3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Dominance and marginality in community psychology knowledge production : a critical analysis of published work.(2014-09-04) Graham, Tanya MoniqueThe current global formation, characterised by a burgeoning knowledge economy alongside widespread social discontent and economic upheaval, situates the study of knowledge production in the field of community psychology at a timely socio-historical juncture. Community psychology has a long-standing tradition of introspection about its identity, achievements and future direction, established historically through the analysis of published work. This research engages with this tradition, foregrounding the intellectual role and social position of scholars in the field, and the tensions that are collectively evident their work. The study critically appraises the characteristics of published work over a decade with a view to distilling the topics of interest, the preferred methodological choices and the predominant theoretical concerns of the sub-discipline of community psychology. The study employs a mixed methodology to highlight patterns of dominance and marginality in these elements that situates South African scholarship in the field within the global arena. The study presents a content analysis of trends in 2 229 published articles drawn from two local South African journals (South African Journal of Psychology and Psychology in Society) and four international journals (American Journal of Community Psychology, Journal of Community Psychology, Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology and Journal of Prevention and Intervention in the Community) that were published between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2009. Among the variables investigated in the quantitative data analysis were constitutive of the authorship characteristics, publication types, topics, theoretical choices, research methods and participant characteristics appearing in published work, including the representation of marginalised groups. The discursive analysis that follows, presents an in-depth reading of selected texts drawn from this dataset though the use of a critical discursive frame to illustrate of how power and the tensions between dominant narratives and marginal positions in community psychology manifest in published work. This serves to foreground contradictions in the identity, values and foci of the field, and some of the discourses implicated in how these disparities are perpetuated. The thesis contends that knowledge production is a contested site where attention to patterns of dominance and marginality reveal how the workings of power can be detected using both quantitative and qualitative analytic methods to investigate the state of published work. Though vastly different in the quantity of publications generated, and the field’s stage of development, the theoretical and methodological features of articles published internationally and in South Africa were remarkably alike. Across both contexts, results showed the prominent use of preventionist, traditional and ecological theories, rather than critical or social perspectives. This reveals the pervasive influence of biomedical epistemologies in the field. Authors were primarily located in academia rather than in applied community contexts. They published empirical articles most often, and showed an affinity for positivist research approaches and the survey method of data collection. The use of a critical paradigm and associated methodological choices, such as discourse analysis, was rare. Most studies did not focus specifically on marginalised groups, although the presence of forms of structural marginality by race, gender and socio-economic status were similarly proportionate across local and international research. Results suggest a persistent neglect of researching specific marginalised groups, such as those socially excluded due to age, HIV status, migration and sexual orientation. Differences across contexts were especially evident in the choice of research topics, rather than approaches used. On the whole, international research has a much greater emphasis on research topics related to child, youth and family development. Findings suggest that disciplinary forces in the field heavily influence the form of articles and their theoretical and methodological features, across local and international research. However, journal topics are more context-sensitive aspects of publications, and reflect local concerns. In addition to publication trends, the thesis identifies several discourses present in published work that show how the field is constructed and its ideological tensions. The thesis considers these findings in view of the power relations they represent and critically reflects on the intrinsic and extrinsic issues at stake in defining the field of community psychology in light of global knowledge production imperatives.Item Theoretical and method trends guiding community psychology based HIV research and implications for marginalised groups.(2012-02-09) Shirley, AmyThis study explores how international and South African community psychology has studied HIV in the past twenty years, emphasising the methodological and theoretical aspects of research being produced. Concurrently, this study situates itself within an empowerment theory framework and has sought to comment upon marginalised groups and their presence in published community psychology-based HIV research. The research made use of data generated from a content analysis of selected journal articles from the South African Journal of Psychology, the American Journal of Community Psychology, the Journal of Community Psychology, and the Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology over the period 1990-2009. The results reflect a dearth of community psychology research concerning HIV and a reliance on positivistic methodologies across contexts, as well as a predominant focus on epistemologies relating to risk and prevention. It was found that whilst interest in marginalised groups within community psychology based HIV research has increased particularly in the last decade, the voices of some of the most vulnerable groups remain relatively silent. It is understood that a move away from more traditional health psychology methods and understandings of HIV, to a more critical conceptualisation is imperative for the field of community psychology with regards to this prominent social problem.Item Individual, organisational and community empowerment : applying a community psychology framework to a school development programme.(2008-06-12T06:31:43Z) Hassett, Alexander RichardThis study focused on whether empowerment at individual, organisational and community levels was evident in the context of a school development planning programme. A contextualist, multi-method approach to the study was used, combining quantitative and qualitative data. A School Development Planning Evaluation Scale was developed to assess organisational empowerment in a school context. Quantitative data measuring variables associated with empowerment were also examined to establish whether involvement in the programme was associated with empowerment at the individual (locus of control and general and specific efficacy) and organisational (participation and leadership) levels. An ex post facto analysis based on a post-test only comparison group evaluation design was conducted to explore the impact of the programme. Focus groups and interviews were conducted to establish whether school staff reported that involvement in the programme had led to their personal empowerment and the empowerment of their schools. Archival data relating to the schools were also examined. Relationships between the variables were explored using multiple regression and structural equation modelling. A model of school development was developed and tested. The results indicated that extent of involvement in the programme was not a significant influence on level of empowerment. More important was the influence of school leadership, and in particular the leadership style exercised by the principal. Impact and relationship matrices, integrating the quantitative and qualitative analyses, indicated that the programme had effects on both individuals and schools, and that the process of school development planning was related to aspects of organisational empowerment. Issues of organisational internal capacity and contextual support, however, influenced implementation of school development planning. The study suggests that school development planning is a process which is contextually related, and confirms and refines the nomological network of II organisational empowerment. The results indicate that a variety of individual, organisational and contextual factors impact on individual and organisational empowerment and that a multi-level perspective is necessary for understanding the school development process. The study also suggests that community psychology, and empowerment theory in particular, offer useful frameworks for theorising and researching school development issues at individual, organisational and community levels.