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The value of social networks to community volunteers from high risk communities
Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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University of Pretoria
2017
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| _version_ | 1867613461281767424 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author2 | Bester, Suzanne |
| author_browse | Bester, Suzanne |
| author_facet | Bester, Suzanne |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | © 2017 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. |
| description | Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/62902 |
| institution | University of Pretoria (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:36:30.912Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publishDateRange | 2017 |
| publishDateSort | 2017 |
| publisher | University of Pretoria |
| publisherStr | University of Pretoria |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| spelling | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/62902 The value of social networks to community volunteers from high risk communities Bester, Suzanne williepietersen@gmail.com Pietersen, Willie Johannes Social network theory High-risk communities Asset-based community development Communication media UCTD Education theses SDG-03 Education theses SDG-10 Education theses SDG-17 Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017. The purpose of this intervention study was to explore how the community volunteers from the Supporting Home Environments in Beating Adversity (SHEBA) research project – in two high-risk school communities in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan area – valued their social networks. The broader SHEBA participatory and action research project focused on how community volunteers, using their own resources, collaborated with schools in their communities to develop support plans for their communities. I selected interpretivism as the meta-theory for the study and utilised Participatory Reflection and Action (PRA) as the methodological paradigm and research design. The empirical part of this study was conducted in 2012. The data for the study were collected from 35 purposively selected volunteers who, at the time of the study, were involved in volunteer work at schools in their communities. All 35 volunteers participated in one workshop and one brainstorming session. Data were generated through a participatory workshop and follow-up brainstorming session and captured by means of posters and field notes. Inductive thematic analysis was used as the means of interpretation and I related the results to Lin’s Network Theory of Social Capital in interpreting the results. The results of the study suggest that the social networks of the volunteers were valued highly by them in dealing with the various challenges in their communities. The findings suggest also that the community volunteers invested themselves continuously in preserving their social support networks by reaching out to one another in times of crisis and by responding to each other’s needs by supporting one another. The findings suggest further that the volunteers maintained their social support networks by reinforcing the values that held them together and directed them in their efforts to support one another and their communities. The volunteers in the study attributed significant value to each other as sources of support and knowledge. They were able to meet their challenges together by learning from and identifying each other as resources. Modern communication media such as mobile phones were very important to the volunteers in maintaining their support networks with their colleagues and communicating with their communities. I therefore concluded that interventions in high-risk communities should be aimed at assisting community volunteers to gain access to and use such technologies effectively and appropriately in their networking. The value the community volunteers in the SHEBA project attributed to their social networks was clear from the benefits they derived from these networks. The findings of the study suggest that the social networks of the volunteers enhanced their sense of personal wellbeing as well as their sense of social belongingness. I concluded that social support networks could contribute significantly towards people’s overall wellbeing and that community interventions should adopt a holistic approach in high-risk communities thereby enhancing people’s hedonic, eudemonic, and social wellbeing. es2026 Educational Psychology MEd Unrestricted SDG-03: Good health and well-being SDG-10: Reduced inequalities SDG-17: Partnerships for the goals 2017-10-24T09:14:10Z 2017-10-24T09:14:10Z 2017-09-07 2017 Dissertation Pietersen, WJ 2017, The value of social networks to community volunteers from high risk communities, MEd Dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/62902> S2017 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/62902 en © 2017 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria |
| spellingShingle | Social network theory High-risk communities Asset-based community development Communication media UCTD Education theses SDG-03 Education theses SDG-10 Education theses SDG-17 The value of social networks to community volunteers from high risk communities |
| title | The value of social networks to community volunteers from high risk communities |
| title_full | The value of social networks to community volunteers from high risk communities |
| title_fullStr | The value of social networks to community volunteers from high risk communities |
| title_full_unstemmed | The value of social networks to community volunteers from high risk communities |
| title_short | The value of social networks to community volunteers from high risk communities |
| title_sort | value of social networks to community volunteers from high risk communities |
| topic | Social network theory High-risk communities Asset-based community development Communication media UCTD Education theses SDG-03 Education theses SDG-10 Education theses SDG-17 |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/62902 |