Sessions 10's classroom activity

Classroom activity

The following activity stems for answering 2 questions related to topic “effects of parental incarceration on young children”

1.       Whom do you think would be interested in information about the effects of parental incarceration on young children? (5)

i.                     Psychologists – psychologists offers children and adults (whom have endured this phenomenon) counselling services.

It would be essential for them to know what the effects are on children as they would be able to render appropriate play-therapy for the children to overcome their debilitating symptoms of this phenomenon displayed by the children.

For the adults they would be able to render better psychosocial therapy sessions for them and this will also help the adults to overcome their negative thought and behaviour and be able to live a productive life, free from self-guilt and displaced anger.

ii.                   Social workers – social workers work in the life space of both children and adults as it is part of their ethical code sworn by them.

This information will assist social workers to act according to the Children’s Act 35/2005, where they will assess if children will need to be removed from the care of their caregivers and placed in a place of safety and other custodial rights decided in a family court.

iii.                  Lawyers and magistrate officials – in a family court there are lawyers and magistrate that all implement the law of the land by making judicial decisions about court placements of children whom’s parents has been in contact with the law. Their decisions based on the social workers report for court, plays a vital role in where the child/ren gets placed.

iv.                 Educators – teachers are in contact with children whom are school going age, on a daily basis. Therefor it would be in the child’s best interest if their educators has knowledge regarding the child’s social circumstances. In this manner, they can support the child and know how to adjust their teaching styles according to the educational needs of the child. In many ways, a teacher can help build the child’s self-esteem by lending an ear to listen to end to encourage the child.

v.                   Researchers – in the field of child psychology, like many other disciplines, there is an ongoing need for research to being conducted. New information enlightens professionals on how to provide better service delivery and what resources can assist traumatised children to function adequately and NOT become juvenile delinquents.

 

2.       How and where would the groups that you identified disseminate the information that they produced on the topic? (5) eg. websites, government publications

i.                     Psychologists – there are various journals that relates to child psychology where they can refer to and publish in.

ii.                   Social worker – they have a board called the South African Council for Social Service Professional, in which they circulate news articles in the form of a newsletter amongst their peers, at an annual cost. 

Also as part of their intervention strategy they conduct awareness projects and programs aimed at capacitating all their clients on coping skills in this aspect.

iii.                  Lawyers and magistrate officials – they disseminate this information amongst themselves in the form of government publications and websites where they are kept up to date with the foremost research on the topic.

iv.           Educators – the Western Cape Education Department has a newsletter that gets circulated at schools in which relays articles that promotes best practices amongst educators.

iv.                 Researchers – they have regular seminars, where there research papers gets peer reviewed.