School of Human and Community Development (ETDs)
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Item Stakeholder perceptions of the job skills and job roles required by Industrial psychologists in South Africa(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Kekana, Lerato Valencia; Isreal, NickyThe Fourth Industrial Revolution and recent Covid-19 pandemic have brought large changes to the way work is defined and enacted, and these transitions have placed a unique demand on Industrial/Organisational Psychologists (IOPs) to help organisations and employees manage these workplace changes. This has further emphasised the need for the clarification and reassessment of the job roles and job skills required of Industrial/Organisational psychologists (IOPs) in South Africa. This study explored and compared the perceptions held by I/O psychology students and trainers (i.e., lecturers and supervisors) with regards to the job role and job skills required of IOPs in South Africa. Based on the review of literature, an online survey was designed and distributed to a group of 60 (59.4%) I/O psychology students and 41 (40.6%) I/O psychology trainers (n = 101) who voluntarily completed the survey. The survey collected both quantitative and qualitative data and this was analysed using a combination of statistics and content analysis. Both students and trainers in the sample emphasised the psychological and facilitative roles of IOPs in the workplace, with their facilitative functions taking precedence. Both groups distinguished IOPs from human resource practitioners based primarily on daily processes. Students rated most roles as significantly more important than trainers however both groups identified organisational development, employee wellbeing and work life, change management, training, psychological assessments, motivation and rewards, and research as the most important roles that IOPs fulfil in the workplace. There was agreement from both groups that the roles of IOPs would change at least moderately in the next five years. With regards to the job skills required of IOPs, a degree of congruence was observed in the top five skills that both groups noted, which included the four key skills of critical thinking; responsibility and reliability; honesty and integrity; and communication. Students prioritised people management as their fifth top skill while trainers prioritised emotional intelligence. Both groups emphasised practical work experience as the most important skill to be adequately prepared for the workplace and also identified interpersonal, communication and social skills; emotional intelligence; problem-solving; analytical and critical thinking; boldness; and business acumen as important. The findings of the study provide greater insight and possible directions for education and training of IOPs in South Africa, although further research in a broader range of stakeholders is needed.Item Pandemic parenting: Stories of ordinary experiences in an extraordinary time(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-07) Yarde-Leavett, Claire Emma; Haynes-Rolando, HayleyThe study sought to give voice to parents of children who display ADHD traits including hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattentiveness during the covid-19 pandemic. The aim was to explore their experiences of parenting during this unprecedented time in history. Qualitative data were gathered through narrative interviews from ten parents (seven mothers and three fathers) from middle-class backgrounds, living in Johannesburg. Photo elicitation was used as a tool to gather parents’ stories and reflections of their pandemic parenting experiences in a creative, self-directed manner. The qualitative data were analysed using a reflexive thematic analysis that generated four key themes: (1) Adjusting to an upside-down world; (2) Experiences of wearing too many hats; (3) Parents’ (re)views of how their children’s ADHD traits affected their learning at home; (4) Covid, a mixed bag of losses and treasures. A social constructionist lens for data analysis allowed for the exploration of how the covid-19 pandemic disrupted discourses and systems that shape parents’ embodied experiences. Possibilities for new understandings of parents and as well as their children who display ADHD traits were considered. The findings can help to deepen our understanding of middle-class family life, challenge gendered relations, reconsider children's play and learning, transform schooling practices, foster meaningful parent-teacher interactions, encourage community-building, and prompt a re-evaluation of our understanding of "disorderly" children and their unique learning needs. By embracing these insights, we can pave the way for more inclusive and effective approaches to supporting families and children in navigating the complexities of education and well-being in times of crisis.Item Students’ Experiences of Technology, Social Connection, and Psycho-Social Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-04) Bonheim, Angela R.; Marchetti-Mercer, MariaIn an effort to curb the spread of Covid-19 in South Africa, a strict national lockdown was enforced by the South African government on 23 March 2020. The lockdown had a profoundly negative impact on individuals’ mental well-being as well as family functioning. In particular, university students were forced to adapt to changes in academic, social, and familial areas of life and faced unique challenges as a result of the lockdown. Maintaining interpersonal relationships outside of the home, such as with family, friends, partners, and colleagues, had the potential to alleviate these adverse mental consequences. This study aims to explore specifically how postgraduate students who were living with close family members during the lockdown used technology to maintain social connections with others outside of their homes. The sample consists of seven postgraduate students who lived with their families for over two months during the national lockdown which began in March 2020. The findings of this study indicate that participants placed greater emphasis on maintaining interpersonal relationships than they had prior to the pandemic and expended more effort on virtual interactions. While participants were able to maintain many interpersonal relationships during the lockdown, many found it difficult to remain in contact with a small proportion of their friends. Participants also reported making creative use of technological platforms to maintain relational closeness. Video calling and textual communication was reported to be particularly useful means of sustaining connections. However, technology-mediated communication often did not provide the same level of intimacy as face-to-face connections. Virtual communication also led to the blurring of boundaries, including challenges in separating virtual and physical ‘spaces’ and difficulty in maintaining personal-professional boundaries.