Browsing by Author "Strauss, Elmien"

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    Dis ’n tydbom ... die skip gaan sink : emosionele welsyn van hoerskool-opvoeders in die Helderbergarea van die Wes-Kaap
    (Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns, 2013-09) Strauss, Elmien; Daniels, Doria
    AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Navorsing oor die onderwys toon wêreldwyd dat opvoeders se werksomgewing sowel as eksterne eise, byvoorbeeld ouers se verwagtinge en sosio-ekonomiese uitdagings, opvoeders voortdurend onder druk plaas. Ekstensiewe blootstelling aan hierdie eise kan lei tot ’n negatiewe effek op hul eie persoonlike welstand sowel as die welstand van die skool as organisasie. Herhaalde blootstelling aan stres kan uiteindelik tot emosionele siektes soos uitbranding en depressie onder opvoeders lei. Alhoewel heelwat studies reeds onderneem is om meer lig te werp op wat aanleiding gee tot die belewing van stres en emosionele siektes in die onderwysomgewing, poog min van hulle om die opvoeders se begrip en belewing van stressors in hulle werkskonteks na te vors. Hierdie artikel doen verslag oor ses opvoeders se persoonlike konstruksies van hul emosionele welsyn. Die konteks was die Helderberg-area in die Wes-Kaap wat deur agt hoërskole bedien word. Die opvoeders was werksaam in twee voormalige model-C-hoërskole, en twee voormalige model-Dhoërskole (histories bruin skole). Die bevindinge toon dat die opvoeders emosioneel broos is en spesifieke gedragspatrone toon. Hulle rapporteer ’n afname in produktiwiteit en werksetiek, reaksionêre of gewelddadige gedrag, die blamering van ander en paranoïede-tipe gedrag wat met hul oorwegend negatiewe emosies geassosieer word.
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    Die emosionele welstand van hoerskool opvoeders in die Helderberg-Area
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2008-03) Strauss, Elmien; Daniels, Doria; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Education. Dept. of Educational Psychology.
    During the previous political dispensation, the educators in the Western Cape were captured in a process of ideological influencing. This crisis became evident in the 1976 and 1985 uproars. Although the educators attempted to act in the best interest of the learners, they were in many cases blamed by the ruling government as being liberalists. The subsequent experience of fear and anxiety endangered the emotional well-being of many educators. The election of the first democratic government in 1994 held promises of a better work environment for educators. Far-reaching transformations in education policies and the implementation of new curricula presented educators with new challenges. Disciplinary problems, multicultural classrooms, teaching in a language other than the home language, and the inclusive handling of various external as well as internal barriers to learning, became stressors that educators in the Western Cape were subjected to. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of stressors on the emotional wellbeing of educators in high schools in the Western Cape. I aimed to determine how educators in high schools perceived their own emotional well-being. Furthermore, I explored possible reasons for this and how their emotional well-being had influenced other dimensions of their wellness. I finally focused on educators’ recommendations to improve their emotional well-being. A qualitative research design, which was guided by an interpretive paradigm, was employed. During data analysis I operated in a critical paradigm. The data was collected by means of a literature review, interviews, reflective diaries, observations, documentation and artefacts. The research findings indicated that educators generally are experiencing low levels of emotional well-being. In extreme cases it is associated with emotional illnesses such as depression and burnout. It seems as if the low levels of emotional well-being experienced by educators have a negative influence on their social and physical wellbeing. Possible reasons that can explain the low levels indicate the impact of various role players, namely the type of school, an additional work load, the head master, the school management team, colleagues, learners, parents, the Western Cape Education Department, and educators’ families and friends. In spite of the experienced low levels educators were still at times committed to their occupation. Recommendations on improving emotional well-being were associated with factors in the workplace itself.