Suchergebnisse

This book presents a comprehensive overview of African children's lives in times of transition, transformation, and change some twenty-two years after political emancipation in South Africa. With diverse family formations, non-marital childbearing, and diverse parenting situations prevalent in South Africa, the book covers both the conceptual and theoretical questions that explore the context of children's experiences. It uses examples from a range of primary and secondary data sources to illustrate how resilience in children faced with adversity could be nurtured, demonstrating the links between theory and practice, and critically commenting on questions of epistemology by drawing on research with children within different African social and cultural contexts.While the volume affirms the complexities of explaining child adversity or privilege, it stresses the diversity of South African children's experiences and the importance of adopting both children's rights and Afro-centric perspectives to account for the commonality and diversity of childhood and children's empowerment in diverse family systems. The contributions also provide recommendations on how to respond and intervene in children's issues, from both practical and policy levels, in a dedicated manner to ensure that children are protected from harm, nurtured to succeed, and assisted during and after traumatic experiences.This volume represents a valuable resource for scholars and students in the fields of humanities, social science, development studies and public health, as well as policy makers, child practitioners, and child rights advocates

South African male attitudes towards children, fatherhood and childrearing remain an important topic for
research and policy development given concerns about men's engagement with children and the family. This study
utilizes a subsample of males from the national South African Social Attitudes Survey to profile attitudes of males cross
analyzed by survey designated racial groups. Results show that males in general, have a positive attitude towards having
children and feel that they are not a burden. A greater number of Black African males than the other racial groups believe
children are a financial burden and restrict employment choices. Most males believe that men want to have a loving
relationship with children and perform best as fathers if married to the mother. The majority of them believe that it is a
crisis in the country that many fathers do not co-reside with their children. Consistent across racial groups, most males are
split about discipline with half believing in spanking, and that it teaches children right from wrong. Most males believe
that it is better to talk to children than spank them. In examining responses to survey questions, Black African males
trended away from the prevalent attitudes more than Colored, Asian Indian, and White males. Family service providers
can utilize these attitudes of men in planning intervention programs and policy development.