The experiences of early childhood development home visitors in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa

Azzi-Lessing, Lenette; Schmidt, Kristopher L.

doi:10.4102/sajce.v9i1.748

Cited by 13 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…However, it is implicit in much current ECD programming that the mother is the primary, or even the only, person to support children in the early years. This is exemplified by the focus on home visiting [ 17 ] or parent group interventions [ 18 ]—which often assume that the child is home with the mother [ 19 ]. While these parent/home-centred intervention approaches are clearly important, we feel it is important that early childhood interventions are not limited to targeting parents as the focus, and the home as the locus, of intervention.…”

Section: A Current Focus On Parental Caregiversmentioning

confidence: 99%

Who actually cares for children in slums? Why we need to think, and do, more about paid childcare in urbanizing sub-Saharan Africa

Hughes

Kitsao-Wekulo

Muendo

et al. 2021

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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The early years are critical and inform the developmental trajectory of children. This is justifiably attracting growing policy attention. Much of this attention is focused on interventions and policies directed at parents, especially mothers. Yet emerging evidence suggests that increasing numbers of children in rapidly urbanizing low- and middle-income countries are now spending much of their day with other formal and informal childcare providers, including largely unregulated paid childcare providers. This paper summarizes the limited literature about the use of such paid childcare in low- and middle-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa, before considering possible reasons behind the lack of research evidence. Finally, key research gaps and their implications for public health practice are explored, with reference to the ongoing British Academy funded Nairobi Early Childcare in Slums research programme in Nairobi, Kenya. We argue that improving childcare may be an under-explored strategy to help some of the world's most disadvantaged children in the most important period of their lives, and that interventions in this largely informal market should be built on a rigorous research base. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Multidisciplinary perspectives on social support and maternal–child health’.

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Section: A Current Focus On Parental Caregiversmentioning

confidence: 99%

Who actually cares for children in slums? Why we need to think, and do, more about paid childcare in urbanizing sub-Saharan Africa

Hughes

Kitsao-Wekulo

Muendo

et al. 2021

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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“…All the eight participants drawn were from the African ethnic group. This has been evident from literature, that child welfare social workers who practice in rural based agencies especially in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa are predominantly African (Schmidt & Azzi-Lessing, 2019). As such, the findings of this study mirror the experiences of child welfare social workers from a Black, African perspective.…”

Section: Diversity Of Sample and Sample Sizesupporting

confidence: 72%

Exploring child welfare social workers’ experiences and perception of working in rural under-resourced agencies in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.

Dyoda

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Background: The Social Work child welfare system is a rewarding field which is also complex and challenging. Agencies in rural based settings are tormented by increased levels of occupational stress, secondary traumatic stress, burnout, and compassion fatigue. Social workers in these agencies experience continuous transformation in service delivery and resources, as well as working conditions. Aim: This study sought to explore the experiences and perception of social workers in rural based child welfare agencies. The intended motive was to establish an understanding of the experiences of child welfare social workers in rural under-resourced agencies. Methods: The study utilised a qualitative approach, which enables a comprehensive description of the participants‟ feelings, experiences, and perceptions of working in under-resourced agencies. The sample was drawn from the population of three agencies in Mnquma Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape. The municipality falls in the B category and consolidates the towns and rural areas of Butterworth, Centane and Ngqamakhwe. The Municipality is generally rural in nature and relies on social grants. A total of eight child welfare social workers were recruited for this study. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews that were audio-recorded. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data from the transcribed interviews. Results: The results were examined in light of empirical evidence from related literature and the Maslach‟s Multidimensional Theory of Burnout. Seven themes were obtained from the data: (1) Childhood Related Personal Experience, (2) Agency-Based Perception of Burnout, (3) Occupational Stress, (4) Nature of the Working Conditions in Rural-Based Agencies, (5) Inadequate Support for Agency Child Welfare Social Workers, (6) Staff Turnover Rates in Rural Under-Resourced Agencies and (7) Varied Ways of Coping with Stress on the Job. The study has revealed that child welfare agencies face various challenges due to conditions of chronic poverty, unemployment, inadequate transportation, geography, and special health care access. The families with children are vulnerable, since they are most negatively affected. Findings: The research findings have revealed that social workers of the child welfare agencies experience burnout and occupational stress due to rural poverty, leading to staff turnover. The study recommended that agencies should give emotional and clinical support to social workers on a regular basis. Also, the importance of wellness and self-care for social workers should be emphasised. Moreover, there is need to prioritise brief crisis interventions for rural social workers, which include critical incident stress debriefings and psychosocial debriefings, as well as trauma risk management strategies built upon to trauma-focused debriefing principles. Recommendations: The study also recommended that the agencies focus on an organisational culture that reflects a bottom-up management approach. Lastly, there should be additional professional oversight in a form of adequate supervision, as well as a shift in terms of managerial style to an approach that is more strengths-based. These possible recommendations address challenges or barriers faced by social workers, in order to improve the quality of their working experience.

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“…When attending an ECD centre, one would assume that a child is protected; however, this is not always the case. Discipline, classroom management and children-to-teacher interactions can potentially be derailed if standards are not upheld (Conroy et al, 2019;Schmidt & Azzi-Lessing, 2019). A child has the right to be educated, but also to be cared for in an environment conducive to ensuring their safety, nurturing and protection (United Nations, 1989).…”

Section: Advocacy For Child Protectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Management Tasks of Social Workers Supervising Early Childhood Development (Ecd) Centres: Identifying the Areas for Professional Development

Ronaasen

Engelbrecht

2023

SWORK

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Early Childhood Development (ECD) has become a priority area of social work, in both developed and developing countries. In this article, the term ECD supervisors refers to the social workers working with ECD centres in the capacity of supervisor. These social workers can provide valuable insight into the unique management tasks and associated professional development areas uniquely required when working in the ECD sector. The goal of this conceptual article is to identify these professional development areas of management tasks required from social workers who supervise ECD centres. Ultimately, these management tasks are synthesised into three categories, namely tasks which require technical, relational and administrative skills respectively. This is an attempt to preserve the institutional memory of South African social workers, given the current shift of ECD governance functions from the Department of Social Development to the Department of Basic Education.

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The experiences of early childhood development home visitors in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa

Cited by 13 publications

References 40 publications

Who actually cares for children in slums? Why we need to think, and do, more about paid childcare in urbanizing sub-Saharan Africa

Who actually cares for children in slums? Why we need to think, and do, more about paid childcare in urbanizing sub-Saharan Africa

Exploring child welfare social workers’ experiences and perception of working in rural under-resourced agencies in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.

Management Tasks of Social Workers Supervising Early Childhood Development (Ecd) Centres: Identifying the Areas for Professional Development

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