Browsing by Author "Busika, Nonkululeko Faith"

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A critical analysis of storytelling as a drama therapy approach among urban South African children, with particular reference to resilience building through Iintsomi : Iintsomi story method a dramatherapy approach
(2016) Busika, Nonkululeko Faith
This qualitative research critically analyses storytelling as a drama therapy approach, with particular reference to resilience building through IintsomiIintsomi, an isiXhosa oral traditional storytelling method, among urban South African children. The research therefore enquires and demonstrates; in what ways IintsomiIintsomi as a method can be used to build resilience among young children with specific reference to grade 4 learners at Dumezweni Primary School in Diepkloof, Soweto. The overarching aim of the investigation is to propose storytelling as a method to be used to take care of the wellbeing of early developing children in societies that are affected enormously by social ills. It particularly casts light on the oral traditional storytelling method as an educational tool for building the skill of resilience. The methodology of this emperical research is founded upon the core principles of practice as research; this choice of method is as a result of the nature of the method of IintsomiIintsomi, which shifted with each session. The findings of the research are a collaborative process of practice and theory working together to answer the research question. The research as a whole provided a space where the children could listen, tell and reflect on their own stories. This research report consists of an exploration of IintsomiIintsomi, playback theatre and narradrama in chapter one. In chapter two, the reader is introduced to the possibilities of IintsomiIintsomi working with the urban South African child. Chapter three gives an expedition of IintsomiIintsomi as a drama therapy approach. The case study of the grade 4 learners at Dumezweni Primary School is captured in chapter four. Chapter five demonstrates the methodology applied to investigate the method of IintsomiIintsomi, followed by a consolidation of the themes and therapeutic results is in chapter six. Chapter seven concludes and gives recommendations for the research.
The search for ‘Ichambawilo’ (an encounter) with refugee and asylum-seeker parents whose children are vulnerable: an African Drama therapy intervention programme
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Busika, Nonkululeko Faith
Refugees and asylum-seeker parents in South Africa usually find it difficult to adequately fulfil their parental responsibilities because they face many challenges. ‘Three2Six’ is a project in Johannesburg, which focuses on refugee and asylum-seeker children’s right to education and psycho-social well-being. I, as a drama therapist, have personally observed that drama therapy makes a meaningful contribution to the ‘Three2Six project’ because it assists teachers to address the therapeutic needs of refugee and asylum-seeking children who are manifesting psychosocial and behavioural problems at school. Unfortunately, the parents of the children I rendered drama therapy to did not seem to be able to help their children make good progress. The main purpose of the study was thus to design an African Drama Therapy intervention programme with the ‘Three2Six’ parents so that they could adequately fulfil their parental responsibilities. The need to engage the parents of these learners increased even more because the COVID-19 pandemic encouraged children to be at home. The research methods selected to fulfil the study's main purpose was action research in the field of Drama Therapy. The study used multiple approaches in three different phases. Participants were purposively selected and included the parents and school staff members at the Holy Family College and Sacred Heart College, where the Three2Six project is housed. The main theoretical and conceptual frameworks underlying the research were Moreno’s Role theory, the concept of African spirituality and Ubuntu. Data were gathered during the three phases of the research process by conducting personal, semi-structured interviews with school staff members and a Visual Mapping discussion with parent participants using drama therapy techniques, role embodiment and a recorder. The study findings are an African Drama Therapy Intervention programme, (the API-R5), that takes into consideration Ubuntu and Spirituality being central to African well-being. The findings further demonstrate how the Western approach to Drama Therapy, can be adapted to the African context