Commonwealth YOUTH AND DEVELOPMENT

Commonwealth YOUTH AND DEVELOPMENT Volume 8 No 1 2010

Editor Linda Cornwell Department of Development Studies, Unisa

Associate Editors Oupa Lebeloane Department of Further Education, Unisa Jennifer Lemon Institute of Gender Studies, Unisa

Commissioning Editors Robyn Broadbent Victoria University Tim Corney University of Melbourne Christal de Saldanha-Stainbank

Editorial Advisory Board Reuben Aggor University of Ghana, Légon Tim Corney Centre for Post-Compulsory Education, University of Melbourne Ken Danns University of Ghana Christal de Saldanha-Stainbank Dawn Goodwin Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Azimi Hamzah University of Putra Malaysia Johnson Hebe Department of Social Welfare and Development, Papua New Guinea Jonah G. Mboroki University of Nairobi Mantina Mohasi National University of Lesotho Lincoln Williams University of the West Indies

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Contents Volume 8 No 1 2010

EDITORIAL .....................................................................................................................

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ARTICLES  Volunteer tourism: An emerging element of youth travel in Africa

Meruschka Govender and Christian M. Rogerson ................................................................  Supporting rural teacher development

Ntombebandla Mbunyuza- De Heer Menlah and Tony Mays .................................................  ‘Everybody else does it’: Young British women, safety and risk

Brenda Cochrane and Helen MF Jones .................................................................................  Early childhood development (ECD) trends in the province of the Eastern Cape, South Africa

Moeketsi Letseka ....................................................................................................................  A community of praxis designing and developing a curriculum together

Willa Louw .............................................................................................................................  Gaming culture – what lessons for pedagogy in South Africa?

Russell Kaschula and Andre Mostert .....................................................................................

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37

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 An evaluation of a developmental programme for young academics at the University of South Africa: views from participants

Liza Ceciel van Jaarsveldt ...................................................................................................... 102

NOTES FOR CONTRIBUTORS


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EDITORIAL Now in its tenth year of existence, Commonwealth Youth and Development continues to provide a platform for academics and practitioners to reflect on research and praxis. The focus remains the youth: young people between the ages of 15 and 34, if one adheres to the South African definition, or 15 and 24 if one takes the United Nation’s definition as a starting point. The contributors to this issue of Commonwealth Youth and Development again remind us that the needs, aspirations and concerns of young people differ as we move from one context to another. In England the popular media has been publishing sensationalist articles about binge drinking among young women. Cochrane and Jones explore the perceptions of young women about risk and safety and give us a rare opportunity to listen to the voices of these young women. Their article raises important questions about the potential role of youth workers in such contexts. Govender’s and Rogerson’s contribution reminds us of the effect of globalisation on people’s ability to travel freely in various parts of the world. Their article explores volunteer tourism as a form of alternative tourism that emphasizes reciprocal exchange and that, in particular, benefits host communities. Five of the contributions focus on aspects of learning and teaching across various levels and with a variety of objectives. Kaschula and Mostert explore the potential of gaming as a pedagogical tool. The authors develop a model, based on lessons from the Australian Digital Songlines Project, which has the potential of integrating the technological demands and skills of young people with indigenous knowledge systems. At the other end of the spectrum, Letseka analyses the need for effective and efficient early childhood development programmes in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province. His arguments demonstrate how closely intertwined exclusion from educational opportunities and poverty are and how critical the contribution of early childhood development is in ensuring sustainable human development. The contribution by Mbunyuza-De Heer Menlah and Mays locates teacher recruitment and training firmly within the context of rural development systems and challenges. They explore the potential of distance education, specifically open and distance learning, as a critical intervention in rural teacher training.

© Unisa Press ISSN 1727-7140 Commonwealth Youth and Development Vol 8 no 1 2010 p. 1-2


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Louw’s article is also concerned with distance education. She focuses her attention on the importance of participatory curriculum development where the student plays a key role in a constructivist approach to learning by becoming part of a community of praxis. Van Jaarsveldt’s contribution is also located within distance education, but unlike the other contributions in this edition that focus on pedagogy and the curriculum, Van Jaarsveldt focuses on the young staff of a mega distance university. Her contribution evaluates a developmental programme targeting young academics at the University of South Africa (Unisa) where concerted efforts are underway to develop the skills and capacity of young people who are relative newcomers to academia. We trust you will enjoy the articles in this issue. Linda Cornwell Editor July 2010

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VOLUNTEER TOURISM: An emerging element of youth travel in Africa MERUSCHKA GOVENDER AND CHRISTIAN M. ROGERSON1

ABSTRACT

Volunteer tourism is a growing element of youth tourism in Africa. Against this backcloth, this article provides an analysis of contemporary debates about volunteer tourism and provides a profile of the current ‘state of the art’ concerning volunteer tourism and volunteer tourism research in Africa.

Introduction An important trend within current international tourism, and more especially of youth travel, is for increasing numbers of tourists to seek out ‘alternative tourism’ experiences to that of mass tourism, and search for nature, purity, wisdom or freedom – attributes that sometimes are considered as lost in contemporary society (McGehee 2002; Mustonen 2005; Lyons and Wearing 2008; United Nations World Tourism Organization 2008). Volunteer tourism “is an increasingly popular activity and involves combining travel with voluntary work” (Raymond 2007a, 1). This form of tourism represents an emerging market catering mainly for younger tourists who seek to ‘make a difference’ during their vacations (Coghlan, 2006, 2007; Raymond, 2007a, 2007b). It is conventionally acknowledged to include “the undertaking of holidays that involve altruistic actions such as participating in providing physical aid for communities and/or assisting in environmental and cultural heritage preservation and restoration” (Tomazos and Butler 2009, 1). Two factors underpin the global rise of volunteer tourism, namely the growth of youth tourism as a whole and “an increasing willingness to volunteer for service abroad” (Tourism Research and Marketing 2008, 30). Geographically, the major “supply of volunteer tourists would appear to come from the USA, with a substantial number from the UK, Europe, Canada and Australia/New Zealand” (Tourism Research and Marketing 2008, 44). As an alternative to traditional forms of mass tourism, the concept of volunteer tourism has consolidated as a niche tourism market which is “strongly related to concepts of sustainable tourism and sustainable development, © Unisa Press ISSN 1727-7140 Commonwealth Youth and Development Vol 8 no 1 2010 pp. 3-19


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especially with respect to pro-poor tourism” (Raymond and Hall 2008, 530-531). Overall, it is asserted that “volunteer tourism has become a very salient part of contemporary tourism” (Mustonen 2005, 160) and particularly as a vibrant sub-set of youth tourism (Richards and Wilson 2005; Richards 2007; Jones 2008; United Nations World Tourism Organization 2008). As a result of its recent emergence in the global tourism economy, there has been “relatively little scholarly research” devoted to volunteer tourism (Tourism Research and Marketing 2008, 8). One analyst contends that “research into volunteer tourism is still in its early stage of growth” (Coghlan 2007, 2). Only during the late 1990s and early 2000s did scholarship on volunteer tourism begin to surface, mainly centred on the developing world and looking at the benefits of the tourist experience to the individual (Wearing 2001, 2003; Callanan and Thomas 2005; Tourism Research and Marketing 2008; Laythorpe 2010). Other important research thrusts are the economic benefits of volunteer tourism for host communities (Raymond 2007a; Raymond and Hall 2008), the life-politics of volunteers (Butcher and Smith 2010), and the organization and commercialization of volunteer tourism (Stebbins 2004; Coghlan 2007; Cousins 2007; Tourism Research and Marketing 2008). Mustonen (2007, 8) reflects that during the past few years “volunteer tourism has gained interest among researchers”. Likewise, Guttentag (2009) observes the rise of international volunteer tourism scholarship. Raymond (2007a, 6) identifies a mounting interest in the topic particularly in Australia and New Zealand, a growth which is linked to the appearance of the influential work of Wearing (2001). In the United Kingdom and USA the expansion of research is linked to the emergence of ‘gap year’ experience and International Service Learning Programmes. Accordingly, much of the UK studies focus on volunteering as part of the ‘gap year’ experience (Abidi 2004; Jones 2004; Simpson 2004, 2005a, 2005b) whilst studies from the USA frequently concentrate on the concepts of ‘International Service Learning’ programmes and ‘global civic engagement‘ (Crabtree 1998; McBride and Daftary 2005). Although Africa is a major geographical focus for volunteer tourism, this aspect of tourism so far has attracted scant attention in tourism scholarship (Rogerson 2007a). It is against a backcloth of the growing international significance of volunteer tourism as a category of youth travel that the aim in this paper is to provide an overview of contemporary discussions and debates about volunteer tourism and sketch a survey of the current ‘state of the art’ concerning volunteer tourism research issues in Africa. The discussion unfolds through three sections of material which deal, inter alia with volunteering and the evolution and scope of volunteer tourism; the relationship of volunteer tourism to alternative tourism and its developmental impacts; and, questions relating to volunteer tourism and research in Africa.

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Volunteering and volunteer tourism: Evolution and scope International volunteer activities have their roots in colonialism and the missionary movements of the 19th century. While missionary service may have improved access to education, nutrition, and healthcare, overall it constituted a one-sided relationship between passive beneficiaries and “enlightened” reformers. Following the end of colonialism and the rise of international development agencies in the 1960s, international aid and volunteering efforts have been criticised in that they carry vestiges of the colonial power dynamic where the North and West “helped” the South and East (McBride and Daftary 2005; Raymond and Hall 2008). Organisations such as the UK’s Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), The United States’ Peace Corps and Japan Overseas Corporation Volunteers pioneered the development of formal volunteering as they established programmes to send volunteers to developing countries on twoyear skills transfer placements (Simpson 2005a). This form of international volunteering has been categorised as ‘international service learning’ or ‘global civic engagement’ in academic literature and involves long-term, intensive volunteering outside of the volunteer’s home country. The late twentieth century witnessed a boom period for both international tourism and the volunteer sector. International exposure to development issues was promoted by stark media images and global initiatives such as Band Aid. This growing attention to goodwill activities allowed charities to exploit new opportunities to promote their cause. Recently, many charities have teamed up with tour operators to create combined fundraising and adventure holidays (Callanan and Thomas 2005). The increasing commercialisation of volunteer tourism is a theme noted by Tomazos and Butler (2008). It is observed that from its origins as “a relatively informal and low cost alternative to a conventional holiday, volunteer tourism now ranges from its original model, not even involving international travel, to highly expensive participation involving long haul flights to remote locations and often costly land arrangements” (Tomazos and Butler, 2008, 2). During the past decade there has been a marked increase in the number of volunteer sending organisations that are ‘not linked to the State’ which send volunteers overseas for shorter periods and do not necessarily require volunteers to have specific skills (Raymond 2007a; Raymond and Hall 2008; Butcher and Smith 2010). In North America, international volunteering has been integrated into college courses. In the UK, the rise of volunteer tourism has paralleled especially the growth of the ‘gap year’ phenomenon, which has shown considerable popularity in the last 10 years. Indeed, a number of studies on volunteer tourism are located within the context of ‘gap year’ research (Abidi 2004; Jones 2004; Simpson 2004, 2005a, 2005b). The gap year involves young people taking periods of between 3-24 months out of formal education or employment in order to acquire and develop their global knowledge (Simpson 2005b). Though volunteer tourism is not the primary focus of gap years, an element of volunteering often is included. Meruschka Govender and Christian M. Rogerson


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The establishment of specialised volunteer gap year companies has provided a structure to what was previously seen as an unstructured exploration of other places, peoples and cultures (Lyons 2009). Roberts (2004) estimated the existence of over 200 gap year organisations operating volunteer projects in developing countries. The most recent international scan of volunteer tourism supply organisations revealed a total of “over 300 service providers” (Tourism Research and Marketing 2008, 27). The economic value of youth travel combined with its potential for self-development has lead to institutional acceptability of the gap year as evidenced by the sanctioning of structured gap years by the UK government. This development has lead to making the gap year, and by association VTPs, a ‘market-compatible commodity’ (Simpson 2005b, 455). The commercialisation of the gap year represents a transformation from hedonistic youth travel by “hippie drifters” to gap year travel as a training ground for future professionals (Simpson 2005b, 455). As such, the volunteer tourism sector, with its plethora of specialist gap year companies offering a wide-range of VTPs, has become a multi-million dollar industry within the newly commercialised gap-year industry (Tourism Research and Marketing, 2008). Volunteer tourism has emerged broadly as a form of ‘volunteerism’, implying that individuals offer their services to change some aspect of society or the environment (Raymond 2007a; Tomazos and Butler 2008). Bussell and Forbes (2002, 248) aver that “to be considered a volunteer, altruism must be the central motive where the reward is the intrinsic act of volunteering. The volunteer’s motive is a selfless one”. Similarly, the volunteer tourist’s altruistic motives are emphasised in Wearing’s (2001, 1) conceptualisation of volunteer tourists as “tourists who, for various reasons, volunteer in an organised way to undertake holidays that might involve aiding or alleviating the material poverty of some groups of society, the restoration of certain environments or research into certain aspects of society or environment”. Primarily, volunteer tourism can be separated from other forms of volunteering due to the travel component involved. Furthermore, volunteer tourists often pay for the experience of volunteering, whilst volunteering in general is associated with minimal remuneration (Raymond 2007a, 11). In fact, Wearing (2001) argues that short-term volunteer tourists often pay more than an average tourist would pay for a similar holiday. As pointed out by Tomazos and Butler (2008, 2) a considerable segment “of the organisations involved in offering projects and arranging participation are clearly involved in such activities on a profit-making basis and view volunteer tourism as one more form of tourism to be commercially exploited”. Overall, the generic nature of Wearing’s definition is open to much criticism due to the growing range of volunteer tourism products available (see eg. Tourism Research and Marketing 2008; Lyons 2009; McGehee and Andereck 2009).

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Volunteer tourism sending organisations range, not only in their status, from non-profit NGOs to for-profit tour operators, but also in their goals and objectives (Tourism Research and Marketing 2008). Consequently, the types of volunteer tourism programmes on offer differ widely in terms of duration, activities offered and skills required (Raymond 2007a, 5). Thomas (2001, 22) distinguishes between domestic and international volunteers by asserting, “the domestic volunteer will fit voluntary work…around other real-life commitments. International volunteers, on the other hand, make a total commitment to another culture for a specific term, so that their contribution is not a solitary act or a voluntary donation of time, but rather a distinct period in that individual’s life”. Likewise, Roberts (2004) distinguishes between long-term ‘professional’ volunteers, such as Peace Corps and VSO, and short-term gap-year volunteers. Long-term volunteer placements are usually for a minimum of 12 months, where volunteers have relevant qualifications and professional experience and generally receive a stipend to cover their basic expenses. By contrast, short-term volunteers volunteer for periods less than 6 months, have limited or no qualifications and experience, and usually pay for the privilege of volunteering (Bussell and Forbes 2002). In order to better understand the scope of VTPs offered, Callanan and Thomas (2005) provide a conceptual framework to distinguish between the motivations of volunteer tourists and the range of VTPs offered. According to this framework, volunteer tourists and VTPs can be categorised as being ‘shallow’, ‘intermediate’ or ‘deep’. Typically ‘shallow volunteer tourists’ participate in destination-specific VTPs with a short duration (less than four weeks), are motivated predominantly by self-development, have no specific skills related to the project and make little direct contribution to the local community. Consequently, ‘shallow VTPs’ do not require specific skills from participants, offer little or no pre-project training and are promoted as secondary to the actual destination along with the various travel experiences gained at the destination. At the other end of the spectrum are ‘deep volunteer tourists’, who are motivated primarily by altruistic motives, have skills that are valuable to the project, stay for longer durations (more than six months) and make a direct contribution to the host community. As such, ‘deep VTPs’ require participants with specific skills, encourage volunteers to commit for a long time period, usually provide pre-departure training and promote the destination as secondary to the project. At the midpoint of this spectrum, are ‘intermediate VTPs’ which focus both on promoting the project as well as the travel opportunities available and promote both the financial success of the project along with the project’s contribution to the community (Callanan and Thomas 2005, 196-7). It is widely acknowledged that the “generic term ‘volunteer tourism’ applies to those tourists who, for various reasons, volunteer in an organized way to undertake holidays that might involve aiding or alleviating the material poverty of some groups in society, the restoration of certain environments or research into aspects of society or environment” (Brown and Morrison 2003, 73-74). Several researchers record the

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volunteer tourism experience as a form of ‘serious leisure’ with a focus on learning and contributing to a worthwhile cause (Wearing 2001; Coghlan 2007; McIntosh and Zahra, 2007). In a critical analysis and definition, Simpson (2004, 681) draws attention to the appearance of “‘third world’ volunteer-tourism programmes, which seek to combine the hedonism of tourism with the altruism of development work” and in so doing “make the practice of international development debate doable, knowable and accessible to young travelers”. Overall, Mustonen (2005, 168) situates volunteer tourism as a separate form of tourism which “lies in the blurred area somewhere between modern backpacker tourism and traditional pilgrimage”.

