This will help design strategies and interventions to target young school dropouts. Risk for a child lies in the accumulation of risk factors that lead to greater adversity (Garmezy, 1994). In South Africa, and particularly in the small town where this study took place, the distinctions between mainstream and socially marginalized youth outside of school are blurred.
The social-ecological model emerged from three successive stages in the evolution of models for understanding development in context. Bronfenbrenner's (1979) particular contribution to the understanding of the social ecology of childhood lies in his elaboration of the contextual layers of ecological systems. Bronfenbrenner (1986) gave particular importance to the way in which the child perceives interactions and relationships with significant others in the microsystem.
In this way, the child is seen as playing an active role in negotiating interactions in the microsystem, where interactions can be seen as positive. All this was clear in the context in which the young people in this study resided. Such exosystemic barriers have an impact on the child and can lead to the child no longer being able to attend school.
Methodology
In addition, one of the many consequences of this socio-historical context is the number of out-of-school youth in the area. Of the six schools, one was rural (School A), one was urban (School C), one was near-urban (School D) and three were deep-rural (Schools E, H and I). The students were asked to record the young people's contact information on a form (see Appendix 3 - Contact form for young people outside the school).
This was accomplished through the limited restrictions placed on youth photography (i.e., instruction was broad and nonspecific). After this, the research process and the objectives and participatory techniques of the research were discussed with the young people. In this way, no direct link is made between the participants and the information collected as a result of the research, or in the dissemination of the findings.
This was important as it enabled the researcher to be directly involved in the research process.
Results
This is illustrated in the following extracts taken from the participants' case studies. E9: Londeka is the youngest in the family and is responsible for collecting water and firewood. She has not been at school for the past 18 months and explains that this is because of the poor relations between her and the educators.
Mpume is 14 years old and lives in a rural area in the district where this study took place (see case study for further details on Mpume). Continuous alcohol abuse in the home has resulted in destructive and negative interactions between Mpume and her mother. She explained that the other children in the class are very young compared to her.
Thuli is 15 years old and lives in the same rural area as Mpume (see case study for further details about Thuli). Zama is 12 years old and lives in an urban area in the district where this study took place (see case study for more details about Zama). Tholla is 15 years old and lives in a peri-urban area in the district (see case study for further details about Tholla).
Nondomiso is 15 years old and lives in the same rural area as Nonhlanhla (see case study for more details about Nondomiso). Because of her alcohol abuse, she prefers to live with her grandmother, even though her parents both live nearby. Interviewer: So Nonhlanhla, do you know why Nondomiso quit in the middle of the year.
Nondomiso fought with her friends and as shown in the previous passage, she no longer had a uniform to wear to school. Londeka is 12 years old and lives in a rural area in the district where this study took place (for more details about Londeka, see the case study). Sindisiwe is a 13-year-old youth and lives in the same urban area of the district as Tholla (see the case study for more details about Sindisiwe).
Her mother looked for work to support the family and in the meantime, Sindisiwe and her mother went to live with her grandmother.
Discussion
Statistics are unable to provide the details of the reasons young people give for not going to school. Bronfenbrenner's (1979) theory has provided insight into how risk factors interact to actually make these young people more vulnerable or at a disadvantage at the starting blocks of their lives (Case & Ardington, 2005). The two most significant and salient risk factors that the youth in this study were exposed to are a) poverty and b) negative and tense interactions between themselves and others in their lives. This research showed that most of the young people's relationships were tense and that their experiences were negative.
The youth in this study were focused on not having a new or presentable uniform to go to school in. The youth in this study expressed embarrassment at having to wear tattered and old school uniforms. The poverty to which the young people in this study are exposed is pervasive in their decision-making to go to school.
The daily interactions in the microsystem determine the way young people interact with others. For some youth in this study, a pattern of interaction emerged through abuse at home. Bronfenbrenner (1986) emphasized that the way young people perceive this relationship is crucial.
It is important to note that of the eight out-of-school youth in this study, there were very few differences between the youth's experiences. Most of the youth shared similar hardships and difficulties, especially when considering their day-to-day life. Negative and destructive interactions in the youth's most primary microsystems (their daily interactions with their caregivers) can be further extended to the nonsupportive interactions between these youth and their educators.
It appears that the youth in this study are at risk for several reasons within their most primary microsystems. Instead, it is the accumulation of risk factors that lead to the youth being "out of school".
Conclusion
Sampling through students at the school resulted in the risk of the research being perceived as coming from the school. In addition, the difficulty in the translation process may have affected the reliability and validity of the findings. There is an under-resourced rural primary school in the area Mpume attended.
Mpume moves between two houses in the area, oscillating between staying with her mother and grandmother, uncles and cousins. She explains that this is due to poor relations with the school teachers and because of the embarrassment of her age in relation to the other children in the class. Zama is 12 years old and lives in an urban area in Richmond District with her aunt.
Tholla is 15 years old and lives with her mother and extended family of eight in a peri-urban area in the Richmond district. Thuli is 15 years old and lives in the same rural area of the small town as Mpume. Thuli moved to the area in the past six months from the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal to live with her grandmother.
Nonhlanhia has a good friend nearby with whom she spends most of the day. She explains that she has no money for school fees and that the school in the area is withholding her report because she has not paid the school fees. Nondomiso said other girls in the area had nicer things than her and her friend.
She lives with her mother and two older sisters in a rural area in the small town. Londeka is the youngest in the family and is responsible for collecting water and firewood.
Avoid too many questions and try to get statements and interaction/conversation going between you and the child. Purpose: To get an understanding of what the child does during their day, and if possible a kind of. This will help us understand what the child is doing instead of going to school.
From this discussion it may be possible to determine which activities are the responsibility of the child). Purpose: To understand if the child or someone in their family is sick; if there are any issues/problems; and if so, what do they (child or family) do about it. Instruction: Now let's pretend there is some kind of problem in this family, if they had a problem, who do you think they could go to for help.
If there was a problem and you needed some food or money, who do you think you would ask? Names, ages, where they live, approximate distance, do you have friends near your house?). Who or what is in the photo? 2) Why the youth decided to take the photo.
What are some of the activities in the picture that she likes/dislikes. In the research I will refer to you by this name in order to keep your name confidential. First, I will have a brief discussion with the child about his experiences as a young person outside of school.
If you decide yes, and then you do not want the child to participate anymore, the child can withdraw. However, the child will get a copy of all the images and if we know of any services that we can link you or your child to, we will.
