2011-NMMU-Research-Report - Research Management - Nelson ...

Priscilla Gitonga
Education
The contribution of hip hop to the construction of personal
identities of South African female late adolescents.
The aim of this study was to explore the nature of hip hop’s
contribution to the identity construction of female late adolescents
in South Africa. By using participatory research methods, Ms Gitonga
enabled the participants to engage with their sense of identity in
the context of hip hop music. The research revealed that hip hop
music does indeed contribute to the process of personal identity
construction of the female late adolescents who participated in
the study. It does so by compelling the adolescent to think about
herself in relation to her continual self, which draws from her past,
present, and future, her interactional self, both at the personal and
social levels, and her situational self. The appeal of hip hop to her
cognitive capabilities is enhanced through the strong link that hip
hop has with her emotions.
With this study, Ms Gitonga managed to provide empirical evidence
of hip hop as a meaningful resource for the female late adolescent
as she constructs her identity. As such, the findings of this study
negate the public notion of hip hop as being a bad influence on
young people and provide proof of its significant role in the lives of
South African female late adolescents.
This study also highlights the significance of hip hop music in education
settings, due to its fundamental communicative capabilities, which
can be effectively utilised in the classroom situation. This study
clearly strengthens educational research, especially research aimed
at the liberation and emancipation of female late adolescents in
South Africa.
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