Volunteer tourism, alternative tourism and developmental impacts As an alternative to conventional mass tourism, volunteer tourism is often positioned within the sphere of alternative tourism (Wearing 2001, 23). Post-modern disillusionment with the “many problems raised by mass tourism” (Weaver 1998, 31) has seen the ‘new tourist’ demanding more unique holiday experiences. These new tourists are distinguished by a change from packaged tours to more flexible travel, a shift to smaller or individual group travel, and a search for more authentic and natural forms of tourism experience (Mowforth and Munt 1998). Alternative tourism is a broad concept including a multitude of tourist activities that fall outside the realm of mass tourism (Weaver 1998; Scheyvens 2002). Under the umbrella of alternative tourism lie the concepts of naturebased, ecological, ethical, responsible, ethnic, green, cultural, indigenous, adventure, community-based, soft tourism and ecotourism (Mowforth and Munt 1998). The defining feature of alternative tourism is that it attempts to be ecologically conscious as well as socially and culturally sensitive, by impacting as little as possible on the physical and host environments and destinations (Cornellisen 2005, 20). To a large extent it can be argued that volunteer tourism is a somewhat ‘unstructured’ and fragmented form of ‘alternative tourism’ (McGehee 2002; Mustonen 2005; Lyons and Wearing 2008). For Wearing (2001, 1) volunteer tourism attracts those individuals – mainly (but not exclusively) youth travellers - who “are seeking a tourist experience that is mutually beneficial, that will contribute to personal development but also positively and directly to the social, natural and/or economic environment in which they participate”. Involvement in volunteer projects affords the young tourist a hands-on experience, with ‘the chance to be immersed in a different culture’, as most projects are based in developing countries (Broad 2003; Tomazos and Butler 2008). Some analysts contend that volunteer tourism “can be interpreted as a protest against the commercialization and predictability of conventional tourism, representing a shift towards more deeply enriching and altruistic experiences” (Raymond 2007a, 21). Undoubtedly, a growing number of tourists – especially younger tourists - are searching for more than the ‘escapist experience’ provided by traditional leisure tourism (Wearing 2001; Stoddart and Rogerson 2004; Raymond 2007a; Lyons and Wearing, 2008; Tomazos and Butler

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2008; Butcher and Smith 2010). Accordingly, Callanan and Thomas (2005, 183) suggest that the period of the late 1990s and early 2000s marks ’the volunteer tourism rush’ which has been influenced by an ever increasing guilt-conscious society. While international volunteering is an established field, the niche of volunteer tourism emerged only recently as an increasingly popular genre of alternative tourism (Tomazos and Butler 2008; Lyons 2009). Although both the size of the volunteer tourism market and its growth rate are difficult to ascertain, it is evident that the sector is both substantial and on the rise (Tourism Marketing and Research 2008). Growth is indexed most dramatically by the rapid rise in the number of organisations which supply volunteer tourism programmes (VTPs) (Wearing 2001; Ellis 2003; Jones 2004; Wearing 2004; Cousins 2007; Tourism Research and Marketing 2008). At the international scale, geographically the mass of volunteer tourism traffic originates primarily from Western countries, mainly the United States and Europe, with travel flows predominantly to developing countries (Grey and Campbell, 2007; Tomazos and Butler 2008; McGehee and Andereck 2009). Though volunteer tourists can encompass all age groups, the majority of VTPs are targeted at the youth market due to the growth in the ‘gap year tourists’ (Simpson 2005a). Studies focusing on the motivations of volunteer tourists find that their main reasons for volunteering are a combination of altruistic, personal and social motives that include professional development, learning, cultural exchange, pleasure-seeking and personal growth (Wearing 2001; Halpenny and Cassie 2003; Brown and Morrison 2003). Hustinx and Lammertyn (2003) analyse the changing nature of volunteering through the lens of sociological modernisation theories. Whereas traditional forms of volunteering were “collectivistic”, “institutionalised” and “membership-based”, modern forms are “reflexive”, “self-organised” and “programme-based”. Modern volunteers are motivated more by personal interests and needs than by service ethic and sense to the community and opt for ‘trendy’ problems such as HIV and AIDS, refugees, animal rights and other ‘hot issues’. As such, reflexive forms of volunteering can result in the widening gap between the priorities of the volunteer and the organisational work to be done. Successful volunteer organisations need to balance organisational objectives, on the one hand, with volunteer’s need and preferences on the other. Hustinx (2001) suggests that the nature of volunteering is changing as a result of the individualisation process. Young volunteers no longer wish to commit on a long-term basis and expect something in return for their efforts. Hustinx (2001, 74) further emphasises the need for volunteer organisations to adapt to new styles of volunteering by offering flexible, individually tailored programmes. Volunteer tourism has also been linked to processes of self-discovery and identity formation (Wearing 2001; Broad 2003; Mustonen 2007). By leaving behind previous social groups and interacting with new people in a different location, volunteer tourism can



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afford individuals the chance to review and, in some cases, reconsider their identities. Crabtree’s (1998) research supports these ideas by proposing that volunteering in a different culture exposes volunteers to a range of new outlooks on life and that this can, in turn, help them to reflect on their existing identity and background. As a sub-set of responsible tourism, volunteer tourism has the potential to benefit host communities as well as the volunteer themselves (Raymond and Hall 2008). Thomas (2001) explains how in recent years international volunteer activities have shifted away from altruistic giving towards a new form of reciprocal exchange and global community building. The reciprocity of the host-guest relationship in the volunteer tourism experiences has been highlighted in several studies (Wearing 2004; Raymond 2007a; Lyons and Wearing 2008). By participating in VTPs, individuals can potentially gain a deeper understanding of local cultures and environments, whilst simultaneously contributing to important projects requiring additional labour and motivation (Raymond 2007b; Raymond and Hall 2008). Several studies focus on the personal benefits of volunteer tourism to the individual (Hustinx 2001; Ellis 2003; Jones 2004; Brown 2005; Zahra 2006; Zahra and McIntosh 2007). Volunteer tourism has been shown to have intrinsic rewards, besides its altruistic nature, which includes the potential to change participant’s perceptions about society, their self-identity, values and everyday lives. Furthermore, these studies show that the benefits gained by volunteers usually outweigh the contribution they are able to make to their host communities. Initial studies of volunteer tourist experiences indicated that volunteers experience self-reflection and increased social, cultural and environmental awareness along with a subsequent change to their belief systems and to their daily lives (Broad 2003; Simpson 2004; Brown 2005; McGehee and Santos 2005). Although Thomas (2001) discloses that volunteers find it difficult to utilise skills developed whilst on their volunteer experience upon return to their home countries, evidence from Jones (2004) suggests that the skills developed by volunteering internationally such as increased confidence, resourcefulness and communication can be an asset to returned volunteers with regards to their career development. Furthermore, Jones (2004) points out that the experience of international volunteering motivated volunteers to think about the type of career they want to pursue. For Roberts (2004), one of the central benefits gained by Western youth engaged in volunteering, is a better understanding of the problems faced by people of developing countries. As a tourism experience that changes the focus of tourism for both the tourist and the host community, volunteer tourism offers the potential for the tourism industry to implement ‘pro-poor’ approaches that address development and sustainability issues (Wearing 2001, 24). Research into the impact of international volunteering on host communities is, however, extremely limited with most research debating the value that voluntary work adds to wider development objectives (Mowforth and Munt 1998; McGehee 2006). Considering the short-duration of many VTPs and the limited skills of

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volunteers, the real value of volunteer work to the host community sometimes can be called into question (Callanan and Thomas 2005; Raymond and Hall 2008). While the significance of volunteering to the long-term development of host communities is uncertain, there is an emerging research consensus that volunteering can make some sort of positive contribution to host communities (Raymond 2007a, 2007b). It has been suggested that volunteer tourism can mitigate ‘culture shocks’ and ‘demands’ in conventional tourist-host encounters as VTPs divert energies towards developing tourist-host synergies (Singh and Singh 2004). Consequently, the nature of the hostguest relationship becomes more profound as volunteers become ‘non-tourists’ (Broad 2003). One valuable benefit of volunteer tourism is that it can be a significant source of funding development projects (Raymond 2007b). Nevertheless, there is little contemporary research into what proportion of VTP fees are actually distributed to development projects Despite the potential benefits of volunteer tourism, there has also been growing awareness that volunteer tourism cannot be assumed to be mutually beneficial for volunteers and communities (Tomazos and Butler 2008; Guttentag 2009). In some cases, it has been argued that it is primarily the volunteer tourist who will benefit from the experience (Roberts 2004; Brown 2005). With short-term VTPs, in particular, the ability for young and relatively unskilled volunteers to make a genuine contribution to the host community has been seriously questioned (Roberts 2004; Simpson 2005a). Evidence also suggests that volunteers may be more benefiting volunteering in their home countries than abroad due to the familiarity of environment, languages and cultural practices and improved support structures (Jones 2004, 56). The channelling of volunteer travellers from rich countries to poor countries has been criticised as a form of neo-colonialism or imperialism “in which volunteer tourists inadvertently reinforce the power inequalities between developed and developing countries, and even within such countries” (Raymond and Hall 2008, 531). In certain instances, the western volunteer tourist is constructed as the ‘expert’ or ‘teacher’ in developing countries, regardless of experience or relevant qualifications (Roberts 2004; Raymond 2007b; Raymond and Hall 2008). Certain observers go so far as to contend that international volunteering is politically motivated, of limited benefit to host communities and only of value to volunteers (Roberts 2004; Tubb 2006). Volunteer tourism is further criticised by Simpson (2005b, 683) who avers that the marketing materials of volunteer tourism providers “evoke a highly simplistic conceptualisation of development” as countries are packaged and portrayed as “homogeneous peoples… without history or politics”. Hustinx and Lammertyn (2003, 183) note the exclusion of less privileged population groups from contemporary volunteer action. Another recent study highlights other possible negative effects of volunteer tourism, including a disruption of local economies, the neglect of locals’ desires and a reinforcement of conceptualisations of the ‘other’ (Guttentag 2009). On balance Raymond and Hall



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(2008, 541) assert that whilst volunteer tourism has the potential to contribute towards greater cross-cultural understanding this outcome cannot be assumed simply from sending individuals to participate in VTPs. It is concluded that whilst “this does not mean that volunteer tourism is without value for the volunteers and the communities they visit, it does suggest that it is essential for programmes to be carefully developed and managed” (Raymond and Hall 2008, 541).

Volunteer tourism and Africa Although most academic writing on volunteer tourism has focused upon the developing world, currently there are few studies which dissect specifically volunteer tourism within the continent of Africa. This scholarly neglect of volunteer tourism is regrettable in light of the fact that Africa is one of the major foci for volunteer placement organisations. The Development Bank of Southern Africa has identified ‘voluntourism’ has one of its target sectors for supporting new market development and investment in tourism in Africa (Rivett-Carnac 2009). One early academic study on volunteer tourism in Africa was conducted on the activities of the US-based Habitat for Humanity in South Africa (Stoddart and Rogerson 2004). This research highlighted the strong history of social activism among groups of volunteers involved in housing construction within the disadvantaged township areas of South Africa. More recent Africa-based work on volunteer tourism includes Laythorpe’s (2010) analysis of the satisfaction levels of volunteers working on development projects in Tanzania. Africa is an important and growing focus for the activities of young volunteer tourists. The most recent global survey of volunteer tourism shows that South Africa is among the leading six international placement destinations for volunteer tourism projects (Tourism Research and Marketing 2008). An examination of the internet sites of volunteer placement organisations involved in Africa provides a broad picture of the focus and types of activities undertaken by volunteer tourists in Africa. Volunteers can participate in four broad areas of work. First, is volunteer work involving support for wild life conservation or monitoring projects. An enormous range of different wildlife support operations may be undertaken, including marine and whale research in Mozambique; marine conservation in Seychelles; support for endangered species of gorillas or chimpanzees in Cameroon, lemurs in Madagascar, rhinos in Uganda or Zimbabwe, hippopotamus in Malawi or desert elephants in Namibia; to assistance and support for wild life conservation as a whole in South Africa, Kenya or Tanzania. A second focus for African volunteers is a range of different eco-projects involving often the conservation of forests or endangered plant species, which can be undertaken in Tanzania, Madagascar, Kenya and especially in South Africa. Education work and support for particularly the teaching of English is a third important strand for volunteers. This type of volunteer work is widely available across the continent with opportunities in several countries including South Africa, Ghana, Swaziland, Tanzania, Madagascar and Kenya.

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In South Africa and Zambia opportunities are offered also for more specialised teaching including for sport. One unusual educational experience is internship opportunities in broadcasting and advertising that are offered in Ghana. Finally, a range of different social and community work opportunities can be undertaken by volunteers, including working in orphanages, malaria prevention programmes or the construction of schools or houses in disadvantaged communities.

Figure 1: Location of Select Volunteer Tourism Projects in South Africa As observed, South Africa offers currently the largest range of different volunteer tourism opportunities in Africa. Figure 1 provides a mapping of the location of a selection of opportunities for volunteer work in South Africa as provided by the leading volunteer tourism enterprises. Of note is the widespread spatial dispersal of volunteer tourism projects which offer opportunities for both local economic development in urban and rural areas. Several different enterprises – international and locally-based



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- are entering the expanding volunteer tourism industry in South Africa. Most projects focus on education, conservation, community building, sport development, child care or environmental initiatives. Education projects include, inter alia, teaching English in pre-school or local primary schools as well as counselling and referral; most projects are situated in urban townships of coastal cities or small towns such as Port St Johns or Cintsa. Conservation or eco-projects linked to South Africa’s wildlife or fauna offer opportunities for volunteers to work in rural areas close to national parks, such as Kruger National Park, private parks in Limpopo province or the Tsitsikama National Park on the Garden Route. Examples of specific projects are those linked to research on meerkats at Moolmanshoek close to Lesotho, documenting San rock art in the Drakensberg, assisting in the conservation of the vervet monkey close to Tzaneen or supporting conservation of indigenous plants at a variety of locations. Working with orphans, street kids, and HIV and AIDS awareness campaigns are further elements of the range of volunteer tourism projects offered in South Africa. The nature of volunteer tourism makes it an ideal vehicle for promoting national objectives for tourism development in South Africa. The 2010 (draft) national tourism strategy for South Africa acknowledges volunteer tourism as offering new market opportunities for the country (Department of Tourism 2010). Despite the conflicting international evidence concerning the developmental impacts of volunteering, the promotion of volunteer tourism has distinct benefits such as increasing length of stay and reducing seasonality of tourist inflows (Rogerson 2007b, 2007c). Furthermore, promoting volunteer tourism does not require sophisticated facilities and services and can improve the spatial distribution of tourism spend as volunteer tourism placement (VTP) locations are widely distributed across both rural and urban areas. Project fees are of significant value and can be a valuable source of foreign exchange. For example, one South African horse safari VTP charges £2400 for a 2 month volunteer programme. Despite the significant fees involved, there is little research into South Africa’s volunteer tourism economy or the leakages and distribution of these fees. Rogerson (2007b, 2007c, 2010) highlights both the significance of volunteer tourists as part of the backpacker sector in South Africa and the young travellers’ inadequate awareness of volunteer opportunities in the country. The national backpacker survey commissioned by the Department of Trade and Industry (2007) disclosed the importance of volunteer workers in the current market for international backpackers in South Africa. The study observed that the longest periods of stay by international backpackers are recorded by those working on VTPs in South Africa. Furthermore, the study indicated that volunteers spend an average of R3000 more per trip than the average backpacker. It is of note also that many survey respondents called for improved awareness of opportunities for volunteer work placements in South Africa (Rogerson 2007b, 2010). Recently, the ethical issues surrounding the development of volunteer tourism in South Africa have come under critical scrutiny. Rapidly growing demand in the sector has

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resulted in many volunteer programmes not being planning or managed in an effective manner (Mdee and Emmett, 2008: Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa, 2010). The need for accountability and self-regulation in the sector, however, has been recognised by South African volunteer tourism operators. During 2007 a number of South African operators co-published a ‘Code of Good Practice’ for volunteer tourism (Mediema and Stafford 2007). Following this, Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa (FTTSA), a responsible tourism NGO and certification scheme, launched a certification which was specifically for responsible volunteer programmes. The FTTSA certification of volunteer tourism programmes recognises good practice while enabling tour agents and volunteer tourists to identify and support programmes which are responsibly operated (FTTSA, 2010). During 2010 the first two South African volunteer tourism programmes received certification under this scheme, which is a signal that South Africa’s volunteer tourism sector is an international leader in responsible volunteering.

