Abstract
This study originated from a concern about how parents of toddlers can access information to assist them in the developmentally crucial second year of life. I was specifically concerned about parents in poor communities. At the outset I argued that there is a need for an interactive-two-way, technology-enabled, mass communication service, geared towards motivating, informing and action for those caring for young children in South Africa. My claim that digital design for parenting programmes need to place poverty as well as the end-user or receiver at the centre of the study. I furthermore proposed that the data from the sample of 12 mothers would have some resonance with appropriateness of and adaptations to the instruments we use to reflect on effective parenting. An intervention project, known as ChildConnect tested if there was an appetite for messages that inform and educate parents about their children’s development. I was responsible for designing the SMS content for this mass communication parenting programme. I chose to do this by working closely with 12 mothers, drawn from targeted communities, considering (1) Who was the user? (2) How were the users part of the codesign process? and (3) What was learned? I situated the study within the nexus of the education domain of ECD, with a particular focus on parenting programmes, and the academic realm of communication for development (C4D). Given the focus on parents, with an intention to use SMS-technology, my engagement with literature started with theories of adult education, mass communication and mobile learning. This amalgamation of theories was narrowed down to the relatively new domain of communication for development (C4D) and theories for ‘Social and Behavioural Change Communication’ (SBCC). The nuances of my journey with the participants mirror life in communities where a ‘propoor’ and a ‘para-poor1 approach to this type of adult education is much needed...
Ph.D.