29.07.2018 Views

INSTITUTIONALIZED CHILD CARE IN URBAN SOUTH AFRICA

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

One substantial exception to this trend was Thupayagale-Tshweneagae &<br />

Mokomane’s study on the needs of South African adolescents orphaned by AIDS as<br />

evidenced from the elicitation of photography. (2013) Using Photo-Voice as a qualitative,<br />

ethnographic response, the study was able to reveal the significance of the bereavement<br />

process for grieving adolescents, to ascertain the importance of hope and having a<br />

support system in some form, and to affirm the importance of receiving acceptance from<br />

a new caregiver. The photographs gathered by their study provided a means to gain<br />

insight into the experiences of the adolescent population in ways that would not have<br />

been fully represented by words, much less a more quantitative form of analysis. A<br />

proposed advantage of photography or other visual methods in research is the argument<br />

in favor of its ability to record non-verbal components of an interaction that do not<br />

transfer into writing. (Weidel, 1995) The study revealed insights with much in common<br />

with those gathered by quantitative researchers, but provided more depth to<br />

understanding the adolescents’ own understanding of bereavement. Studies employing<br />

photographs and other means of representing and processing a regular life experience of a<br />

polymorphous research population serves to encourage an active participation by<br />

informants.<br />

Research Questions<br />

All of the gaps in scholarship suggest several questions which I will attempt to<br />

answer through my research– Who are the children living at one of these institutions?<br />

Where did they come from and how did they end up at this care center? What are their<br />

46

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!