Conclusion Volunteer tourism is an integral component of the commercialisation and contemporary professionalisation of youth travel (Simpson 2005a, 2005b). In terms of global youth travel volunteer tourism is projected to continue gaining in popularity as individuals seek to combine the altruistic satisfaction of volunteering with more ‘real’ travel experiences (Tourism Research and Marketing 2008; Butcher and Smith 2010). In addition to its positive socio-economic benefits and contribution to development objectives, promoting volunteer tourism can add to the tourism development objectives of African countries by increasing length of stay, improving the spatial distribution of the tourism economy and reducing the seasonality of tourist inflows. Moreover, the use of volunteer tourism has the potential to provide funding for development projects and address issues of skills shortages in certain sectors such as education. Overall, there is an important challenge for African tourism scholars to engage further with the research agenda of volunteer tourism. In particular, for South African tourism researchers the potential for volunteer tourism to contribute towards strategic national tourism goals merits further investigation.

Acknowledgements Wendy Job is thanked for preparing the accompanying map. For funding of research Meruschka Govender acknowledges support from the University of the Witwatersrand Mellon Fund and Chris Rogerson from the National Research Foundation, Pretoria.

Note 1

Meruschka Govender is with the School of Geography, Archaeology & Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg and Christian M Rogerson is with the School of Tourism and Hospitality, Faculty of Management, University of Johannesburg.



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References Abidi Z.J. 2004. Taking a gap year? London: George Williams College for the Rank Foundation. Broad, S. 2003. Living the Thai life – A case study of volunteer tourism at the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project, Thailand. Tourism Recreation Research 28(3): 63-72. Brown, S. 2005. Travelling with a purpose: Understanding the motives and benefits of volunteer vacationers. Current Issues in Tourism 8(6): 479-496 Brown, S. and A. M. Morrison. 2003. Expanding volunteer vacation participation: An exploratory study on the mini-mission concept. Tourism Recreation Research 28 (3): 73-82. Bussell H. and D. Forbes. 2002. Understanding the volunteer market - The what, where, who and why of volunteering. International Journal of Non-profit and Voluntary Sector Marketing 7(3): 244-257 Butcher, J and P. Smith. 2010. ‘Making a difference’: volunteer tourism and development. Tourism Recreation Research 35 (1): 27-36. Callanan, M. and S. Thomas. 2005. Volunteer tourism: Deconstructing volunteer activities within a dynamic environment. In Niche tourism: Contemporary issues, trends and a cases, ed. M. Novelli Amsterdam: Elsevier, 183-200. Coghlan A. 2006. Volunteer tourism as an emerging trend or an expansion of eco-tourism? A look at potential cleints’ perceptions of volunteer tourism organisations. International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing 11(3): 225-237. Coghlan, A. 2007. Volunteer tourism: A better understanding of the volunteer tourism experience. Cairns: James Cook University Tourism Research Report No. 4. Cornelissen S. 2005. The global tourism system: Governance, development and lessons from South Africa. Aldershot: Ashgate. Cousins, J.A. 2007. The role of UK-based conservation tourism operators. Tourism Management 28: 1020-1030. Crabtree, R.D. 1998. Mutual empowerment in cross-cultural participatory development and service learning: Lessons in communication and social justice from projects in El Salvador and Nicaragua. Journal of Applied Communication Research 26(2): 182-209 Department of Tourism 2010. National tourism strategy (draft). Pretoria: Department of Tourism. Department of Trade and Industry 2007. Backpacking and youth travel in South Africa. Pretoria: DTI. Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa 2010. Media release: voluntourism awarded. Available at: http:// www.fairtourismsa.org.za/projects_voluntourism.html Ellis C. 2003. When volunteers pay to take a trip with scientists – Participatory Environmental Research Tourism (PERT). Human Dimensions of Wildlife 8: 75-80. Gray, N.J. and Campbell, L.M. 2007. A decommodified experience?: Exploring aesthetic, economic and ethical values for volunteer ecotourism in Costa Rica. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 15: 463-482. Guttentag, D.A. 2009. The possible negative effects of volunteer tourism. International Journal of Tourism Research 11, 537-551. Halpenny E.A. and L.T. Caissie. 2003: Volunteering on nature conservation projects: Volunteer experience, attitudes and values. Tourism Recreation Research 28(3): 25-33

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Hustinx, L. 2001. Individualism and new styles of youth volunteering: An empirical exploration. Voluntary Action 3(2): 57-76 Hustinx L. and F. Lammertyn. 2003. Collective and reflexive styles of volunteering: A sociological modernisation perspective. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organisations 14(2): 167-187. Jones A., 2004. Review of gap year provision. Research report for Department for Education and Skills. DfES Publications, Nottingham. Available at www.dfes.go.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/ RR555.pdf. Jones, D. 2008. The young independent traveler 2008. Amsterdam: World Youth, Student and Educational Travel Confederation. Laythorpe, K. 2010. Backpackers as volunteer tourists: evidence from Tanzania. In Beyond Backpacker tourism: Mobilities and experiences, eds. K. Hannam and A. Diekmann, Bristol: Channel View 140-152. Lyons, K.D. 2003. Ambiguities in volunteer tourism: A case study of Australians participating in a J-1 visitor exchange programme. Tourism Recreation Research 28(3): 5-13. Lyons, K.D. 2009. Innovations in volunteer tourism: A case study of fundraising adventure tours, Unpublished paper, University of Newcastle, Australia. Lyons, K.D. and S. Wearing (eds). 2008. Journeys of Discovery in Volunteer Tourism: International Case Study Perspectives. Wallingford: CABI. McBride A.M. and D. Daftary. 2005. International Service: History and Forms, Pitfalls and Potential. St Louis: Working Paper No. 5-10, Centre for Social Development, Washington University in St Louis. McGehee N.G. 2002. Alternative tourism and social movements. Annals of Tourism Research 29: 124-143 McGehee N.G.. 2006. Resident attitudes toward voluntourism part I: Perceived impacts of voluntourism. Available at: http://www.voluntourism.org/news-studyandresearch21.htm McGehee, N.G. and C.A. Santos. 2005. Social change, discourse and volunteer tourism. Annals of Tourism Research 32: 760-779 McGehee, N.G. and K. Andereck. 2009. Volunteer tourism and the ‘volunteered’: The case of Tijuana, Mexico. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 17: 39-52 McIntosh, A.J. and A. Zahra. 2007. A cultural encounter through volunteer tourism: Towards the ideals of sustainable tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 15: 541-556. Mdee, A. and R. Emmott. 2008. Social enterprise with international impact: The case for Fair Trade certification of volunteer tourism. Education, Knowledge and Economy 2: 191-201 Mediema, P and J. Stafford. 2008. Code of good practice: Reponsible volunteering in South Africa. Available at: http://www.fairtourismsa.org.za/pdffiles/VoluntourismCodeofGoodPractice. pdf Mowforth M. and I. Munt 1998. Tourism and sustainability: New tourism in the third world. London: Routledge Mustonen, P. 2005. Volunteer tourism: Postmodern pilgrimage? Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change 3: 160-177. Mustonen, P. 2007. Volunteer tourism – altruism or mere tourism? Anatolia: An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research 18 (1): 1-19

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Raymond, E.M. 2007a: Making a difference? Good practice in volunteer tourism. Unpublished MA Thesis, University of Otago, New Zealand. Raymond, E.M. 2007b. Volunteer tourism in New Zealand: The role of sending organisations in ensuring that volunteer tourism programmes ‘make a difference’. Wellington: Ministry of Tourism Industry Report. Raymond, E.M. and C.M. Hall 2008. The development of cross-cultural (mis) understanding through volunteer tourism, Journal of Sustainable Tourism 16: 530-543. Richards, G. 2007. New horizons II: The young independent traveller 2007. Amsterdam: World Youth Student and Educational Travel. Richards, G. and J. Wilson. 2005. Youth tourism: Finally coming of age? In Niche tourism: Contemporary issues, trends and cases, ed. M. Novelli. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 39-46. Rivett-Carnac, K. 2009. Development Bank of Southern Africa: Tourism investment strategy. Halfway House: DBSA. Roberts T. 2004. Are western volunteers reproducing and reconstructing the legacy of colonialism in Ghana? An analysis of the experiences of returned volunteers, Unpublished MA Thesis, University of Manchester. Rogerson, C.M. 2007a. Reviewing Africa in the global tourism economy. Development Southern Africa 24: 361-379. Rogerson, C.M. 2007b. The challenges of developing backpacker tourism in South Africa: An enterprise perspective. Development Southern Africa. 24: 425-443. Rogerson, C.M. 2007c. Backpacker tourism in South Africa: Challenges and strategic opportunities. South African Geographical Journal. 89:161-171. Rogerson, C.M. 2010. Towards strategic planning for an emerging backpacker destination: The South African experience. In Beyond Backpacker tourism: Mobilities and experiences, eds. K. Hannam and A. Diekmann, Bristol: Channel View, 203-220. Scheyvens R. 2002. Tourism for development: Empowering communities. Harlow: Pearson. Simpson, K. 2004. Doing development: The gap year, volunteer-tourists and a popular practice of development. Journal of International Development 16: 681-692 Simpson, K. 2005a: Broad horizons? Geographies and pedagogies of the gap year. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Newcastle, United Kingdom. Simpson K., 2005b: Dropping out or signing up?: The professionalism of youth travel. Antipode 37: 447-469. Singh S. and T.V Singh. 2004. Volunteer tourism: New pilgrimages to the Himalayas. In New horizons in tourism: strange experiences and stranger practices, ed., T.V. Singh. Wallingford: CABI, 181-194. Stoddart H. and C.M. Rogerson. 2004. Volunteer tourism: The case of Habitat for Humanity South Africa. GeoJournal 60: 311-318. Thomas, G. 2001. Human traffic – skills, employers and international volunteering.London: Demos. Tomazos, K. and Butler, R., 2008: Volunteer tourism: tourism, serious leisure, altruism or self enhancement? Unpublished paper, Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. Tourism Research and Marketing. 2008. Volunteer tourism: A global analysis. Barcelona: Tourism Research and Marketing.

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Tubb, K. 2006. Anti-heroes vs. new colonialists: Modern volunteers as agents of reciprocal participation in development intervention. Unpublished MSc Thesis, London School of Economics United Nations World Tourism Organization 2008. Youth travel matters: Understanding the global phenomenon of youth travel. Madrid: UNWTO. Wearing S. 2001. Volunteer tourism: Experiences that make a difference. Wallingford: CABI. Wearing S., 2004: Examining best practice in volunteer tourism, In Volunteering as Leisure/ Leisure as Volunteering, eds. R.A. Stebbins and R.T. Graham. Wallingford: CABI. Weaver D.B. 1998. Ecotourism in the less developed world. New York: CABI. Zahra, A. 2006. The unexpected road to spirituality via volunteer tourism, Tourism Review 54(2): 173-185. Zahra, A. and A.J. McIntosh. 2007. Volunteer tourism: evidence of cathartic tourist experiences. Tourism Recreation Research 32(1): 115-119.

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Supporting rural teacher development NTOMBEBANDLA MBUNYUZA- DE HEER MENLAH AND TONY MAYS 1

ABSTRACT

This article argues for a special focus on the provision of educational opportunities in rural areas in South Africa and explores the challenge of teacher recruitment, development and retention in these areas in particular. It argues for a systemic open and distance learning (ODL) approach to education development and suggests that sustainable teacher development in these areas requires innovative approaches to the ways in which teacher education programmes are designed, implemented, evaluated, managed and costed. The article argues that the challenge is too complex and the need too great for an institution to be able to work independently: instead a collaborative and cooperative effort is needed between higher education institutions, the South African Department of Higher Education and the wider community of practice.

Introduction and problem statement In 2005, the Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF) commissioned the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) to undertake a study focusing specifically on education experiences in rural areas (while noting that the definition of ‘rural’ remained contested). The report concluded as follows:

Broadly, the report argues that the historical development, contours and consolidation of power relations between urban and rural, and within rural areas, have resulted in neither formal nor substantive equality for people living in rural areas. Formal equality can be analysed in terms of access to and participation in education. Substantive equality, by contrast, relates to the experience, quality and outcomes of education. (NMF 2005, xii)

Aims of the study The article begins by offering a basic understanding of systems theory and applies the ideas of Bronfenbrenner to an attempt to gain insight into the nature of rural

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environments. It then explores a distance education systems model and tries to link this to an understanding of the dynamics that need to be addressed in offering distance education in a rural context. Finally, the paper tries to develop a picture of what a distance education strategy for teacher development might need to look like if it is to have any lasting impact on rural development.

Theoretical framework Systems theory and rural context Systems theory is posited on the notion that people do not exist as isolated beings but rather as members of social groups operating within different social systems. Often, people play different roles within these different systems and the different roles and systems will impact on one another. Failure to take account of the interconnectedness of these different systems in planning is in fact planning to fail. As Holmberg (1995) notes, systems thinking can be linked with a holistic approach to educational service provision. Bronfenbrenner (in Pettigrew and Akhurst 1999) points out that school-learners and their teachers operate in several social systems that can impact on the quality of their learning. He identifies the following four levels: 1. Microsystem: immediate family and home environment that can have a direct impact on learning 2. Mesosystem: system elements which are one step removed from the learner but can have a direct impact on learning, e.g. immediate neighbourhood, church, learning centre, etc. 3. Exosystem: the third environmental layer consists of settings that the learner may not experience directly, but that might nevertheless impact on the learner, e.g. spouse’s place of work, friends of family members, governmental and nongovernmental organisations working in the area 4. Macrosystem: the cultural or sociopolitical context consisting of the dominant beliefs, values, customs, laws and resources of a particular culture. Traditionally in South Africa, distance education interventions have been characterised by very low throughput and high drop-out rates often related to institutions’ inability to grapple with the individual needs of learners. High drop-out figures in distance education interventions are often associated with family, workplace, financial and other militating environmental factors, which open and distance learning (ODL) institutions have traditionally not seen as being their concern to address (SAIDE 2000b).

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According to census 96 all areas like commercial farms, small settlements, rural villages and other areas that are further away from towns and cities are classified as rural and these tend to have the following charecterististics: ♦♦ Geographical isolation from other communities and services ♦♦ Poor infrastructure – often few or no permanent roads, lack of piped water and sewerage, lack of electricity, lack of access to telecommunications ♦♦ Strong community identity – more emphasis on collective rather than individual needs and processes and on direct human contact rather than other forms of communication ♦♦ High rates of unemployment and illiteracy ♦♦ Disproportionate numbers of very young and very old people as the economically active youth and adults increasingly migrate to the urban areas in search of work ♦♦ High numbers of people living at or below a subsistence level standard of living ♦♦ Higher mortality rates and health problems related to malnutrition, malaria, HIV/ AIDS and lack of access to medical facilities and medicine.

Systems theory and distance education Distance education has been hailed as one means of opening access to meaningful educational opportunities for people in rural areas (and others, of course). For the purposes of this discussion, we will use the following definition developed by SAIDE (2000a).

Distance education Distance education describes a set of teaching and learning strategies (or educational methods) that can be used to overcome spatial and temporal separation between educators and learners. These strategies or methods can be integrated into any educational programme and – potentially – used in any combination with any other teaching and learning strategies in the provision of education (including those strategies that demand that learners and educators be together at the same time and/or place).

