Educational Psychology & Special Needs Education

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Browsing Educational Psychology & Special Needs Education by Author "Abhilak, Vishnu"

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    Child abuse : psychopedagogical perspective
    (University of Zululand, 1992) Abhilak, Vishnu; Urbani, G.
    The aim of this study was : to describe the life-world of the abused child from a psychopedagogical perspective; and to determine, in the light of the findings obtained, certain guidelines according to which accountable support could be instituted in order to meet the needs of the abused child. The study initially outlines current thinking and research on child abuse, first identified as a clinical phenomenon in the 1960's. The early definition of child abuse included only physical abuse, known as "baby battering", but the definition has been broadened to include neglect, emotional abuse, failure-to-thrive, sexual abuse and cultural abuse. Furthermore, the characteristics of abusing parents and those factors that appear to pre-dispose a child to become the object of abuse are discussed. From a psychopedagogical perspective the abused child finds himself in a situation of dysfunctional education mainly because he goes through the difficult road to adulthood without the assistance and guidance of a responsible parent or adult. This results in the psychic life of the abused child being under-actualised. The lack of responsible adult intervention and guidance, which is based on the pedagogical principles of understanding, trust and authority, results in the abused child forming relationships within his life-world which are inadequate for his emancipation. The abused child thus fails to constitute a meaningful life-world. It would seem that poverty together with cultural sanctions which condone violence, stressful living conditions such as overcrowding, insufficient personal, financial and social resources, discrimination and deprivation, all interact with each other to produce fertile ground not only for abuse, but all forms of deviance. It was found that mothers were mainly responsible for abuse, particularly emotional abuse, neglect and abandonment This phenomenon can be explained by the fact that they are in the main responsible for the care of the children. The literature has shown that abusing parents have been abused themselves as children and know no other way of disaplining their children. They have not learned how to "parent". There are factors that pre-dispose the child to abuse ; prematurity, retardation, physical handicaps and the fact that the child is perceived by the parents as being "different". The review of the literature has emphasised the importance of the multi-disciplinary team in the treatment and prevention of child abuse. The role of a specialised unit in treating and preventing child abuse is recommended by some authors. Case conferences are described as a useful means of discussing cases intensively and reporting back to a committee or specialised unit. Education for family life, the outlawing of family violence, involving lay people in running community programmes, the development of better services in the community are all discussed as ways of preventing child abuse. In the light of the findings of this research, the following was recommended : * school social workers should be trained and placed at schools to assist and identify pedagogically neglected children; * that there should be a staff training programme for teachers with regard to the identification, intervention and counselling of abuse cases; * educational programmes directed at school children, parents, parents-to-be and professionals, are essential for the prevention of child abuse.
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    The Indian teacher's perception of the Black teacher's occupational world
    (University of Zululand, 1994) Abhilak, Vishnu; Urbani, G.
    The aims of this study were threefold : * Firstly, by means of a literature study, it examined the possible misconceptions that Indian teachers have of the black teachers' occupational world and the circumstances which have led to these misconceptions. * Secondly, an empirical survey consisting of structural questionnaires were constructed in order to ascertain the Indian teachers' perception of the black teachers' occupational world. * Thirdly, certain recommendations were made which could possibly eliminate the Indian teachers' misconceptions of the black teachers' occupational world. Education in South Africa is marked by severely discriminatory inequalities of provision. These inequalities coincide with ethnically fragmented structures of control centred on "own affairs" departments of education answerable to the white, Indian and coloured chambers of the tricameral parliament, while black education falls under the Department of Education and Training. The Department of National Education plays an overall co¬ordinating role. In all, the South African education system comprises eighteen separate departments of education, linked through weak co-operative arrangements and separated by marked resource imbalances. Indian teacher training in the RSA has reached such a significant stage in its administrative and curricular development that one is apt to overlook the vicissitudes through which it has passed. Inadequate communication, fostered by the policy of separate development (apartheid), has resulted in Indian teachers having little understanding of the black teachers' occupational world. In view of the limited and misleading information, perceptions of each other's professions are often misconstrued and consequently, a large degree of misunderstanding and mistrust exists between the two groups. Perception in this context is identified as the understanding or view that educators have of their occupational world as life-world. The education system that has evolved in South Africa this century is one of extraordinary complexity. The objectives of the National Party were segregated, differentiated, and unequal education for different racial groups, and political control over all education in the interests of whites. In short, its policy was to divide and control. Black education has always served the needs of those who provided it. Since its inception, black education has never addressed the needs and aspirations of the blacks in South Africa. Decades of apartheid education and rising pupil numbers have resulted in gross inequalities and huge backlogs in provision, especially in black education. The conditions under which black teachers work are poor and demoralising. Quality in education is in the first place dependent upon the quality of the teacher, his qualifications, experience, competence in the classroom, professional confidence and commitment. In all these areas the black teacher is under siege and fighting for survival. In order to establish the Indian teachers' perception of the black teachers' occupational world, teachers from Indian secondary schools were approached with the request to complete a questionnaire. Prior to the submission of the mailed questionnaire a simple random sample, within the target population, of teachers riving in and around Durban, were interviewed. On the basis of these informal unstructured interviews, the questionnaire was refined before submission to the effective population. Statistical analyses were conducted to fulfil the aims of the investigation and to test the research hypotheses stated. On the basis of the aims of this study certain recommendations were also formulated : * That the South African Teachers Council must be established. * That educational institutions be established and/or expanded where black teachers can improve their qualifications through attendance and/or distance education. That the training of adequately qualified teacher educators should become a top priority in black education systems. That the sensitivities of each community be respected. The present research is an exploratory study in determining the Indian teachers' perception of the black teachers' occupational world. It is the hope of the researcher that the present study will serve as a catalyst for further research.
University of Zululand