Community Care Workers’ role in supporting academic resilience of learners from low socio-economic contexts

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate, explore and understand the role that Community Care Workers (CCWs) play in supporting the academic resilience of learners from low socio-economic contexts. An interpretive stance was employed to gain a better understanding of the perceptions and experiences of CCWs. Qualitative methodology was used to obtain the personal accounts of CCWs in answering the research question and the sub questions. Both purposive and convenient sampling methods were used to select the participants. The sample consisted of nine CCWs, two auxiliary social workers, and one centre coordinator. A case study design and focus group discussions were used to further understand the CCWs’ personal experiences. The twelve participants took part in two focus group discussions; inductive thematic analysis was utilised to identify the themes that emerged from the data gathered from these discussions. Two themes emerged from the data analysis, namely: factors hindering academic resilience and factors fostering academic resilience. These themes and sub-themes highlight the risks hindering academic resilience and the role that CCWs play to foster academic resilience. The risk factors were highlighted as detrimental to learners’ academic resilience, however, CCWs play a vital role in mitigating the effects thereof. Ungar’s Social Ecology of Resilience Theory (2011) served as the theoretical base for the study. According to this framework, resilience happens when there are multiple adversities, the focus being on what the physical and social ecologies offer to counteract the adversities and promote resilience and growth. Based on the findings, learners were found to be facing multiple adversities threatening their academic resilience, as identified by the participating CCWs. It must be noted, however, that some learners succeed through the support of CCWs, while others do not.