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A systems overview for quality distance education in rural areas The discussion that follows, attempts to draw out some of the implications of the model for distance education provision in general, and then for interventions in rural areas in particular. Figure 1 below represents an attempt to show how various systems at different levels impact on the quality and potential impact of distance education interventions. At the macrosystemic level, the emphasis is on creating an enabling environment. Three key systemic needs are highlighted at this level, but not in any particular order of importance since they need all to be addressed simultaneously: ♦♦ National information and marketing of DE, development, learning and related issues: Large numbers of the population still feel marginalised from education provision and are wary of distance education approaches, often seen as a second best option because so few learners are prepared for independent study by the formal education system. It is necessary to promote information about educational opportunities and the benefits thereof, and particularly to target those who have traditionally been denied access. ♦♦ National policy and planning: Policy and planning at national level needs to complement the above marketing and information campaign. Policy, including financial policy, should encourage flexible, needs-driven interventions on the one hand, but provide quality practices on the other. In particular, funding policy needs to take cognisance of the fact that quality distance education requires recognition of the facts that there are high up front costs and that:

… a distance education system only becomes cost-effective when it can take advantage of economies of scale … courses need to be developed by teams of specialists and taken by many students across a large number of institutions. (Moore and Kearsley 1996) In addition, there needs to be recognition of the fact that policies related to health care, employment opportunities, crime and violence, political stability etc. all impact on education provision. ♦♦ Infrastructural development: At the heart of good distance education practice is interaction and communication. Thus the quality, extent and accessibility of road, rail and transport systems; electricity and other basic services; telecommunications and postal services will all impact on the extent to which distance education methods will be able to address educational development needs.



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Literature Review Kruss (2008, 28) notes that ‘Many rural and historically African colleges were closed in the process of rationalisation and incorporation’ and cites the work of Jaff et al. (1996) and Jansen (2002) to show the decline from 93 colleges (of which 66 were classified as ‘rural’) servicing 71 008 students and producing 17 655 graduates in 1994 to the 25 colleges incorporated into universities by 2000 and currently producing 5000 - 6000 teacher graduates per year. She notes that the rationalisation of these colleges was prompted by concerns about low quality and a perceived oversupply of primary school teachers and an undersupply of secondary school teachers (Kruss 2008, 21; 28; 112) identified in the National Teacher Audit but notes that, among academics at the eleven institutions involved in the research, there is some concern that the closure of the colleges has resulted in a decline in the quality of foundation and intermediate phase teacher preparation (Kruss 2008, 175-6). Paterson and Arends (2009, xix) confirm a decrease in the number of young African women entering the teaching profession, particularly with a view to teaching in the Foundation Phase (which requires the home language as the language of learning and teaching) and speculate on the impact of the closure of rural-based Colleges of Education, the impact of HIV and AIDS and access to funding as possible factors. Chisholm (2009, vii) notes that in 2008, South Africa had 400 953 teachers and principals to address the needs of 12 239 363 learners in ordinary public and independent schools. Chisholm’s report focuses on three recent definable periods in teacher development research, policy and practice. Isolating statements about rural schooling, we note: ♦ In the period 1994–1999, teacher education was still greatly affected by the polices of the past: “Despite the fact that the majority of African teachers were trained in rural colleges of education for rural schools, PTRs in these schools were higher than in urban areas. The under-supply of teachers in rural areas had a great deal to do with racially based per capita expenditure on education at the time (Chisholm 2009, 10) ... Policy and practice in the immediate post-apartheid years focused on short-term strategies to improve the supply of teachers to rural and poor urban schools (Chisholm 2009, 11). Unfortunately, these short-term approaches did not have the desired effect. Learner enrolment and teacher supply both increased, however the desired more equitable distribution did not materialise and instead the system lost a large number of experienced teachers who took voluntary severance packages” (Chisholm 2009, 11–16).

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♦ In the period 1999–2004, researchers noted a decline in the number of enrolments in initial teacher education, particularly among young, African women and “There was evidence that older patterns of over-supply in urban schools and under-supply in rural schools had persisted and that newly trained teachers were finding it difficult to secure employment” (Peltzer et al. 2005)” (Chisholm 2009, 20) ♦ In the period 2004–2008, a Ministerial task team concluded that “moving teacher education from colleges of education to higher education institutions had impacted negatively on the capacity of the system to train Grade R and Foundation Phase teachers and that the location of such education in urban areas meant that the cost to individuals to study to become teachers – in terms of the need to factor in travel, living expenses and accommodation costs – had increased” (Chishom 2009, 24). In addition, although current figures suggest there is currently no absolute shortage of teachers, it has been established that there are shortages in particular areas (Grade R/Foundation Phase, Languages, Mathematics and Science) and that these shortages are most acute in rural areas. Therefore incentives such as bursaries are needed to encourage teacher re-training and/or re-location (Chisholm 2009, 25-6). It is clear that using simple global pupil-teacher ratios for teacher supply mask subject-specific challenges at the level of individual schools – resulting in teachers becoming responsible for teaching subjects for which they were not in fact trained.

The model A sustainable model for rural development should take cognizance of the following: ♦♦ At the microsystemic level potential learners’ home environment may not be conducive to formal learning: The home environment may well lack stimulating sources of information such as books, radio and TV; there may be few role models within the home able to offer encouragement and support to those who may wish to learn; the demands of basic day to day survival may militate against the acceptance of learning opportunities that are not seen to have immediate benefits in improving the quality of life or that bear financial implications. ♦♦ At the mesosystemic level, there is likely to be a similar lack of access to information: It may well be that potential learners have to walk long distances to access even potential learning sites such as an existing primary school, church or clinic; related to this might be limited access to potential role models and tutors/mentors – it is often the case, for example, that un- and underqualified teachers are concentrated in rural areas as their better qualified colleagues migrate towards urban areas; traditional practices, such as initiation schools, are also likely to have a greater impact on the “academic” year.



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♦♦ At the exosystemic level, the remoteness and lack of infrastructure is likely to limit the number of individuals and organisations able and willing to work and create development opportunities in rural areas: Relatives who have migrated to urban areas in search of work may well have left their young children with their grandparents in rural areas, or children are left to live in child-headed households and are unable to access social grants placing an even greater burden on already impoverished rural homes; there may be a tendency for those who have left the rural areas to look down on those they left behind, thus creating a sense of inferiority among members of rural communities, and hence a lack of motivation to engage in educational and other development opportunities. ♦♦ At the macrosystemic level there will be questions about whether the rhetoric on rural development can and will be manifested in action through the mobilisation of resources and the creation of incentives for rural development initiatives.

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Figure 1: A Systems Model for Quality Distance Education in rural areas



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Implications for distance education interventions in rural areas Young et al pointed out in 1980 that “For millions of people, education means primary school”. The Kellogg Research completed to date suggests that this perception is largely true in the rural areas of South Africa even today. Until fairly recent legislation making schooling compulsory, many parents either did not send their children to school at all, or allowed them to drop out after acquiring at best a very low level of functional literacy and numeracy. Anything more than this was seen as unnecessary; as adding no value to the lives of a rural community. Clearly any educational intervention must be seen to be driven by the rural development needs identified at the local level. Although more children are now going to school, many adults still see education as something for school children, with men in particular choosing not to be involved even where opportunities are made available, and many women still being denied access by men in traditional patriarchal systems. Even where educational opportunities of various kinds are taken up in rural areas, be they informal sewing programmes offered by a local resident or formal literacy programmes offered by a visiting NGO, the dominant model in terms of expectations as well as actual delivery, is contact-based and teacher-centred. This points once more to the need for a marketing campaign that practically illustrates some of the advantages of education offered through distance methods and hence a probable process of weaning people off contact support, and introducing them to more independent, resource-based learning. Young et al (1980) noted the radio as a powerful and easily available marketing asset in rural areas and this truism holds to date. The following case study is offered as a basis for discussion. It is hypothetical in the sense that it does not describe an actual project: nonetheless it is based upon the foregoing discussion and upon several actual interventions: one in Honduras in the 1970s; one in Lesotho in 2000, one in Soshanguve in 1998-2000 and several ongoing WorldVision projects. A government sponsored campaign in the local media – newspapers, TV and radio – has highlighted the importance of education and the power of co-operative organisation as a means to address poverty and dependency. The campaign is organised around the following ten issues of urgent concern (World Vision [WV] 2000): ♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦

A livable income Food for everyone Primary education for all Clean water

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♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦

Debt relief channelled to the poorest Peace building Gender equality Sustainable living (Yeld 1997) An end to child labour and exploitation Freedom to believe

In each education district, a district community development committee has been established with representatives from each government department as well as business leaders and interested NGOs. In each community a change agent has been ‘elected’ through participatory learning and action workshops (PLAs, WV 2000) and trained by the district committee to co-ordinate a local SWOT and needs analysis as well as a skills audit and has also received basic facilitation skills training. This person has direct contact, at least once a week, with a member of the coordinating committee and has been given information and contact details related to a number of individuals/organisations with expertise in solving various problems. The local change agent facilitates the work of a community development committee whose work is based on the following 10 key guidelines (WV 2000, 15): 1. Mutual trust and respect amongst all groups by honouring agreements and taking responsibility for changing one’s own attitudes. 2. Community developers, both local and external, see the community as their focus and as their client. Thus there is community involvement in all decision-making and ‘experts’ are willing to change to accommodate them. 3. A sense of purpose and confidence among those involved transforms both individuals and community support structures. 4. Sensitive, transformational leadership that empowers and leaders who can articulate and spread a vision. 5. Local people become competent in many tasks previously executed only by external professionals; they reach remote areas and are very effective in engaging with women and disenchanted male adults. 6. Mentoring local and external support personnel includes on-the-job application of any skills acquired through training.



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7. Tools like Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) sessions are used to focus group discussions and there is ongoing scheduled review and evaluation of progress against goals. 8. Schools and other local structures are used as ‘learning sites’ where training can take place in ‘real-life’ situations. 9. Government, NGOs, community organisations, local businesses, private practitioners and traditional healers work as a team and remain open to outside input. 10. The district coordinating committee draws groups together to capitalise on outside expertise and new ideas as well as local experience.

Implications for ODL teacher development The model so envisaged focuses on strategies that teacher educators might employ to recognise the current critical needs of rural teachers. It is suggested that meeting the challenge requires attention to at least the following elements of teacher education programmes: ♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦ ♦♦

Programme design Programme implementation Programme evaluation Programme management Programme costing

Programme design Democratic classrooms are central to the building of democratic societies. They require curricula and teaching methods that promote and acknowledge autonomy, recognition and critical thinking. In order to take control over their own lives learners need to learn to be active, autonomous and creative beings in classrooms that respect and recognise them, but classrooms in rural schools still show too many traces of the authoritarianism of the past. There is too little respect and recognition and too few possibilities for real and autonomous learning and creative action. Possibilities exist for the development of a culture of human rights and democracy in classrooms but they require new relationships between teachers and learners. Such new relationships should be between teachers and learners, as well as parents and the wider community. Teachers in rural schools need to be empowered to recognise their own integrity and thus release power to learners and other role players without fear of loss of control.

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In the design of any programme, one needs to take cognisance of, and cater for, socio-critical factors, and maintain awareness of the sometimes competing agendas of institutional internal politics, regulatory authorities and the apparent and perceived needs of particular communities – and this calls for constant iterative reflexive practice in design and implementation (Mays 2004). Moon (2006, iv) asserts that “... the coming decade will see the inevitable expansion of school-based teacher education programmes requiring new and innovative modes of delivery” while Morrison and Pitfield (2006, 188; 192) argue for some flexibility in course entry and exit points, for self-study modules with negotiated deadlines, flexible start dates, the possibility of extended time, recognition of prior learning and exploration of the implications for tutors’ teaching beliefs and workload factors. This kind of flexibility should help to attract would-be teachers to a teacher development programme. Glennie and Mays (2008) note that the environments in which many teachers have to work and learners have to learn are often not optimal for learning and, as noted above, the challenges tend to be exacerbated in rural schools. Some things can be addressed through an appropriately designed distance education intervention, but a certain minimum level of school infrastructure also needs to be in place to make it possible for better teachers to perform better. Often classroom resources for teachers and learners are very limited. This is an area in which a well-designed distance education programme can be very beneficial by making sure that the teacher at least has a copy of the ‘syllabus’, sufficient resources to cover the school-based curriculum (even if the suggested activities have to be written on a chalkboard, for example, because the school has no duplication facilities) and, perhaps most importantly, the teacher is helped to identify and adapt everyday resources available in the community. This would include co-opting parents who where willing to engage in classroom-related activities such as oral story-telling to some groups of learners while the teacher is busy working with other groups, helping with school maintenance or laying out a school vegetable garden (for which payment in kind might be negotiated). Experience also suggests that teachers often work in isolation from one another instead of exploiting and sharing their joint strengths: a distance education programme that recruits students in pairs, school teams and/or clusters with the support of district offices supporting rural communities; that requires team work in in-text activities and assignments; provides guidelines and support for student-led study groups and offers occasional face-to-face contact sessions at which co-operative and collaborative teaching and learning are modelled, can go a long way towards breaking down the barriers between individual teachers, classrooms and schools. A classroom teacher development programme should be complemented by a school and district leader



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development programme to curb aspects that militate against ownership of the programme by those it is supposed to develop. A teacher development programme should ‘practise what it preaches’ (Kenyon, Kenyon, Mtaka and Mapingwana 2000; Fraser and Lombard 2002; Mothata, van Niekerk and Mays 2003; Roy 2007). If the programme argues for a blend of independent as well as cooperative and collaborative learning approaches in the classroom, then this is what should be valued in the programme in the way that in-text activities and assessment tasks are set and in the ways in which face-to-face, or technology- mediated contact is conducted. It will be necessary to use work with schools to develop authentic casestudies of how schools in different circumstances – especially but not limited to those in rural communities – overcome local and systemic challenges. Other issues that need to be addressed are developing practices for meaningful resource-based learning, contextualised learning, the valuing of learners’ own knowledge and experience, exposure to multiple perspectives and the appropriate scaffolding of learning and teaching processes.

Programme implementation In many institutions the planned curriculum (actually more often a planned ‘syllabus’) adopts a one-size-fits-all approach that sometimes seems to militate against improved classroom practices by over-emphasizing other issues such as the acquisition of postschool content knowledge (which is in itself sometimes not assessed in ways that require conceptual mastery) or the production of some kind of formal research report or dissertation. Apart from the loss of focus on the quality of classroom practice, such programmes also tend to be much longer to complete – requiring at least 4-5 years of full-time study and 8-10 years of part-time study while working. Not surprisingly, throughput in such programmes tends to be very low (if tracked at all) and of the few successful graduates, many will graduate only to leave the classroom and find a much better paid job and much better working conditions elsewhere. Four to ten years of teacher development then becomes a very expensive way of training an economist or laboratory assistant or an entrepreneur. Better student counselling before registration could have resulted in more informed choices being made (Glennie and Mays 2008). This pre-registration counselling needs to include information about the kinds of teachers currently needed and where they are most needed e.g. Grade R/Foundation Phase and Language, Mathematics and Science teachers able and willing to work in rural communities. This suggests a targeted recruitment campaign to identify potential teachers within a community and to develop them in an in-service, pre-service way by employing them first as teacher assistants and then allowing them to assume greater responsibility and autonomy as they progress in their studies.

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Programme evaluation Robinson (2003, 196-7) notes that the ongoing evaluation and impact analysis of teacher education programmes is generally poor and that these weaknesses are exacerbated by the complexities of distance education delivery. Glennie and Mays (2008) argue the need for site-based assessment and support (that may require decisions about sampling strategies in large-scale programmes), a focus on quality of teaching against agreed criteria, the dovetailing of programme assessment and Ministry developmental appraisal processes and the use of data from such processes leading to revision of the programme design and delivery that is catered for in the programme budget. Ongoing critical reflection by the staff offering the programme also needs to be encouraged (see Quinn and Vorster 2004) and fora created for ‘talking about the programme’ e.g. online fora, video conferencing with decentralised staff, formal programme committee meetings (that go beyond the purely administrative) and regular informal coffee-break debriefings. A concerted effort needs to be made to help schools in rural communities join the digital and online community for these purposes. However, given the fact that many rural schools lack even the most basic resources, it seems likely that in the short to medium term, the nature of these interactions would need to be in the form of face-to-face lekogtla or imbizos. This presupposes the recruitment, training, support and monitoring of a cadre of mobile, decentralised support staff. Co-operative and collaborative planning between HEIs and District offices could ensure sustained support for such initiatives without overburdening one partner.

