Browsing by Author "Scott-Muller, Lionel Richard"

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    Experiences of youth workers working in NGOs implementing HIV and Aids preventative peer education programmes at high schools
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2010-03) Scott-Muller, Lionel Richard; Engelbrecht, L.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Social Work.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Young people between the ages of 15 and 24 have been identified as being the most significant target grouping affected by HIV and AIDS in the world. South Africa has one of the highest HIV and AIDS prevalence rates and has adopted two broad strategies to curb the HIV and AIDS pandemic. The first strategy is costly involving anti-retroviral treatment which the government has only been able to roll-out to a very few HIV positive people. Currently in a depressing global economy, international donors are finding it difficult to increase funding for HIV and AIDS, more particularly as the poor countries of Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Southern Africa have been mostly affected by the HIV and AIDS pandemic. The second strategy is an HIV and AIDS prevention strategy with the primary aim of keeping citizens free from contracting the HI virus. Although this strategy is a comprehensive strategy where governments embark on large-scale campaigns of raising HIV and AIDS awareness, there is very little scientific evidence that these campaigns have brought about a significant decrease of HIV and AIDS prevalence amongst young people. Raising awareness does not necessarily lead to positive behavioural change. Most young people in South Africa attend high schools where HIV and AIDS life-skills education has been made as a compulsory component of the life orientation curriculum. In South Africa, a National Aids Council has been established in South Africa to co-ordinate HIV and AIDS interventions and develops national HIV and AIDS policies aimed at curbing the spread of HIV and AIDS at a national level, yet the HIV and AIDS prevalence amongst young people has not significantly abated. On their own, governments cannot address all the socio-economic needs of their citizens. Partnership need to be formed with Non-government organisations and a broader range of stakeholders to address the spread of HIV and AIDS. Youth workers from NGOs currently implement HIV and AIDS preventative peer education programmes at high schools as part of the South African government’s broad strategy of HIV and AIDS prevention amongst young people. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of youth workers who were employed at NGOs implementing HIV and AIDS preventative peer education programmes at high schools. The researcher used both qualitative and quantitative approaches in the research design. A literature review was conducted to research aspects of the study such as the features of NGOs, high schools as a setting and the role youth workers played when implementing HIV and AIDS preventative peer education programmes. Books, articles, journals, the internet and peer education manuals of NGOs all produced relevant information pertaining to the subject of HIV and AIDS prevention amongst young people. Twenty youth workers from three NGOs that is currently implementing HIV and AIDS preventative peer education programmes was purposively sampled, to be primary respondents of an empirical study. The researcher conceptualised and constructed an interview schedule with pertinent qualitative and quantitative questions based on the literature review. After the questionnaire was piloted with three youth workers, the interviewing process ensued. A considerable amount of time was spent on analysing and interpreting the data. Various themes emerged pertaining to different aspects of the programme. An empirical investigation was concluded with various results. Some of the research findings were in accordance with the literature review which supported the view of several authors that peer education programmes were an effective strategy for HIV and AIDS prevention amongst young people. Based on the literature study and the empirical study, various recommendations were made to improve the implementation of the HIV and AIDS preventative peer education programmes at high schools. One of the most significant revelations of the empirical study was how important the proper selection and recruitment of peer educators were to the success of the peer education programme. The research findings point to a strategy that encourages the nominations of learners from each classroom so that they could represent their classes and deliver lessons in a much more practical way than is currently being done. Another equally important finding was the management role that NGOs need to play in enabling the appropriate resourcing, monitoring, evaluating and improvement of the sustainability of the organisation and subsequently enriching the experience of youth workers who implement effective HIV and AIDS preventative peer education programmes at high schools as part of a broad strategy for HIV and AIDS prevention amongst young people in South Africa.
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    Views of social work managers on the transformation management of non-profit social welfare organisations
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015-12) Scott-Muller, Lionel Richard; Engelbrecht, Lambert Karel; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Social Work.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Transformation management is an essential competency that is required by social work managers for the effective transformation of non-profit social welfare organisations. Given the harsh socio-economic environment in which these organisations exist, particularly with the decline of the global economy, transformation management is critical for sustainability and survival. Moreover, the altruistic need in dealing with the decay of the moral and social fabric of society compounds the necessity for these benevolent organisations to survive. To this end, the landscape of effective social welfare service delivery in South Africa will immensely regress without their survival. In this regard, the transformation of the non-profit social welfare sector in this country has been characterised by being slow and underdeveloped. Despite the inception of democracy and the subsequent promulgation of a myriad of laws, policies and protocols, the malaise within the non-profit social welfare sector continues unabated. The burgeoning growth of social welfare dependants increases daily, crime and violence in the country is at an all time high and the levels of unemployment still escalates. What exacerbates these challenges even further is that social demands are particularly prevalent in historically disadvantaged communities throughout South Africa where poverty levels have continued to remain unchanged. The dire need to revitalise and renovate the social welfare sector by government is thus an urgency that cannot be ignored. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the state to fulfil its social mandate of ensuring that the embedded human rights contained within the Bill of Rights and Constitution of South Africa is upheld. It is thus incumbent of this government to demonstrate the necessary political will in expediting beneficent social transformation in fulfilment of its mandated obligation. Transformation and development of the social welfare sector can no longer be seen as an ideal. Instead, it must be driven as an intentional and compelling priority by the state in order to accelerate the transformation of the ailing social welfare sector. It is within this context that the views of social work managers on transformation management of non-profit social welfare organisations become the primary focus of this investigation. A qualitative exploratory-descriptive design was chosen to explore the following objectives: to conceptualise transformation management; examine transformative management processes, dynamics and models; analyse transformative laws, policies and protocols; study transformed governance, management and operations and to empirically investigate the views of social work managers on transformation management of non-profit social welfare organisations. Research methods included conducting in-depth interviews with twenty social work managers followed by a focus group meeting with four more social work managers. Themes emerging from the data were then delineated into further sub-themes and categories providing rich contextual data which deepened insight and meaning of the topic being empirically investigated. As a result, the research findings provided evidence of the ailing social welfare sector and the compelling need for an integrated approach to be developed in accelerating the transformation of the non-profit social welfare sector. Based on these research findings, some of the core recommendations are: that the government provides the necessary leadership and political will to accelerate the transformation of the social welfare sector by reviewing pertinent funding policies, programmes and protocols; that non-profit social welfare organisations develop rigorous sustainable strategies such as the development of social entrepreneurship programmes, social media networks and websites to generate sustainable income and that a curriculum for transformation management practice be developed and included in the training of future social workers. The research confirms that transformation management is an essential competency that is required by social work managers for the effective transformation of non-profit social welfare organisations. Consequently, through the application of effective transformation management practice, the sustainability and indeed the survival of non-profit social welfare organisations in South Africa will undoubtedly improve.