Leerlinge met matige intellektuele disfunksie (MID) is ʼn kohort leerlinge wie se hoë
aggressievlakke onderrig in skole ernstig bemoeilik. Leerlinge met MID het ʼn gemiddelde
intelligensiekwosiënt (IK) van 55 tot 70 en hul verstandelike ontwikkeling is van twee tot
agt jaar agter dié van leerlinge sonder MID. Leerlinge met MID vind dit moeilik om kennis
toe te pas, en beskik oor swak verbale, taal-, lees- en wiskundige vaardighede. Hulle het
ʼn kort geheue en aandagspan, is hiperaktief en impulsief, vertolk nieverbale boodskappe
verkeerd, en raak maklik gefrustreerd en geïrriteerd. Gevolglik het hierdie leerlinge ʼn vier
keer hoër risiko om aggressiewe gedragsuitvalle te openbaar wat vir onderwysers en
belanghebbendes groot uitdagings bied. Die doel van hierdie studie was om te bepaal of
die ouerskappraktyke van hierdie leerlinge se ouers bydra tot hulle aggressiewe
gedragsuitvalle. ʼn Fenomenologiese benadering en ʼn kwalitatiewe ondersoek is gebruik.
Vyftien leerlinge met MID en aggressiewe gedragsuitvalle is in diepte met semigestruktureerde
onderhoude, dokumentestudie van leerderprofiele en waarneming
bestudeer. Die hoofbevinding van hierdie studie is dat die aggressiewe gedragsuitvalle
in die skool ʼn simptoom was van dieperliggende probleme by die leerlinge. Hierdie
dieperliggende probleme was ʼn sameloop van negatiewe ouerskappraktyke, emosionele
verwaarlosing en ingeperkte vermoëns om uitdagings toepaslik te hanteer. Negatiewe
ouerskappraktyke het die volgende ingesluit: aggressiewe gedrag, onbetrokkenheid,
permissiewe praktyke, gebrekkige kommunikasie en inkonsekwente dissipline met min
ondersteuning, warmte en empatie. Die leerlinge met MID het gevoel dat hulle ouers
emosioneel en fisies afwesig was, wat gelei het tot ʼn gevoel van emosionele
verwaarlosing, verwerping, verlies en ʼn gebrek aan ondersteuning. Akkumulatiewe
negatiewe faktore soos gesinsverbrokkeling en problematiese binding het ook oorsaaklik
tot hul aggressiewe gedragsuitvalle bygedra. Hierdie leerders het nie die ondersteuning
gehad om uitdagende gebeure te verwerk nie. Die leerders moes dit self verreken en is
met onverwerkte emosies aan hul eie lot oorgelaat. Die bevinding in hierdie studie was
dat leerlinge met MID se akkumulatiewe negatiewe uitdagings (wat ontoepaslike
ouerskappraktyke insluit), aanleiding gee tot impulsiewe reaktiewe aggressie wat met die
geringste provokasie ontlok word.
English: Learners with mild intellectual disabilities (MID) are a cohort of learners whose high levels
of aggressive behaviour make teaching in schools a challenging task. Learners with MID
have an average intelligence quotient (IQ) of between 55 and 70 and their intellectual
development is almost two to eight years behind their peers without MID. Learners with
MID have difficulty in applying their knowledge and have poor verbal, language, reading
and mathematical skills. Learners with MID also present with short memory and attention
span, are hyperactive and impulsive, misinterpret non-verbal messages, and get easily
frustrated and irritated. These learners are four times more likely to develop aggressive
behaviour, which leads to certain challenges for teachers and other persons concerned.
The purpose of this study was to determine whether the parental practices of these
learners’ parents were causative to their aggressive behaviour. A phenomenological
approach and a qualitative research design were used. Fifteen learners with MID and
aggressive behaviour were studied in depth through semi-structured interviews,
document analysis and observation. The main findings of the study show that the
aggressive behaviour in the school was only a symptom of underlying problems in the
learners. These underlying problems were an unfortunate combination of negative
parental practices, emotional neglect and a lack of skills to deal with challenges. Negative
parental practices included: aggression, uninvolved and permissive parents, poor
communication and inconsistent discipline with little support and empathy. The learners
were left with the perception that their parents were emotionally and physically absent,
which led to a feeling of emotional negligence, rejection, loss and inadequate support.
Accumulative negative factors such as separated families and problematic attachment
were causative to their aggressive behaviour. These learners were not supported
adequately to deal with the challenges. They had to overcome these challenges by
themselves and they were left with unresolved emotions. The finding in this study was
that accumulative negative challenges of learners with MID (which included inappropriate
parental practices) led to impulsive reactive aggression evoked by the least provocation.