Programme management To recruit and train teachers from, and with a commitment to supporting, schools servicing rural communities, a greater degree of localised support is envisaged. This would suggest the need for regional collaboration and/or provision of extended fieldbased support in practice.

Programme costing In order to be sustainable, teacher development programmes for student teachers, institutions and the system must be affordable. A deliberate attempt to foster relationships with districts and recruit would-be teachers from within rural communities to undergo a form of apprenticeship within the schools in their community, providing a small income by employing student-teachers as teacher assistants until they qualify and providing bursaries that require one year of teaching in a rural school for each full-time equivalent year of training funded, could be a way to overcome the cost barrier for would-be teachers and to begin to build sustainable



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school deployment (not all newly-trained teachers will leave after their mandatory service period). Preliminary costings at Unisa (Mabunda et al. 2009, 7) suggest that at a student fee of R1000 per 12-credit module (or multiple thereof) a decentralised system of regional coordinators, supervisors and school-based mentors could be sustained, but that subsidy income from successful graduates would be needed to cover overhead costs and to provide funding for more intensive field-based support in rural areas.

Conclusion and recommendations Trainee teachers require ongoing supervision and support in the contexts in which they develop their practice. This presents particular challenges for working in rural communities and suggests either small scale programmes of a limited geographical scope which allow for the direct involvement of ODL institution’s academic staff or, more realistically, large scale teacher development in which the higher education institution provides a network of support services through formal collaborative agreements with schools, other higher education institutions, NGOs and Department of Higher Education structures. This requires a system and ODL approach and a careful juggling of needs and challenges between the local and the systemic. However, smaller scale interventions such as the following can provide useful lessons of experience to feed into larger systemic interventions:

The Rural Teacher Education Project (RTEP) in the Faculty of Education, University of KwaZulu-Natal, now in its third year of operation, places 25 or so third and fourth year pre-service teachers and interns in several schools in the Vulindlela district of rural KZN. For four weeks each year the students (along with resident academic staff and intern staff living and working together in the rural setting), complete the practicum and engage in community service activities for which they receive credit. The RTEP reports the following benefits of this approach: ♦♦ a revised agenda on what provisioning for diverse contexts means in pre-service teacher education … ♦♦ exploration of ensuring more efficient and more meaningful Practicum experiences … This model as we are seeing in the RTEP project means that there is a greater capacity for professional development for the schools as well. Although in RTEP this is applied to rural contexts, it clearly has practical implications for working with preservice teachers in urban, peri-urban and township schools. The teachers and the students are enthusiastic about this and we are seeing that such an approach has

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the potential to radically alter (and improve) the delivery of the Practicum in South African faculties of education (UKZN 2009) An additional area to be considered is a commitment to the development and use of Open Education Resources (OERs) as exemplified in the Teacher Education in SubSaharan Africa (TESSA) project and the OER Africa initiative (www.tessa.net; www. oerafrica.org). The sharing of expertise will hopefully enable investment in learning resources of greater quality. It is important that case studies and scenarios in these resources include examples of ways in which teachers have been successful in rural settings.

Notes 1

Dr Mbunyuza- De Heer Menlah is with the Department of Teacher Education at the University of South Africa and can be contacted at [email protected]. Tony Mays is a Saide secondment to the College of Human Sciences at the University of South Africa. He can be contacted at [email protected].

References Chisholm, L. 2009. An overview of research, policy and practice in teacher supply and demand 1994 – 2008, Teacher Education in South Africa Series. Cape Town: HSRC Press. Department of Education (DOE). 1996. Technology enhanced learning investigation in South Africa: Discussion Document. Report of the Ministerial Committee for Development Work on the Role of Technology that will Support and Enhance Learning. Pretoria: DOE. Fraser, B. and E. Lombard. 2002. Prominent paradigms of performance and the dilemma of distance education to deliver. Perspectives in Education, 20(3), September: 85-102 Glennie, J. and T. Mays. 2008. Teacher education through distance education. Paper presented at the 2nd ACDE conference, Abuja, Nigeria. Holmberg, B. 1995. Theory and practice of distance education. 2nd Edition. London: Routledge. Kenyon, A., V. Kenyon, S. Mtaka, and M. Mapingwana. 2000. Practising what we preach: Evolving an innovative, progressive continuous assessment procedure for a part-time in-service BPrim. Ed. Degree through distance education at Fort Hare in Open Learning through Distance Education (OLtDE), 6(1):16-19 Kruss, G. 2008. Teacher education and institutional change in South Africa, Teacher Education in South Africa Series. Cape Town: HSRC Press. Mabunda, P., H. Sibiya, M. Mampuru, W.M. Maila, S. Schoeman, R.J. Davin and T. Mays. 2009. Managing Teaching Practice in IPET through ODL. Draft Manual. October 2009. Pretoria: Unisa. Mays, T. J. 2004. From policy to practice: an evaluation of the Unisa National Professional Diploma in Education from the perspective of social critical theory. Unpublished MEd dissertation. Pretoria; Unisa. Moon, B. 2006. Research analysis: A global overview of current policies and programmes for teachers and teacher education – Prepared for the joint ILO/UNESCO Committee of Experts concerning Teaching Personnel. Milton Keynes:OUUK.



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Morrison, L. and M. Pitfield. 2006. Flexibility in initial teacher education: implications for pedagogy and practice. Journal of Education for Teaching, 32(2):185-196. Mothata, S., L. van Niekerk and T. Mays. 2003. Learner assessment in practice: Lessons from the NPDE. Perspectives in Education, 21(1): 81-99 Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF). 2005. Emerging Voices: A Report on Education in South African Rural Communities. Researched for NMF by the HSRC and EPC. Houghton: Nelson Mandela Foundation. Paterson, A. and F. Arends. 2009. Teacher graduate production in South Africa, Teacher Education in South Africa Series. Cape Town: HSRC Press. Pettigrew, L. and J. Akhurst. 1999. Learning and teaching: psychological perspectives. Pietermartizburg: University of Natal/Natal Witness. Quinn, L. and J. Vorster. 2004. Transforming teachers’ conceptions of teaching and learning in a postgraduate certificate in higher education and training course. South African Journal of Higher Education (SAJHE), 18(1):364-379. Robinson, B. 2003. Evaluation, research and quality in B. Robinson and C. Latchem. Eds. Teacher education through open and distance learning. World review of distance education and open learning Volume 3. London/New York:RoutledgeFalmer/COL. 193-211 Roberts, G. 1984. Questioning development. 2nd edition. London, Returned Volunteer Action. Roy, I. J. 2007. Staff developers’ perceptions on building a culture of teaching and learning. South African Journal of Higher Education (SAJHE), 21(7):907-918. South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE). 2000a. Open Learning – draft report. Johannesburg: SAIDE. South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE). 2000b. Learner support: a South African programme perspective. Johannesburg: SAIDE (unpublished research) University of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). 2009. Teacher preparation for rural schools: creating an environment for rural access. Case study shared at South African National Teacher Education Summit, Johannesburg, July 2009 World Vision [WV]. 2000. World Vision magazine – millennium edition. Florida, RSA: World Vision South Africa. Young, M., H. Perraton, J. Jenkins and T. Dodds. 1980. Distance teaching for the Third World: the lion and the clockwork mouse. London: IEC/Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd

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‘everybody else does it’: Young British women, safety and risk BRENDA COCHRANE AND HELEN MF JONES1

ABSTRACT

In a society characterised by global threats as well as individualised risks, why would young British women apparently court personal risk and ignore their individual safety by drinking to excess? Young women in a town in the north of England explored their personal ideas of safety and risk with a youth worker with whom they were well acquainted. Their apparently careless behaviours around alcohol actually were undertaken with practical safety measures in place. Moreover, the young women’s notions of safety included the need for a sense of security at home, suggesting the need for a secure base from to support risk taking outside the home. It is argued that their precautions helped to transform apparently negative risk taking outside the home into a more positive activity, notwithstanding longterm health implications.

Introduction Young British women’s binge drinking has been a popular topic for magazines and newspapers for several years. Concerns have been expressed about the apparently irresponsible behaviour and the dangers, both immediate and long-term, to which the young women might be exposing themselves. Over thirty years since women asserted, ‘whatever we wear, wherever we go, yes means yes and no means no’, Amnesty International (2005) found that 30% of people thought a woman was ‘partly or totally to blame’ for being raped if she was drunk and 37% thought the same applied if she had failed to say ‘no’ clearly. Moreover, girls are raised to protect themselves. Over a decade ago Lupton observed: ‘Women are acculturated from an early age to avoid situations of danger and are represented as particularly vulnerable to such risks as sexual assault and mugging because of their gender’ (1999, 161). Media coverage, the Amnesty findings and Lupton’s assertion formed the starting point for the small-scale research project, originally undertaken for a university course, which is discussed in this article. A youth and community worker (D) practicing in a town in © Unisa Press ISSN 1727-7140 Commonwealth Youth and Development Vol 8 no 1 2010 pp. 37-55


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the north of England heard young women’s accounts of their drunken exploits and was concerned about their safety. She wanted to find out why, at a time when developed countries seem increasingly risk averse, young women would choose to put themselves at risk through the consumption of large amounts of alcohol, knowing that they could be blamed if they came to any harm. D designed her research with a wider focus on safety and risk since a preoccupation with alcohol might be interpreted as imposing her personal bias. It should be noted that D’s research concentrated on identifying young women’s understandings of immediate risk and safety, echoing young people’s own preoccupations: the longer-term consequences, such as the impact of heavy drinking on health, were not addressed directly. To provide a framework for analysing the findings, literature concerning risk was studied. The development of an academic understanding of global risk has, to some extent, eclipsed the understanding of individual or personal risks which provide the context for this research. Global uncertainty and negative forms of risk provide the context for young people’s transition from dependence to independence. However, whilst there may be unanimity around whether certain forms of risk are essentially negative or positive, other personal forms of risk are open to interpretation and what appears negative to outsiders may be positive to participants.

Risk Risk became established as an area of academic study with the work of Giddens (e.g. 1990, 1991), Beck (e.g. 1992, 1994) and Lash (e.g. 1993). In Risk society, Beck pointed out, ‘risks are not an invention of modernity’ but earlier generations faced ‘personal risks’ rather than ‘global dangers’ (1992, 21). However, in focusing on individual young women’s perception of risk, ‘personal risk’ remains central and has a generally negative interpretation. Discussing the UK, Furlong and Cartmel suggest that the breakdown in families and communities and the ‘weakening of class ties’ (1997, 9) mean that risk has become individualised and can only be dealt with on an individual level through personal action. Yet, as Beck points out, ‘like wealth, risks adhere to the class pattern, only inversely: wealth accumulates at the top and risks at the bottom’ (1992, 35). Young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, whether in terms of income, power or education, will attract an ‘unfortunate abundance of risks’ whereas their wealthier counterparts ‘can purchase safety and freedom from risk’ (Beck 1992, 35) and engage with stage-managed forms of risk (see below). Disadvantage is more likely for young people brought up by single parents who are more likely to be living on very low incomes. Beck suggests that the breakdown of families and communities has resulted in a weakening of social identities, emphasising the role of the individual in the negotiation of risk (1992). In parallel to the reduction in the role of the family, friendship groups and gangs have assumed additional significance in the lives of many young people. Lupton speaks of ‘the pleasures of risk-taking’ and shows how ‘risk-takers may

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find a communal spirit with other like-minded souls’ (1999, 153): friendship groups and gangs may form around risky behaviours. Meanwhile, British young people see their period of transition from school to college, training or employment as ‘filled with risk and uncertainty’: they may put off leaving the safety of the familiar educational setting for as long as they can (Furlong and Cartmel 1997, 38), remaining in a state of ‘semi-dependency’ (Furlong and Cartmel 1997, 9). Unfamiliarity, flexibility and ambiguity are not welcomed by young people planning their futures. The implications for less academically qualified young people of the flexible job market are that they ‘become trapped on the labour market periphery’ (Furlong and Cartmel 1997, 38). Furthermore the current economic downturn will have exacerbated implications for young people whose independence may be further delayed by difficulties in securing employment and housing. These unclear prospects characterise the world in which young people are reaching maturity. MacDonald and Marsh explain that the way in which transitions have become increasingly complex and individualised have a particular impact on those least able to cope (2005, 33) and the repercussions of the current recession have yet to be fully researched. As indicated, theoretical discussion of risk is fraught with paradox. Natural and manmade risks proliferate on the global scale noted above yet individuals in the west can appear to be cocooned in a risk-assessed, health and safety aware environment designed to be accident-free. Lupton draws our attention to the literature of self-help (1999, 154) with its ‘overcome the fear and seize the opportunity’ ethos, encouraging the taking of opportunities perceived as risky on a psychological rather than physical basis as steps towards self actualisation and fulfilment. Young people have been raised with the idea of ‘meeting their full potential’ and encountering carefully managed ‘risky’ experiences as a way to develop self-confidence which can be transferred to different settings. Organised ‘gap year’ experiences often epitomise this approach to risk, providing opportunities to engage with a range of fear-inducing yet not actually dangerous situations - but gap years are not available to all young people. Extreme sports are managed with a similar ethos but also tend to be more accessible to wealthier people. Thus, whilst disadvantaged young people are facing essentially negative risks, as considered above, their richer counterparts may be paying to enjoy (in all senses) carefully designed forms of risk. Hofstede provides an additional dimension by examining different cultures’ approaches to risk and uncertainty. For him, risk and uncertainty are related but far from synchronous: ‘uncertainty is to risk as anxiety is to fear’ (1991, 116). British culture is highly risk-avoidant given Hofstede’s definition of risk as linked to the ‘probability that a particular event may happen’: precautions such as speed limits demonstrate nationally implemented safety measures. Yet a risk-avoidant society is able to tolerate a high level of uncertainty. Uncertainty is associated with the ability to cope with

Brenda Cochrane and Helen Jones


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unfamiliar and ambiguous situations and is exemplified by attitudes to innovative ideas (seen as good and exciting), educational approaches (the focus on student-centred learning) and even deviant behaviour (some of which is tolerated rather than seen as dangerous). Many of the ‘risks’ discussed earlier could thus be seen as ‘uncertainties’ rather than ‘risks’. Adolescents’ involvement in unmediated or unplanned hazardous behaviour has often been attributed both to their thinking of themselves as invulnerable, that bad consequences will never happen to them, and to their need to learn through experimentation. Their perception of invulnerability is evident in research particularly concerning possible long range health implications through unprotected sex. Moreover there is a clear association between drinking alcohol before sexual activity and not using contraception, which has implications for both teenage unwanted pregnancies and for sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV and chlamydia. For example, McMunn and Cann’s research for the UK’s Institute of Alcohol Studies indicates a clear correlation between increased risk of chlamydia and alcohol use. They suggest the reasons include ‘reduced condom use, sex with strangers and exposure to coercive sex’ (2007). During adolescence alcohol may serve a number of functions: to boost confidence, to help gain acceptance amongst peers, as an attempt to look older, as a way of coping with pressure and also to enhance enjoyment. It could be argued that a cultural shift in drinking has taken place amongst young women who now drink with the expressed aim of getting drunk. This is not to suggest that young women did not drink in the past but, as Alcohol Concern points out, ‘the mean consumption of those who drink has doubled from 5 units a week in the early 1990s to 10 units in 2004 (Alcohol Concern 2007). The coverage in the media of the issue arguably has created both a norm or expectation amongst young women and also a moral panic in wider (or older) society. Lupton suggests that women who take part in activities which ‘allow them to “let go” to some extent of the control that is expected of them’ are both escaping ‘cultural notions of femininity’ and ‘expressing their sexuality’ (Lupton 1999, 161). She was not focusing on the use of alcohol or related sexual behaviours nor looking only at young women but Lupton’s comments could be applied to these particular matters. However the examples she provides do not involve the loss of awareness associated with alcohol or drug use but actually involve conscious decision taking. The engagement in behaviour which could be regarded as illogical – the conscious decision to reduce awareness was the starting point for talking to young women about their apparent disregard for their own safety

