Abstract
M.Ed. (Educational Psychology)
There is a dire need within the South African context for psychological interventions
(Landsberg, Kruger & Nel, 2005). Keeping this in mind, group interventions may
prove to be a most beneficial and effective choice as it provides the opportunity to
address several individuals systematically and simultaneously (Babbie, 2011).
Smaller groups provide an opportunity of learning from others and the comfort of
knowing that you are not alone. I was therefore interested in exploring cognitively
challenged children’s response to puppet theatre addressing grief, within a group
intervention.
The theoretical framework employed in this study is the socio-cultural framework.
Based on the work of Lev Vygotsky, which deals with the concept that the cognitive
development of a child depends upon his/her response to the influences of the
culture and society he/she is born in (Berk, 1997). His observation was that the
social interaction brings about a gradual change in the way a child thinks, feels and
behaves and this is variable from one culture to another. I take these views of
knowledge being actively and continuously constructed and reconstructed with the
impact and influence of social environments (Donald, Lazarus & Lolwana, 2010) in
order to explore the collaborative understanding of grief.
The aim of this study was to explore cognitively challenged children’s response to
puppet theatre addressing grief, within a group intervention. Puppet theatre
presented an opportunity to work with children through ‘play’, thus forming an
alliance with the children in a non-threatening manner (Granot, 2005). With the
focus being on the puppets, not on the children, their responses to grief was
observed and resulted in group discussions. As Glăveanu (2010) points out,
creative acts are simultaneously forms of externalisation and cultural expression.
Malchiodi (1998), stresses the importance of considering developmental delays,
especially with the cognitively impaired, when working creatively with children.
The research followed a phenomenological research design through purposive
sampling of seven children from a Gauteng (South Africa) school for children with
cognitive challenges. Data was collected through the means of unstructured group
interviews and observations. In observing their experiences with puppet theatre in a
group intervention, the aim was to explore their responses and understanding of
grief. Narrative analysis of the data collected provided themes to guide my findings. The
study found that group intervention did prove useful with creating awareness
amongst the cognitively challenged participants by allowing them to connect with
their emotions. Puppet theatre also proved effective in externalizing cognitively
challenged children’s exploration of grief. Through the emergence of this research
communities will be better informed to the value of group intervention and the
advantages of puppet theatre with cognitively challenged children.