Doing hope with children who have been living on the street

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This research journey explores the lived experiences of children who had previouslybeen living on the street and were now part of a house being managed by twovoluntary organisations. The caregivers and boys are incorporated as co-researchersin a participatory action research journey within a post-modern, social constructivistparadigm. The following research curiosities inform the study:• How do the caregivers and children in the house stand up to homelessness andpoverty?• How do their stories reflect the notion of doing hope?Positioning myself within the research journey necessitates the discussion of beliefsand constructs that inform the paradigm, such as post-modernism, socialconstructionism, discourses and the deconstruction of discourses. According toDenzin and Lincoln (1994:14), the research strategy comprises the practicalapplication of the assumptions underlying the paradigm through the use of certainskills, and can be regarded as the paradigm in action which provides the methods forthe researcher to engage in the research journey.In this study, a qualitative method is used to describe and understand humanbehaviour and the meaning attached to it in the participant's own terms. The coresearchersparticipate during all the aspects of the research journey, and the cyclicalnature of participatory action research described by Babbie and Mouton (2001:315-316) is honoured.The narrative approach is used in conducting the conversations. According to White(1991:28), it is a non-recriminatory, power-sharing way of interaction that provides acontext where the consciousness and knowledges of the person are at the centre of theprocess of consultation. An opportunity is created for the boys and caregivers to storytheir experiences and to explore the meanings that they attach to these experiences.The main ethical principles that operate are autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficenceand validity.Tape-recordings, transcriptions, reflections and letters are used to document theresearch journey. Homelessness and poverty had been dictating certain behaviours tothe boys, and it was even dictating their lived identities. At the time of the researchjourney, the caregivers are creating a community of support that is effectively doinghope for the boys, thus enabling them to loosen the grip of poverty and homelessness.Personal reflections indicate that I as researcher am not unaffected by the researchjourney. Although obstacles present themselves during the research journey, newpossibilities are opened up for further exploration.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University