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Focus groups In order to gather data, semi-structured focus groups took place with two groups of young women and parallel individual interviews were held with others, using youth clubs as the location. The interviews were conducted and the groups were facilitated by D, who is an experienced woman youth worker who not only was well acquainted with the young women but also had many years’ experience of working with groups. It was felt that this would provide a safe atmosphere in which participants felt able to talk honestly: being previously acquainted encouraged participants to ‘open up’ (Denscombe 2007, 182) and provided a safe atmosphere in which participants felt able to talk honestly. It should be acknowledged that there could be a risk of young people being unwilling to be honest with an interviewer they saw regularly but, given the nature of the existing relationship, this was not identified as a potential problem. It could also be suggested that, given the youth work input they had experienced, the young women could have edited their accounts of their behaviour either to show the success or failure of the youth work sessions around alcohol but they did not appear to modify the habitual openness which had formed the original impetus for the research. The first focus group included young women aged 14-16 whilst the second group was 17-19. The first group was still at school and not old enough to drink legally. The second group, most of whom were still in education, included those old enough to drink legally and go to night clubs. They all came from the same town in the north of England and had comparable backgrounds. Despite the original motivation for undertaking the research, the discussions did not focus exclusively on alcohol: it was felt that a focus on alcohol could be construed as being adults’ preoccupation so the discussions focussed more generally on the young women’s understanding of risk and personal safety. Before the focus groups were held, each participant completed an individual anonymised questionnaire, giving background and demographic data together with a chance to identify things which made them feel unsafe. All of the young women were also assured of anonymity throughout the data gathering. When the data were analysed, a code was given to each participant. Subsequently, to humanise the quotes and reflect the informal nature of the interaction in the discussions, a range of names popular among girls born in the 1990s was used. It should be noted that this was not discussed with the young women themselves and names were allocated at random. Each name is preceded by ‘1’ or ‘2’ if she participated in one of the groups. The discussants, interviewees and facilitator were all white and, as noted above, based in a northern town. Whilst located within commuting distance of several major cities, many young people’s lives are conducted entirely within the town’s environs. Indeed, D observed that many young people rarely visit the town centre, remaining in a limited area close to their homes. This was true particularly of Group 1. Brenda Cochrane and Helen Jones


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Going out The spaces populated by teenage girls and young women have changed dramatically over the last couple of decades. In the past, their leisure time was more likely to revolve around their homes whilst boys were more likely to go out. However, possibly due to the rise in computer games, boys are increasingly found in the home. For over a decade, the increased use of the home as a site of youth culture for boys has meant that girls’ use of domestic space as a resistance to boys’ domination of the streets has been eroded (McNamee 1998, 196). Reduced constraints on female behaviour have resulted in both greater social freedom and more equal opportunities but freedom and opportunities also bring some risks. Group 2 did not equate particular places with unsafe situations but for Group 1 it was different. Their discussion centred on issues such as personal safety in the places that were used by other teenage groups. This fear was not because of prior knowledge of the other groups but more a perception of risk from other groups, both of girls and lads and of the unknown or ‘other’. In this case, this could include notions of threat from other teenage ‘tribes’. The young women, as will be shown later, regarded themselves as ‘chavs’2 and saw goths3 as ‘other’. (1 Chelsea) Well you wouldn’t hang round the bus station. Well, not during the day anyway that’s when the goths are there…. and if you don’t look right they might start on you. (1 Amy) Or at night it’s full of druggies and all sorts. (1 Lucy) Yeah I had to get a bus there one night and there were loads of lads stood about drinking and kinda saying stuff to all the lasses when they passed. Safety for this group meant learning that they did not belong in many public spaces and that most public spaces continued to be masculine (Skeggs 1999). This involves self-exclusion from ‘dangerous’ public spaces (Valentine 1989, 1992). Although they sometimes accessed spaces outside their locality to have a drink, they were aware that being in the ‘wrong place at the wrong time’ (Tulloch 2004) could be dangerous. They adopted risk management strategies such as going in the company of other girls. Research has shown that young people straying across into other young people’s territory often results in the hostile and aggressive behaviour of one group towards another, as a way to control the places where they all ‘hang out’ (Nairn, McCormack and Liepins 2000; Percy-Smith and Matthews 2001). There was a shared anxiety about being alone at night especially in the dark. Much of this concern centred on ‘stranger danger’ whether in the town centre or their own neighbourhood and they often felt the need to take precautions such as making special transport arrangements or going out with friends (Hough 1995).

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(1 Katy) There have been loads of… rapes and attacks in town after the nightclubs. (1 Danielle) And getting kidnapped in cars. That happened to my sister’s friend and that was near where she lived but we’re sound you know ’cos like we know everybody round by us and anyway there’s always a gang of us so that’s ok. Group 2 showed awareness of bogus mini-cabs with drivers picking up young women and had made appropriate arrangements: (2 Sophie) We always keep taxi money when we go out and we stick to the same taxis because of the people who pretend to be taxis and aren’t. They look after us and they said that even if one time we don’t have any money still they will take us home and let us pay the next day. (2 Jenny) Even so you’re still sometimes a bit uneasy if you’re the last out of the taxi and you sometimes you get out and walk part of the way but you always ring to let the others know you got home ok. The young women were fearful of unpredictable ‘stranger danger’, being frightened of sexual and physical abuse from men of all ages but they reflected on how they tried to manage or reduce the risks that they encountered on a daily basis. Their perception corresponded with research showing ‘certain times and spaces as risky’ and so ‘their own position/place in time [was] continually under self-surveillance and negotiation’ (Seabrook and Green 2004, 135).

Getting drunk The ages of interviewees, and the resultant locations of their drinking, were associated with a marked difference between groups’ comments about the risks associated with drinking. Group 1’s particular concern was that their parents did not find out: (1 Louise) Don’t get too pissed or they’ll know and then they go off on one … make sure you go in on time. Drinking on the streets would mean that they ran the risk of being spotted by the police or someone they knew and so they preferred to drink in places that were dark and secluded such as parks and playing fields. Research by Miller and Plant (1999) found that teenage drinkers were much more likely to have done their recent drinking outside their home in what might be regarded as potentially unsafe settings and that their parents did not know where they had gone. For Group 1, the greatest perceived risks were first being found out by adults and secondly the resultant reactions, punishments or restrictions.



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Sometimes Group 1 drank with other young people they knew and occasionally there would be older young people present with whom they were not acquainted. They did not see this as a problem as they would assume that somebody in the group must have brought the ‘strangers’ so they must not present any danger. There is an inherent contradiction in the trust extended to strangers ‘brought along’ to groups drinking in parks and the assessment of risk presented by other strangers which reflects the assessment of the level of threat presented in familiar localities close to home. This may be explained as an aspect of the perception of ‘the other’: as Lupton shows (1999, 123), as ‘the other’ becomes more familiar, its potential as a source of risk is perceived to be reduced: there is a tendency to under-assess risk in familiar settings including both the spatial and personal which is in direct contrast and at odds with the ‘stranger danger’ that the young women talked about in other contexts. Nonetheless the young women said that they were more aware of the dangers when they were drinking and took it in turns to get drunk so that the sober members could look after the others. Those who were drinking seemed unconcerned about staying in control and admitted that they deliberately drank to get drunk. It appeared that the young women had taken on the view described by Vedhara: ‘The message society sends out with happy hours, celebrations and work nights out is that drinking is the most fun when as much alcohol as possible is consumed in the shortest time’ (Vedhara, 2005, 15) as the following exchange demonstrates: (1 Danielle) If you’re not gonna get drunk there’s no point in buying it is there? You get a buzz and chill with your mates. (1 Chelsea) Well there’s nowt else to do. Some of us can get in the clubs but some get ID’d4 cos they look too young so you can’t be tight and leave them can you? (1 Naomi) Yeah that’s right. I mean there’s no pictures5 or stuff to do so you have a laugh with your mates… everyone else does it. (1 Zoë) It’s better than taking drugs. I mean getting stoned on pot’s ok not like class A.6 We’d never take that crap. It really does your head in. Adams (1995) suggests that there is a mismatch between the ‘subjective and objective dimensions of risk which is reflected in reactions to the use of illegal drugs by young people; socially accepted drugs like alcohol pose far greater health risks’ (cited in Furlong and Cartmel, 1997, 8). In light of the comment “There’s nowt else to do” (Chelsea 1) risk taking behaviours such as drug and alcohol use might be recognised as escapist diversion from mundane everyday life. Naomi’s comment that ‘everyone else does it’ also reflects the ‘wet’ (Plant and Plant 1992) culture in which young people in Britain are raised. This means a social context

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in which drinking is both widely practised and generally regarded as a legitimate and enjoyable activity. Vedhara commented that ‘Young people tend to apply the same approaches to alcohol use as adults. It is considered a requisite part of any good night out and is usually consumed in groups’ (2005, 15). However drinking was not always a pleasurable experience for a couple of the young women who did not drink at all and who reported feeling vulnerable when the others were drunk. They were accused of being killjoys and felt excluded and isolated from the group. An example was given of one non-drinking young woman who was accused of being ‘miserable’ and was set upon by her intoxicated friend.

Telling stories There is a strong social pull towards the consumption of alcohol. Sophisticated advertising and the appearance of drinks targeted at young drinkers adds to the allure. Young women appear mature, enabling them to purchase alcohol whilst still underage. However many risks stem from alcohol such as anti-social behaviour and a tendency to engage in unprotected sex. The effect of alcohol is known to remove barriers to sexual behaviour and to reduce the care taken to take precautions against pregnancy or infection (McMunn and Cann 2007) (1 Amy) You don’t give a fuck about safety if you’re well drunk and you might let a lad have it but I don’t always remember what happened so I don’t know about safety […] You think you remember condoms but you don’t…. it’s harder to say no and the lads know it and they get mad sometimes when they’re drunk. The young women’s stories of drinking, sexual behaviour and use of cannabis were quite explicit but were only disclosed within the confines of the group. D. was a trusted adult so accounts were graphic. Under age drinking and the telling of drinking stories form what Blackman terms ‘crucial aspects of [young women’s] promenade as a youth cultural group’ (1998, 216). Research indicates that young women excel in risk taking and have overtaken young men at binge drinking: a few years ago, Plant (2004) suggested that ‘ladette’ culture, where girls take on ‘laddish’ behaviour was to blame. A few years later, ‘ladette’ culture has lost its stigma, popular terminology has moved on and women are happy to go out in groups and drink together. Moreover, as Bunton et al (2004) point out, the association of risk with ‘laddish’ behaviour may reflect a male bias in the study of youthful behaviour patterns. D’s questions did not focus on whether the young women drank in single sex or mixed groups and the descriptions suggested that both took place and where an evening started out with a single sex group, it would not necessarily remain so. In this context, the older young women in Group 2 realised that their judgement concerning encounters with men became cloudy when they had been drinking. This realisation was based



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on the fact that many of them had been in situations or had experiences, in the past, where they had put themselves at risk. Based on these experiences they believed that some men target women who are drunk and put them under pressure ‘to have sex that they do not want or would not have had if they had been sober’ (Donovan 1996, 31). (2 Emma) I was drinking with my mates in the streets when I was about 14 or 15 and in clubs if I could get in. I was always wrecked and did some stupid stuff… went with any guy I fancied without a condom… I went with this guy I just met and he hurt me but I were lucky I could have been dead. (2 Rosie) Been there... done that - but you learn … alright now I try [to] pace myself so I don’t get hammered too early so I have water sometimes in between drinks. They talked about the precautions when they were drinking in the town centre clubs which centred on not doing things alone, such as going to the toilet, and leaving together at the end of the night. They made sure that if they were dancing, their drinks could not be spiked with drugs by making sure that they were always visible and never left unattended. They had learned to moderate their behaviour and take fewer careless risks, echoing findings cited by Watt and Stenson who noted that young women emphasised ‘the need to take precautions to avoid danger, especially when moving around public space in the evening’ (Watt and Stenson 1998, 261). For Group 2, the situation outlined by Lupton pertained: ‘peers who took what they considered to be careless risks were not celebrated, but considered to be silly, the object of contempt’ (1999, 158). They learned from their own experiences and from their friends’ experiences. Their group norm was a form of preventative mutual policing, what Foucault (1982) described as ‘self-surveillance’. One young woman talked about how she and her friends vetted one other’s clothing before they went out in order to avoid looking ‘tarty’. She said that when drunk, they weren’t always as careful about their clothing and ran the risk of falling out of low cut tops. Men saw this as a ‘come on’ and it had brought unwanted attention in the past. This approach shows the young women ‘managing’ their physicality with care (Foucault 1982) whilst acknowledging the resultant restrictions. (2 Vicky) You should be able to dress how you want but you have to dress safe to stop the pervs…. It’s like their eyes can’t look above your boobs and if you show your thong well it’s like saying I’m available….they think they can get away with touching you up.7 (2 Sophie) This is the scary bit: you see young girls … school kids off their heads and they have like thongs on and belts for skirts and they bend down… and you see guys... and sometimes they’re like 20 or something hanging round and you think ‘I know what you’re after’.

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As indicated earlier the young women felt that there was safety in numbers and often banded together for safety when they felt under threat from predatory men. They sometimes pretended to be gay and this often made men back off but not always. (2 Sophie) Sometimes you get dickheads who can’t take the knock back and says things like… ‘you won’t be a lessie if you get a bit of this, luv’ [gesture to crotch]… ‘fancy a threesome… can I watch?’ A decade ago, Blackman observed that this deliberately feigned lesbianism ‘gave the women protection from heterosexual aggression and sexist harassment [whilst] their resistant play undermined the men’s masculinity’ (Blackman 1998, 225). It could also be suggested that young women find a means of exploring their sexuality in these behaviours: it is acceptable to overtly pretend to be a lesbian whilst it might be less acceptable to actually be one.

Taking precautions As well as checking clothing, the young women were well aware of the precautionary role of condoms and phones. As Chelsea (1) said, ‘You should always take a johnny with you’. However, whilst knowing that condoms were a protection against pregnancy and HIV, they did not always use them. This showed a lack of ability to negotiate condom use and being pressured into having unprotected sex especially when they had been drinking, despite previous experience. For some, their own or friends’ experience of not becoming pregnant when contraception was not used meant that unprotected sex was a risk that they were prepared to take. Although there was some disagreement, several of the members of Group 1 were concerned that they could be seen as ‘slappers’ or ‘tarts’ if they carried condoms. Given the frequency of the retrospective anecdotes concerning sexual activity, there is a paradox in terms of recounting tales of promiscuity when in a safe environment whilst expressing concern about the implications of carrying condoms. Group 2 showed stronger aspirations for higher education and careers than Group 1 and felt that a pregnancy would be a disaster. (2 Georgia) Personal safety is about being in control whatever the situation, whatever comes up either about health, or sex, or physical safety. This view was endorsed by the other members of the group. Although they admitted that they did not always carry condoms, they were confident that they could resist being pressured into having sex. They were anxious to avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections and used contraception and, when necessary, emergency contraception. All of the young women stated that they were sexually active and



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discussed their right to decide when they wanted sex, who they had sex with and whether they would have children. The existence of a range of reliable forms of contraception means that ‘the sphere of reproduction no longer [belongs] irremediably in the arena of fate’ (Giddens 1991, 219). The emergence of feminism coupled with scientific advances means that ‘gender roles no longer rigidly structure the life course [and] as a result there are greater possibilities for choices’ (Lupton 1999, 71). However Beck (1992) suggests that as people are progressively freed from the constraints of the old order they are forced to negotiate a new set of hazards which impinge on all aspects of their day to day life. Young women today have more sexual freedom, career choices and control over their bodies than previous generations of women however as old restrictions are removed new risks emerge which have to be negotiated if this freedom is to continue. Although Group 2 said that they were in control, their descriptions of accessing emergency contraception arguably contradicted this. They did see themselves as vulnerable to pregnancy or infection and their contraceptive behaviour reflected early sexual experiences and unplanned pregnancy scares. In spite of their assertions, in practice some young women found it problematic to say ‘no’ to sex and to negotiate the successful use of condoms. On the other hand, Group 1 had perceptions of low vulnerability to pregnancy: pregnancy happened to other people not to them or their friends. The importance of perceived vulnerability is pivotal to behaviour that is protective to health. The risk of disease through unprotected sex and the possible long range health implications was of less concern than what others might think of them for carrying condoms although catching a disease such as HIV was cited by all this age group as making them feel unsafe. In addition to carrying condoms, the young women carried mobile phones which they rated as essential in terms of personal safety. However, all but two participants in Group 1 admitted that although they rarely had credit because they could not afford it, they still felt safer because they knew that even without credit they could call the police if necessary. Most of them had sophisticated phones which very rarely left their hands throughout the discussion. An up-to-date phone is a status symbol even if the lack of credit means it offers little in terms of safety other than in an emergency. One of the participants in Group 2 talked about how, when she went into town with her friends in the evening, mobile phones formed an essential part of their safety precautions. If one of the group left with a male to go to another club, she would make sure that the others knew. She would then text frequently to let her friends know that she was all right. In the event that things were going badly, she would communicate this by text to the group who would go, as if by accident, to the club she had gone to. Then she would be able to leave with them. If one of them went home with a man, the other young women would leave their mobiles on when they get home just in case

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their friend needed them. It could be suggested that the development of the mobile phone has contributed to the safety of these young women or that the possession of a phone gives a false sense of safety leading to greater risks being taken. Like Group 1, many of the participants in Group 2 had also gone through phases of having phones without credit when they were younger but now they had contract or regularly topped up phones which were maintained by their parents or through part time employment. They therefore generally had credit but said that many of their friends never had any. (2 Lauren) My mother got me a contract phone because then I could ring her if I was in trouble but I got a bill for £70 and she took the phone off me till I paid it. (2 Vicky) Yeah that happened to me but then this girl got attacked in town and… my mom said I could have it back if I was careful… about another bill but I think it was cos she was scared in case I needed help. The young women who said that they often had little or no credit on their phones came from less well off or single parent families, providing a graphic illustration of Beck’s point that people with money can buy safety (1992, 35).

