development of this programme. They formed the 'core team' and made the decision to run and research a programme suited to their perceptions of the local situation. It was agreed in the planning of the training that an expressed principle would be that
"blaming" the mother, in any way, would not be acceptable in terms of the
process of encouraging people to accept new ideas and information. The aim of the training course content was not to be to replace people's beliefs and
practices, but rather seen as alternatives that may be explored concurrently with their traditional beliefs.
Initially, the training course was to be held at the CDRC, on a monthly basis, in a two hour session. The CDRC sessions were to be held from 14hOO until 16hOO.
After session one at the CORC, it was realised that the 2 hours were not
sufficient. The times were then extended to 13hOO until 16hOO, with a 15 minute break for tea.
Even with the extended time frame, various trainees felt that the time was still too short and that the sessions could have been held twice a month instead of once. Some of the trainers and caregivers commented:
• I'm not sure what the trainees thought about the time, whether everything was covered in each module, but maybe time could have been increased.
• In the positioning, I know it took2modules, but you couldsee that not each and everyone gota chance to practise the skills, so I think it was
a
little rushed.• Time was too short, because by the time wehave finished, we still want to ask some other things.
• Time is
a
bit short, maybe twicea
month instead of once.55
The research assistant made the observation that people were often arriving late and leaving early which was disruptive to the sessions. One of the criticisms of the course was that the course ended too late and so many people had transport difficulties. This point will be discussed again in Chapter five.
The CORC seemed an appropriate venue in terms of accessibility to the trainers and it was also large enough to cater for the number of intended participants.
However the regular trainees, who were mothers and other caregivers who usually attended the center felt it was inaccessible. They noted:
• The CDRC is too far for us, we didn't have anything to bring us here.
• I think the workshop needs to be held in central town.
• We would like it to be moved because this place is too far.
Another difficulty was that at times, children who attended the center would still be present during the training. This became problematic in that someone
responsible for the caring of the children needed to be available. Since the staff of the CORC were attending the course, the director sometimes assisted or else requested assistance from student volunteers or from employees of the
sheltered employment organisation on the same property. This was not ideal since the children required specialized care in terms of their behaviour, and this could not be provided by these untrained volunteers. The result was that the training sessions were often disrupted by the behaviour of the children.
On the other hand, since the training course was about caring for the disabled child, it was also useful, particularly for modules 6 and 7.