Abstract
Learners with psychosocial challenges become vulnerable to a depreciation in their mental health. Psychosocial support enhances their social well-being creating resilience and an improved quality of life. The purpose of this study is to investigate the School Based Support Teams’ (SBSTs) experiences when offering psychosocial support to two primary schools in the West Rand education district. A qualitative approach was used to explore two primary schools. A quintile 1 and a quintile 5 school in the West Rand education district formed the two case studies. Six SBST members from the quintile 1 school and six SBST members from the quintile 5 school took part in the data collection process. Individual interviews, focus groups, and the completion of questionnaires were used to collect data. The responses were analysed using Creswell’s steps for qualitative analysis.
The investigation was exploratory and the social constructionist paradigm was employed to explore the experiences of the SBST in the provision of psychosocial support. The theoretical framework employed was Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory to explain and provide insight into how the different systems affect the individual. These ideas were used to understand how the SBST experienced and used the systems available to provide psychosocial support.
The data analysis process revealed three dominant themes. First, the psychosocial problems faced at schools included the absence of the learners’ biological parents, which affected the learners’ mental health. Low socioeconomic status due to unemployment and bullying as a learnt trait from living in a violent community were included as the risk factors that increased psychosocial problems faced by learners at schools.
The second theme revealed challenges experienced by the SBST. These included a vague understanding of their roles in the SBST. The SBSTs were also frustrated by their inability to provide effective psychosocial support from being too overwhelmed with the administrative responsibilities of their work. The lack of training and development also affected the competency of the SBSTs in providing the correct psychosocial support.
The third theme revealed the psychosocial support needed by the SBST. This included the provision of skills and training development to equip the SBST with the correct skills to identify psychosocial problems and provide psychosocial support.
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Collaboration with other stakeholders was needed to provide support that the SBST may not be able to give.
Lastly, parental involvement will enable parents to act as a support system for developing independence with their children. Therefore, it is recommended that the District Based Support Team should offer workshops and training to equip the SBST with skills to assist students with their psychosocial needs. Parental involvement should also be encouraged to assist in the development of a collaborative relationship between the schools and SBSTs.
Keywords:
Psychosocial, support, school-based support team, parental involvement, qualitative, and social constructivist paradigm