Feeling secure When asked about safety, the young women’s interpretation was emotional as well as physical. The researcher had anticipated the identification of dangers outside the home but the young women had a different focus. They responded to discussion stimuli around ‘safety’ by referring to home life. Whilst their choice of leisure activity could be seen by outsiders as inherently risky, the existence of a sense of security in the home environment was significant. When the young women felt emotionally unsafe, their most common coping strategy was talking to others. For some this was their mothers but the majority of Group 2 said that they were more likely to talk to female friends. Generally both groups felt that they were safest when they were with people they trusted such as family or close relatives however in Group 1 some young women reported feeling very vulnerable when violence and tension were present in the family. (1 Chelsea) I get scared when my mom and dad fight. Sometimes they hit each other and once my mom had to go to hospital with a broken nose. I wanted them to stop and I screamed and screamed but I daren’t do anything in case my dad hit me. (1 Zoë) My parents fight a lot but not like hitting each other but my mom keeps crying and saying one day I’ll come home and she won’t be there…



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(1 Amy) It’s awful at home. Mom is always crying since my brother died… I want to ask her about it but she won’t listen that’s why I told my mates… they cuddle me. The negative aspects of home life add a further aspect of their lives characterised by uncertainty for Chelsea, Zoë and Amy. For them, safety at home is inextricably linked with emotional security. The young women in Group 2 adopted a different approach to family problems. They were older, more independent, and arguably more accepting about things that they would be unable to change. This was reflected in their comments: (2 Ella) When I was young I used to get upset when mom and dad fell out but now - well if they split up it’s up to them... I mean don’t get me wrong I don’t want them to but if it happens… it happens. They tried not to get involved when arguments started by staying in their rooms, playing their music or going out. Having friends that they could talk to and trust not to tell was a way of coping with what was going on at home. Friends, but not necessarily a ‘best friend’, were considered essential to both physical and emotional safety and both groups agreed that there was safety in numbers. Not having their friends around them made them more vulnerable. Falling out with their friends meant that they could be at risk physically from the rest of the group and they also felt at risk from outsiders without the protection of the group. Some reported feeling hurt by friends who betrayed their confidences but they recognised that this was a price that was paid when friends fell out. Friendship was central in the lives of both groups but equally as important to Group 1 was their wider peer group. Through ‘friendships young people find support and security, negotiate their emotional independence, exchange information, verbalise beliefs and feelings and develop a new and different perspective of themselves verbalise beliefs’ (Shucksmith et al 1993, 117) whereas peer group norms can set highly influential markers around acceptable and unacceptable behaviour for young people. The discussion revolved around appearance, being liked and ‘fitting in’ and because peers played such a big part in their lives, social acceptance was an urgent concern for these young women. The peer group gives out clear signals to its members both about style and fundamental values, and perspectives. Conformity to the group is the price that has to be paid for acceptance (Shucksmith et al 1993). (1 Naomi) I wear a Peter Storm coat8 and usually tracksuit bottoms with trainers. (1 Danielle) Duh we all wear that don’t we… but being a chav is more than clothes. It’s what music you like and jewellery and hating moshers and goths and skaters9 and…

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Miles (1996) suggests that in late modernity, the visual styles adopted by young people through the consumption of clothing are regarded as having become increasingly central to the establishment of identity and to peer relations. Beck (1992) suggests that the breakdown in communities means that there is a weakening of social identities but Furlong and Cartmel (1997) argue that the influences of peer groups have become increasingly powerful in shaping young peoples’ lives. “Who am I?” “Where do I belong?”(Giddens 1991, 6) are focal questions which acceptance by the peer group answers. The peer group is their community and provides not only an identity but physical and emotional safety as well. The young women Group 2 valued friendship groups above peer groups and with maturity had developed a clearer sense of selfidentity demonstrated by a high regard for each other’s individuality and a greater ability to tolerate difference. However this had not always been true and they too had been desperate for acceptance by peer groups when younger.

Discussion A range of apparently paradoxical behaviours was identified through analysis of the focus group data. For example, the young women were aware of ‘stranger danger’ in some situations whilst elsewhere strangers were perceived as safe, having been introduced by existing group members. Safer sex messages had been learned in theory but the skills of assertiveness needed to put the theory into practice had not been fully honed, resulting on occasion in the need for emergency contraception. These contradictions could be seen as characteristic of stages on the journey towards adulthood with its attendant confidence to negotiate dangers with greater perception although researchers (see, for example, McMunn and Cann 2007) who investigated aspects of sexually transmitted diseases found adults’ alcohol-related behaviours similarly illogical. In fact, the young women’s behaviour provides an example of the complex range of contradictions which epitomise the risk society. The thrill of being ‘out of it’ balances against the planned precautions and the excitement of the ‘different’ balances against the habitual or regularised nature of the behaviour. Given their appreciation of risk, its ‘active courting’ (Giddens 1991, 124), through the deliberate diminution of awareness brought on by the consumption of alcohol, could be seen as hard to explain. Yet, as Giddens shows, one feature of the ‘risk climate’ is the ‘apparently irrational’. He focuses on ‘institutionalised risk endeavours’ such as funfair rides and outdoor pursuits (which, of course, are thoroughly risk assessed and provide an adrenalin-rush without any real danger) and also activities such as fast driving and smoking, where the facts are known to participants but the chance is seized. One finding of particular interest concerns the range of precautions taken by the young women when they intended to drink to excess. Arguably, these converted



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potentially negative risks into positive ones, where short-term risk had been assessed and precautions put into place. Indeed perceptions concerning the nature of ‘risk’ could be seen as age-related or class-related and also could be seen as forming a continuum where differences in detail or differences in precautions taken relocate the threat. Moreover, the role of the sense of security provided by the home environment was significant in terms of supplying a foundation for risk-taking outside the home. Disadvantaged young people do not have the financial resources to engage in managed forms of risk, designed to be as accident-free as possible and choose to find alternative ways to court danger. Although people outside the young women’s circles might regard the dangers as unmitigated and risks as negative, the participants believed their precautions provided the necessary safety measures and saw the risks as positive. Hofstede’s (1991) differentiation of ‘uncertainty’ and ‘risk’ provides a further means of understanding the attitudes shown by the young women. British culture strongly avoids risk but is weak in terms of ‘uncertainty avoidance’. If young women’s use of alcohol is redefined as an aspect of deviance, its designation would become an aspect of uncertainty rather than risk. Curiosity and experimentation become an accepted feature of society and the young women’s behaviour is thus explicable within terms of the framework.

Conclusion D’s research provided her with a snapshot of the situation around the behaviour of the young women with whom she worked. Whilst explanations for the young women’s attitudes were sought, D had not set out to research, nor had she ascertained, how a youth worker should work with young women navigating the contradictions of the risk society. The young women theoretically knew some of the risks of the overconsumption of alcohol and of unprotected sex, yet they engaged in both with a regularity which D found alarming. Was the fact that the young women were wellaware of the risks pertaining to alcohol and sexual activity testament to the input from youth workers? Should youth workers’ focus be on facilitating behaviour change or on harm reduction? The Amnesty International findings (2005) provide a salutary warning against complacency. However, Hofstede’s classification helps us to understand that stronger attitudes to ensuring health and safety will offset by a parallel extension in terms of weakened uncertainty avoidance. The concomitant growth in comfort when faced with ‘ambiguous situations and unfamiliar risks’ (Hofstede 1991, 125) suggests that ‘harm reduction’ and work around confidence raising and assertiveness would be potentially useful approaches for workers to consider. The continuum which could be seen as running between negative and positive risk taking and the potential for different interpretations of behaviours is significant. In

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particular, the way in which the young women themselves transformed situations which D saw as fraught with danger into situations where they saw the level of risk as acceptable through the implementation of safety measures was noteworthy. The identification of the role of relationships, particularly in the home, as an important facet in the creation of the young women’s sense of safety provided a significant aspect of D’s findings. The significance of friendship groups has been documented (see, for example, Furlong and Cartmel 1997, 9) but the young women showed the importance of the role of family in establishing a sense of safety. Whereas adults may perceive young women as apparently courting risk through the combination of alcohol and sexual activity and careless of their own safety, the young women saw safety in a wider sense. Their behaviour was as much a part of their lives as their experience of family life. For them, threats to their security were encountered in their parents’ relationships as well as through their own behaviour. The young women were also vocal about expressing the adverse effects of emotional harm that they suffered from being bullied, judged or not fitting in. When the media focus on alarming and alarmist accounts of young women’s binge drinking, the wider context is inevitably absent and the voices of the young women themselves are lost.

Notes 1

Brenda Cochrane was formerly a Youth Worker with Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council in Yorkshire, UK. Helen MF Jones is a Principal Lecturer in Youth and Community Work at the University of Huddersfield, UK and can be contacted at [email protected].

2

‘Chav’ was originally a derogatory term for some young working class people who wore distinctive clothing including track suits and who were often unemployed and not well educated. Subsequently the word was adopted by the young people themselves.

3

Goths are a long established youth culture associated with black clothing and gloomy music. In some areas there are tensions between goths and chavs, often territorial.

4

Asked to produce an identity card giving proof of age.

5

Cinemas.

6

‘Pot’ is cannabis or marijuana. ‘Class A’ drugs are hard drugs such as heroin.

7

A thong is a minimal form of underpants.

8

A brand of waterproof rain jacket.

9

Moshers and skaters, like goths, are youth cultures associated with particular clothing, music choices and lifestyle choices.

References Adams, J. 1995. Risk. London: University College. Alcohol Concern. 2007. Young people’s drinking. http://www.alcoholconcern.org.uk/servlets/ wrapper/fact_sheets.jsp (Accessed 16 June 2008)



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Amnesty International. 2005. UK: New poll finds a third of people believe women who flirt partially responsible for being raped. http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=16618 (Accessed 6 December 2009 Beck, U. 1992. Risk society: towards a new modernity. London: Sage. Beck, U., A. Giddens and S. Lash. 1994. Reflexive modernization: politics, tradition and aesthetics in the modern social order. Cambridge: Polity Press. Blackman, S. 1998. The school: ‘poxy cupid!’ an ethnographic and feminist account of a resistant female youth culture: the New Wave Girls. In Cool Places, eds. T. Skelton and G. Valentine. London: Routledge. Bunton, R., P. Crawshaw and E. Green. 2004. Risk, gender and youthful bodies. In Young People, Risk and Leisure, eds. W. Mitchell, R. Bunton and E. Green. Basingstoke: Palgrave Press. Denscombe, M. 2007. The good research guide. 3rd edn. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Donovan, C. 1998. Young people, alcohol and sex: taking advantage. Youth & Policy 59. Foucault, M. 1982. The subject and power. In Michael Foucault: Beyond structuralism and hermeneutics: with an afterthought by Michael Foucault, eds. H. Dreyfus and P. Rainbow. Brighton: Harvester Press. Furlong, A. and F. Cartmel. 1997. Young people and social change. Buckingham: Open University. Giddens, A. 1990. The consequences of modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press. Giddens, A. 1991. Modernity and self-identity. Cambridge: Polity Press. Hofstede, G. 1991. Cultures and organizations. New York: McGraw Hill. Hough, M. 1995. Anxiety about crime, findings from the 1994 crime survey, Home Office Research Study 147. London: Home Office. Lash, S. 1993. Reflexive modernization: the aesthetic dimension. Theory, Culture and Society 10:123. Lupton, D. 1999. Risk. London: Routledge. MacDonald, R. and J. Marsh. 2005. Disconnected youth? Basingstoke: Palgrave. McMunn, V. and W. Cann. 2007. ‘Binge drinking’ linked to chlamydia in women. http://www.ias. org.uk/resources/publications/alcoholalert/alert200702/al200702_p22.htm (Accessed 16 June 2008) McNamee, S. 1992. ‘The home: youth, gender and video games: power and control in the home’ in Skelton, T. and Valentine, G. eds. Cool places. London: Routledge. Miles, S. 2000. Youth lifestyles in a changing world. Buckingham: Open University Press. Miller, P. and M. Plant. 1999. Teenage alcoholic beverages preferences: risks and responses. Health, Risk and Societ. 5(1). Nairn, K., J. McCormack and R. Liepins. 2000. Having a place or not? Young people’s experiences of rural and urban environments. In The Proceedings of the Nordic Youth Research Information Symposium – NYRIS 7, June 7-10, Helsinki, Finland. Percy-Smith, B. and H. Matthews. 2001. Tyrannical spaces: Young people, bullying and urban neighbourhoods. Local Environment 6(1):49-63. Plant, M. 2004. In J. Hill Girls top the boys in binge drink league. Metro Newspaper 15 December. Plant, M. and M. Plant. 1992. Risk-takers – alcohol, drugs, sex and youth. London: Routledge.

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Seabrook, T. and E. Green. 2004. Streetwise or safe? Girls negotiating time and space, in Young People, Risk and Leisure. Eds. W. Mitchell, R. Bunton and E. Green. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Shucksmith, J., L.B. Hendry, J. Love and A. Glendenning. 1993. Young people, leisure and lifestyle. London: Routledge. Skeggs, B. 1999. Matter out of place: visibility and sexualities in leisure spaces. Leisure Studies 18(3):213-32. Tulloch, J. 2004. Youth, leisure travel and fear of crime: an Australian study. In Young People, Risk and Leisure. Eds. W. Mitchell, R. Bunton and E. Green. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Valentine, G. 1989. The geography of women’s fear. Area 21(4):385-390. Valentine, G. 1992. Images of danger: women’s sources of Information about the spatial distribution of male violence. Area 24(1):22-29. Vedhara, P. 2005. ‘The truth about drinking’. Young People Now. 4th – 10th May. Watt, P. and K. Stenson. 1998. The street: ‘It’s a bit dodgy around there’: safety, danger, ethnicity and young people’s use of public spaces. In Cool places, eds. T. Skelton and G. Valentine. London: Routledge.



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Early childhood development (ECD) trends in the province of the Eastern Cape, South Africa MOEKETSI LETSEKA1

ABSTRACT

This article interrogates early childhood development (ECD) provisioning in the province of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It argues that while well-structured and integrated early childhood development (ECD) programmes are at the epicentre of sustainable national human resource development (HRD) strategies, the Eastern Cape’s infant mortality rate (IMR) of 61.2 per 1000 live births is the highest in South Africa. It reaches alarming rates of 99 deaths per 1000 live births in the eastern part of the province where poverty is rife. This scenario mirrors national trends in that while South Africa is rated as an upper middle-income country and a prominent economy that accounts for over 75% of the entire SADC’s GDP, 40% of its young children grow up in abject poverty. It argues that in order for the Eastern Cape to be competitive and sustainable in the long term, the provincial government needs to invest heavily on the well-being of children through well-structured and sustainable ECD programmes.

