Youths' predispositions to learning : case studies within a place of safety (Western Cape, South Africa)

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Learning in young adulthood, especially in communities where there may be substantial barriers tolearning and exclusion from formal education, needs further investigation. This study provides anin-depth investigation of six youths' predispositions to learning while awaiting trial in a place ofsafety. This study focused on an in-depth investigation of youths' predispositions to learning in theparticular context of the place of safety (Western Cape, South Africa).I have been working with awaiting trial male youths for over four years as principal at the place ofsafety. The place of safety is a residential facility for boys and youths between the ages of 10 and16 years who broke the law and who were at risk. The court placed these youths at the place ofsafety for the duration of their pending court cases, which may take up to two years in extremecases like rape and murder. They typically come from communities where they had been exposesto violence, substance abuse and crime, both at home and at school. All of the youths at the placeof safety broke the law and were awaiting trial; and they had all dropped out of school or had neverattended school. The six respondents used in my study either were abusing drugs themselves orwitnessed drug abuse. During their stay al the place of safety, the learners undergo varioustherapeutic programmes. They also attend school, where the curriculum is adapted to theindividual needs of the learners.While working with these youths at the school, I became deeply concerned about the limitedprospects they seemed to have. I was curious why most of them demonstrated little or no ambitionor eagerness to learn, given that they all had literacy levels below the average for their age groupand that most of them had dropped out of school or had never attended school. Popular mediareports as well as official documents indicate that youths in South Africa – and the Western Capein particular – are exposed to drug abuse, violence and crime, which may influence the escalatingnumber of school dropouts. An understanding of the predispositions to learning among awaitingtrial youths may contribute to a better understanding of the sense of disempowerment within thesecommunities.This research project focused on qualitative case studies where I tried to discover and understandyouths' predispositions to learning. I followed an interpretive approach to provide insights into thelife stories of the six respondents between the ages of 14 and 16 years and how they interpret andmake meaning of their personal realities. This marginalised group of people had the opportunity tonarrate their individual life stories with relation to their experienced learning processes. Iconducted this study, collected, and interpreted data over a period of approximately two-and-a-halfvyears. I collected data from their official files and by conducting in-depth individual interviews. Ivideo-recorded the six personal interviews and used the footage to assist me in the process of dataanalysis.The thesis presents the life stories of the six respondents as a foundation for a discussion on howwe as educators define and practice adult education in the context of marginalised youth.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University