Constructing the meaning of family in the context of family separation (autosaved).docx
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This document outlines Gertrude Gwenzi's research presentation on constructing the meaning of family for children in institutional care and care leavers in Zimbabwe. The presentation introduces the topic, outlines the research questions and objectives, discusses the background literature and theoretical frameworks, and describes the proposed mixed-methods research plan involving questionnaires, interviews and observation of children in family-based and dormitory-style institutions and former care leavers. The research aims to understand how children in these situations make sense of family in the absence of birth or extended family.
Constructing the meaning of family in the context of family separation (autosaved).docx
- 1. RESEARCH PRESENTATION Getrude. D. Gwenzi PhD Sociology and Social Policy Supervisors: Professors Annie Chan Hau-Nung and Roman David 27 April, 2017 Getrude Gwenzi 1130747 1
- 2. Constructing the meaning of family in the context of family separation: a study on children in institutional care and care leavers in Zimbabwe. 27 April, 2017 Getrude Gwenzi 2
- 3. OUTLINE • Introduction and Background • The Problem • Research Questions • Literature Review • Research Method • Limitations 3
- 4. INTRODUCTION •The meaning of “family” for children is something that has become interesting for scholars due to the changes in family over the years. •There is no consensus on the definition of family Family as a social phenomena, constructed and defined according to historical and social contexts (Prout, 2005). Family as a powerful and pervasive word in our culture, embracing a variety of social, cultural, economic and symbolic meanings (Weeks, 2001). International human rights law and global practice emphasize the importance of a permanent, safe and caring family for children (UNCRC, 1989; African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child 4
- 6. THE PROBLEM There are lots of children living outside of familial care •Orphans of war or disease •Left-behind children •Children of incarcerated parents •Neglected, abused, abandoned, destitute children (family disruption) 6 Globally there are 153 millionGlobally there are 153 million orphans and separated childrenorphans and separated children (OSCs)(OSCs)
- 7. 7 Source: Meeting on African Children without Family Care (2002)
- 8. THE PROBLEM 8 • Millions of children living in institutions • 22% of care leavers in the UK became teenage parents (Knight, 2006) and 50 % of care leavers became mothers within 18-24 months of leaving care • Future prospects often bleak, lower educational attainment compared with children growing up in their families, which results in limited employment opportunities (Browne, 2009) • Young adults with care history often have difficulties in forming meaningful attachments in adulthood
- 9. MAIN OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY To investigate how children living in institutional care and care leavers make sense of “family” 9
- 10. RESEARCH QUESTIONS • In the absence of birth or extended family, how do CLIC and CLs understand the meaning of family? • What social contexts influence the construction of family meanings for CLIC and CLs? e.g. school, the institution, peers, community • How does the meaning of family impact on CLICs and CLs decisions related to family in their adulthood? 10
- 11. STUDY SIGNIFICANCE Sociology of Family •Different meaning of “family” in a different cultural context and setting •Emphasis on interactive activities rather than structure or household composition. Sociology of Childhoods •Social agency of children •Growing recognition of the diversity of childhoods, research outside familial settings •From childhood to adulthood (life trajectories) 11
- 12. LITERATURE REVIEW • Conditions of care in institutions compared to care in families • Children needing alternative care • Implications of previous research • Gaps in the literature • Theoretical Frameworks 12
- 13. CONDITIONS OF CARE •Institutions are not the optimal environment for the development of children and cannot replace or replicate family care (Utting, 1991) •State as a corporate parent, discontinuity of attachments (Bullock, 2006) •Workplace with rules, regulations, regimented routines including meal and sleep times (Punch et al., 2009) 13
- 14. NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF CARE • when compared to children raised in birth families, CLIC have shown evidence of poor outcomes even into adulthood 14 Cycle of Care Failure to reintegrate into society
- 15. CHILDREN NEEDING ALTERNATIVE CARE • Children coming from dysfunctional families and are at risk • Severely disabled and mentally challenged children can get specialized treatment • Poverty; to meet physical and educational needs (Carpenter, 2015; Novelle & Gonyea; 2016) 15
- 16. IMPLICATIONS OF PREVIOUS RESEARCH • Ban of institutional care for children aged below 3 years, for children over 3 years old as a last resort in family-based settings • CLIC conceptualizations of family can override structural relationships; quality of relationships based on care, love and support • The significance of sibling and kinship relationships 16
- 17. GAPS IN THE LITERATURE • Studies from children’s perspectives are still few, more policy and practice related concerns • Studies following the trajectories of children in care and their social interactions (during care and after care/ childhood into adulthood) • “We need to know more about how looked-after children fare during adolescence and how they cope with their entry into adulthood, raising questions about marriage, self-sufficiency and inheritance” (Tolfree, 2003:16) 17
- 18. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Symbolic Interactionism (George H. Mead, 1934 ; Blumer, 1969) •Micro-theory focusing on interactions not structure Attachment Theory (Bowlby, 1952; Ainsworth, 1967) •Maternal and relationship deprivation Goffman Theory of Total Institutions (Erving Goffman,1961) •Understanding the institutional environment 18
- 19. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 19 Previous Circumstances Institutional Environment Social and Cultural Context Meaning of family
- 20. RESEARCH SITE 20 • Poverty is the main driver of institutionalization(nutritional security and education) • 45% of the children have a disability • HIV/AIDS orphans • Family in the traditional sense still considered a normative and cultural concept
- 21. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY • Mixed-Method Study • Questionnaires, in-depth interviews, observation • Simple random sampling of orphanages (family-based and dormitory style) 21
- 22. CHILDREN IN STATUTORY CARE 22 • Age group 12-18yrs n=500 nationwide • 56 institutions Source: Powell, G. et al., 2004
- 23. SAMPLING PROCEDURE 23 N=220 n=100 family- based n=100 Dormitory 20 care leavers 1. Questionnaire: BCN Situation of Children in Residential Care • Reason for being in care • Length of stay • Family contact • Other social interactions • Rating of family models 2. Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire Prosocial behavior, peer relationships, emotional problems
- 24. QUALITATIVE IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS • Investigate how children and young people make sense of family whilst in care. • Study verbal accounts using narrative inquiry design which asserts that people communicate about their lives through the stories they share • Interviews will allow participants to generate narratives from early years, going into institutional care, life in the children’s home, experience of family separation, leaving care, attempts at reintegration and future plans 24
- 25. QUALITATIVE IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS • Select cases from survey data based on: - prolonged stay –prolonged family separation (over 2 years) - no prior experience of family care (orphaned or abandoned at birth) - with prior experience of family care (abused, neglected, destitute) • Sample size dependent on data saturation • Care leavers (non-probability convenience sample from survey data; age 18+) • Data analysis- thematic coding 25
- 26. LIMITATIONS • Ethical issues – Avoiding secondary trauma • Other issues – Tracking care leavers • Possible solutions – National newspaper advert or social media can be used to track them – Some children’s homes have ex-inmate groups, gain access to them – Target a group leaving in the same year(17-18), maintain contact with them and follow up after a few months – Ethical issue: involve caregivers and children’s home staff to ensure adequate debriefing is provided before and after 26
- 27. PRELIMINARY ACTIVITIES • Getting ethical approval • Drafting questionnaire • Gaining access into the state institutions 27
- 28. THANK YOU 28