“For every child, health, education, equality, protection and advanced humanity”. (UNICEF 2003)

Introduction Integrated early childhood development (ECD) programmes are critical to sustainable national human resource development (HRD) strategies. Nations that invest in successful ECD programmes recognise the significance of the overall health, nutrition, education, psychosocial factors and the welfare of children. They respect international conventions and protocols on the rights, protection and survival of children, and are committed to the attainment of development goals and eradication of poverty. In this article I interrogate provision of ECD in the province of the Eastern Cape. The

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Eastern Cape is one of the vastly rural and poorest provinces in terms of average monthly household expenditure. It is known for poor infrastructure, limited employment opportunities, large youthful populations and chronic levels of poverty. It has been described as the province most in need of infrastructural development like clean water and sanitation, and improvement of life circumstances such as employment creation and family planning (Statistics South Africa 2000). This article is divided into four sections. In section two I sketch national trends on ECD. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)’s ranking of under-five mortality rates (U5MR) suggests that South Africa performs poorly. 40% of its children grow up in abject poverty. This is notwithstanding that South Africa is a prominent economy in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the continent of Africa. In section three I tease out provisions of the Education White Paper Five (5) on Early Childhood Development (WP5),2 which I argue are consistent with ECD goals of UNICEF’s (2001) report, The State of the World’s Children. In section four I examine the Department of Education (DoE) (2001)’s report on the nation-wide audit of ECD provisioning. This is an invaluable document that provides data on ECD sites nation-wide, and highlights the sites’ (in) accessibility to essential services such as electricity, piped water and flushing toilets, their registered status, whether with the DoE, Department of Social Welfare, or local authority. In section five I debate the Eastern Cape province’s capacity to provide sustainable ECD programmes. In section six I provide concluding remarks.

National trends on ECD UNICEF’s The state of the world’s children series challenges governments to prioritise well-planned ECD programmes. Such programmes are solid building blocks for sustainable development of economically viable human resources (Anderson et al 2002, 2003; Evans 2001; Berlin et al 2001; Atmore 2001, 1998). Writing in the foreword to the World Bank’s (2002, v) From early child development to human development, Ramphele observes that

New insights from neuroscience and behavioural and social science underscore the importance of giving children a better chance in life. Nurturing them in their early years is vital for attacking the worst effects of poverty and may be an effective way to break the relentless, vicious cycle of poverty that, too often, crosses generations Similarly, Young (2002, 1) argues that “early child development (ECD) programmes that comprehensively address children’s basic needs – health, nutrition, and emotional and intellectual development – foster development of capable and productive adults”. South Africa is an upper middle-income country along Brazil and Malaysia (Budlender 1999; Macdonald 2006). Its economy accounts for nearly 70% of SADC’s GDP (Mwambande 2003; Kritzinger-van Niekerk and Moreira 2002; Development Policy

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Research Unit 2000; Mills 1998), and it accounted for $10.6 billion of the Middle East and Africa’s $18.2 billion spending on IT in 1999 (Letseka 2001). Yet it performs poorly in UNICEF’s U5MR compared with countries such as Botswana and Namibia. Writing in the Preface to the WP5, former Education Minister Kadar Asmal recounts the experience of being invited to the launch of UNICEF’s report The state of the world’s children 2001. However, this is dampened by South Africa’s poor performance in the U5MR. The U5MR is a critical indicator of children’s well-being. It measures the end-result of the development process rather than the ‘input’ such as school enrolment level, per capita calorie availability, or the number of doctors per thousand population; it is known to be the result of a wide variety of inputs such as the nutritional health and the health knowledge of mothers; the level of immunization and Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT) use; the availability of maternal and child health services; income and food availability in the family; the availability of clean water and safe sanitation; the overall safety of the child’s environment, and it is less susceptible to the fallacy of the average. South Africa was ranked 66th behind Botswana, Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritius, Libya, and Seychelles (see Table 1). My view is that South Africa has the resources and capacity to sufficiently feed its children, clothe them, and provide access to quality ECD intervention programmes. Table 1 UNDER-5 MORTALITY RATE Country Rank

Value

South Africa

69

66

Botswana

59

69

Morocco

53

72

Egypt

52

73

Algeria

41

87

Tunisia

30

101

Mauritius

23

119

Libya

22

123

Seychelles

17

139

(Source: UNICEF 2001)

South Africa improved its ranking to 64th in 2002, and had an U5MR value of 70 (see Table 2). But it was outperformed by Namibia whose value was 69. Some might argue that the difference of one point is insignificant. But that one point has a huge impact on global rankings and is generously rewarded with respect to investor confidence. 58


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Table 2 UNDER-5 MORTALITY RATE Country Rank

Value

South Africa

70

64

Namibia

69

67

Algeria

65

70

Morocco

46

72

Egypt

43

82

Tunisia

28

108

Libya

22

123

Mauritius

20

129

Seychelles

17

139


In 2003 South Africa’s ranking slipped to 66th (see Table 3). Again below Namibia, whose U5MR value was 67 compared with South Africa’s 71. Table 3 UNDER-5 MORTALITY RATE Country Rank

Value

South Africa

71

66

Namibia

67

69

Algeria

49

75

Morocco

44

78

Egypt

41

83

Tunisia

27

108

Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

19

130

Mauritius

19

130

Seychelles

17

139


The poor rankings are worrisome given that globally South Africa was outperformed by countries like Yugoslavia, The Former Yugoslav Republic (TFYR) of Macedonia, BosniaHerzegovina, Lebanon, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Ecuador,

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Paraguay, Jamaica, and Argentina. These are countries that were either involved in protracted civil strife and bloody violence or were under severe economic hardships and abject poverty. If children’s rights and well-being are not sufficiently addressed by governments and their international partners, development goals will never be met (UNICEF 2003; World Bank 2001, 2002). While the South African government has prioritised ECD in many of its policies and programmes, departments with a key responsibility for ECD have as been unable to direct sufficient resources to ECD services (Bierksteker 2002). The WP5 acknowledges that approximately 40% of children grow up in conditions of abject poverty and neglect. For Ngwane et al (2001, 201), poverty “connotes a state of deprivation. Deprivation can be based on the comparison of an individual’s economic state with either an absolute norm, in which case it is called ‘absolute deprivation’, or a normative or relative norm, in which case it is called ‘relative deprivation’”. This coheres with the UNDP (1998, 14), for which poverty as “the denial of opportunities and choices most basic to human development to lead a long, healthy, creative life and enjoy a decent standard of living, freedom, dignity, self-esteem and respect from others”. Similarly, the World Bank (2001, 15) defines poverty as “pronounced deprivation in wellbeing”. It argues that to be poor is to be hungry, to lack shelter and clothing, to be sick and not cared for, to be illiterate and not schooled. It further argues that “poor people are particularly vulnerable to adverse events outside their control. They are often treated badly by the institutions of state and society and excluded from voice and power of those institutions”. Monare (2003) reports on a grandmother who is raising and educating eight grandchildren on a R700 monthly state pension grant. She qualifies for exemption from fees under provisions of the National Norms and Standards of School Funding (DoE 1998), but she is not made aware of this by the institutions of the state. As a consequence her deprivation continues to worsen. She laments: “If I don’t give them (the schools) anything, I’m likely to meet my grandchildren at the gate returning from school. The schools send them home every payday to get money. They say they must not return until they get the money”. As Ramphele (2002, v) warns, “children who live in poverty cannot go to school, do not learn to read, will have difficulty finding a job, and will have little hope for their, and their children’s future”. The reason for this is that “poverty diminishes people’s spiritual resources, peace of mind, dignity, and freedom to live fully”. The global picture is also less inspiring: “The world has deep poverty amid plenty. Of the world’s 6 billion people, 2.8 billion - almost half - live on less than $2 a day, and 1.2 billion - a fifth - live on less than $1 a day” (World Bank 2001, 3). Former World Bank President, James Wolfensohn explains: “Six infants of every 100 do not see their first birthday, and 8 do not survive to their fifth. Of those who do reach school age, 9 boys in 100, and 14

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girls, do not go to primary school” (World Bank 2001, vi). Contrast this with the fact that US presidential elections in 2008 cost an estimated $5.3 billion (Centre for Responsive Politics 2008). It should be noted notwithstanding this disproportionate cost of elections the rate of child poverty in the United States is substantially higher than that of most other Western industrialised nations, and children are almost twice as likely as any other age group to live in poverty (Anderson et al 2003, 32). Back to the UNICEF surveys, the best ranked African country was the Seychelles, followed by Mauritius, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Botswana and Namibia. These countries also performed well in the Africa Competitiveness Index. Botswana fell from the rankings in subsequent reports because it is one of sub-Saharan countries that is at the centre of the HIV and AIDS epidemic (UNAIDS 2002; World Bank 2001). However, it bounced back as the highest ranked African country in the World Economic Forum (WEF)’s (2003) Global Competitiveness Index 2003-2004(GCI), while South Africa slipped from 34th to 42nd. For WEF Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab, the GCI contributes to our understanding of the key ingredients of economic growth and prosperity by highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of an economy, and by assisting policymakers and business leaders in their decision-making (Donaldson 2003).

Education White Paper Five (5) on Early Childhood Development The WP5 defines ECD as “a comprehensive approach to policies and programmes for children from birth to nine years of age with the active participation of their parents and caregivers. Its purpose is to protect the child’s rights to develop his or her full cognitive, emotional, social and physical potential” (DoE 2001a, 1.3.1). This definition draws on UNICEF’s The state of the world’s children 2001 (2001), which advocates the full involvement of critical stakeholders. The UNICEF argues that “the most effective ECD programmes are integrated and multidimensional, fostering children’s good health and nutrition and their cognitive, social and emotional abilities. Reflecting cultural values, the best of these programmes are deeply rooted within families and communities, blending what is known about the best environments for optimal child development with an understanding of traditional child-rearing practices”. It identifies ten criteria for successful ECD programmes as follows: they incorporate the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ensuring non-discrimination, the child’s best interests, the right to survival and full development; they eliminate all forms of discrimination against women, recognising that ensuring women’s rights is basic to ensuring child rights; they use existing strength of communities, families and social structures; they encompass multidimensional programmes in health, nutrition and the child’s psychosocial and cognitive development; they are developed with and for families, respecting the rights of women and siblings for schooling and for enjoyment of their own childhood; they are developed with and for communities, respecting cultural values, building local capacity, creating ownership and accountability; they provide

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equal access for all children, including girls and those at risk of delayed development and disabilities; they are flexible and reflect diversity; they meet the highest quality standards, and they are cost-effective and sustainable (UNICEF 2001, 17). The WP5 commits to the advancement of the rights of children by embracing provisions of the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children (1.2.3.1). It advocates the freeing of women from the chores of early childhood development for the purpose of raising incomes for families, especially those living in poverty. It argues that this can precipitate dramatic social and economic development in local communities (1.2.3.3). The WP5 proposes an integrated approach to child development, which emphasises the importance of the child’s health, nutrition, education, psychosocial and additional environmental factors within the context of the family and the community (1.3.3). It recognises that community-based services that meet the needs of infants and children are vital to ECD and should include attention to health, nutrition, physical development, curriculum and water and environmental sanitation in homes and communities (1.3.4), and it seeks to ensure that all children aged 5 turning 6 have access to Reception Year (Grade R) programmes. In 2000 the DoE conducted a nation-wide audit of ECD provisioning. Below I briefly scan this document with the view to understanding ECD nationally, and in the Eastern Cape.

The nationwide audit of ECD provisioning in South Africa The DoE and the European Union jointly conducted an audit of ECD to provide “accurate information on the nature and extent of ECD provisioning, services and resources across the country in order to inform and support ongoing policy and planning initiatives in this crucial and expanding sector” (DoE 2001b,1). The audit draws on the White Paper on Education and Training (1995) which conceives of ECD as “an umbrella term which applies to the process by which children from birth to nine years grow and thrive, physically, mentally, emotionally, morally and socially” (DoE 2001b, 13-14). It relies on the Constitution’s provision “to protect the rights of young children including their right to basic education, health care, nutrition and security” (DoE 2001b, 14). Overall 23 482 ECD sites were audited nationally in which 1, 030, 473 learners were enrolled and catered for by 54, 503 educators (See Tables 4 and 5 below). Out of this overall figure the Eastern Cape had 3 231or 14%, third highest after Kwazulu-Natal (5 684) and Gauteng (5 308).

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Table 4: Numbers of sites Province

Sites

Eastern Cape

3 231 (14%)

Free State

1 665 (7%)

Gauteng

5 308 (23%)

Kwazulu-Natal

5 684 (24%)

Mpumalanga

1 367 (6%)

Northern Cape

422 (2%)

Northern Province

1 987 (8%)

North West

1 174 (5%)

Western Cape

2 644 (11%)

South Africa

23 482

(Source: DoE 2001b)

The Eastern Cape’s EDC sites accommodated 152 451 learners who are catered for by 6 354 educators (see Table 5). The resultant learner/educator ratio was 24:1, and was joint highest with Northern Cape’s. Table 5: Educators, learners enrolled and learner/educator ratio Province

Educators

Learner enrolment

Learner/educator ratios

Eastern Cape

6 354 (12%)

152 451 (15%)

24:1

Free State

3 964 (7%)

75 493 (7%)

19:1

Gauteng

15 052 (28%)

236 523 (23%)

16:1

Kwazulu-Natal

10 603 (19%)

213 950 (21%)

20:1

Mpumalanga

2 658 (5%)

52 626 (5%)

20:1

844 (1%)

20 278 (2%)

24:1

Northern Province

3 615 (7%)

82 582 (8%)

23:1

North West

2 910 (5%)

53 554 (5%)

18:1

Western Cape

8 503 (16%)

143 016 (14%)

17:1

South Africa

54 503

Northern Cape

1 030 473

19:1

(Source: DoE 2001b)

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The province’s ECD learner attendance rate of 77% was the lowest of the nine provinces, and 11 percentage points below the national average of 86 % (see Table 6). Table 6: Educators, learners enrolled and learner/educator ratio Province Eastern Cape

Learner enrolment

Learners in attendance

Attendance rate

152 451 (15)

111 742

77%

Free State

75 493 (7)

66 593

88%

Gauteng

236 523 (23)

213 695

90%

Kwazulu-Natal

213 950 (21)

183 017

86%

Mpumalanga

52 626 (5)

47 303

90%

Northern Cape

20 278 (2)

16 815

83%

Northern Province

82 582 (8)

73 796

89%

North West

53 554 (5)

45 867

86%

143 016 (14)

122 850

86%

1 030 473

886 678

86%

Western Cape South Africa (Source: DoE 2001b)

The Eastern Cape (in) capacity for ECD provisioning Two salient points about the Eastern Cape’s capacity for ECD provisioning stand out. First, it is vastly rural (61.2%), second only to Limpopo (86.7%) (Statistics South Africa 2003a). Second, it is one of the poorest provinces in terms of average monthly household expenditure. The province has a legacy of poor infrastructure, limited employment opportunities, large youthful populations and chronic poverty. It is one of the provinces most in need of infrastructural development like clean water and sanitation, improvement of life circumstances such as employment creation and family planning (Statistics South Africa 2000). The provincial Health Department (2003) acknowledges that infant mortality rate (IMR) of 61.2 per 1000 live births is the highest in South Africa. It notes that in the eastern part of the province where poverty is rife, there is lack of access to safe water for household, lack of proper integrated care of childhood illnesses, and IMR can be as high as 99 deaths per 1000 live births (see Figure 1).

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Figure 1: Mortality rate in the Eastern Cape, 1998 (Source: Eastern Cape Department of Health Strategic Plan 2003/4)

Most ECD sites in the province are in the rural areas. Which is probably why “there are significantly more community-based sited in the Eastern Cape than the national average of 49%” (DoE 2001b). There is a significant non-governmental organisation (NGO) sector influence on educator qualifications given that the bulk of which were obtained through NGO training (see Table 7) Table 7: Educator qualifications x years of ECD experience Years

No training

NGO training

Under-qualified

Qualified

Total