A Study of Shelters for Street Children from an Organizational ...

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views and perceptions over the topics covered and made summaries on the contributions. The researcher also allowed participants' comments to either agree or disagree with the summary. At most, the summaries were a true reflection and representation of the discussions. Participants were not promised gifts and the researcher thanked participants for their contributions and discussions ended at the right time for other shelter activities. At the latest they culminated within time for coffee/tea or lunch. Time management was a major priority without which other shelter activities would have been interfered with and participants would have been exhausted. As noted earlier all the interviews and focus group discussions lasted between one and a half and two hours. Focus group discussions were preceded by a fifteen to twenty minute discussion regarding the researcher because participants wanted to know about the researcher's nationality and of the people of his country. 3.3 Qualitative Methods Ennew (1994: 61-78) discussed several methods that could be used in researching children living and/or working on the streets. Among them is focus group discussions and this study relied on this technique to collate and collect data from shelter staff and residents. According to Ennew, (1994:65) focus group discussions are part of participatory methods and are advantageous in giving an idea about a general opinion among a wide spectrum of people. Focus group discussions with shelter staff and residents were found reliable in the pilot study and participants freely engaged each other where an expressed opinion of an individual did not reflect other participants' views. In this regard, focus group discussions were a catalyst to validate the reliability of the information. Henning (2001: 53) argues that reliability in data could be archived if several interviews with one or several people and at different times were conducted. This study conducted focus group discussions with staff and children at four different shelters and at different times. The same issues were discussed and shelter managers were each interviewed separately. Several considerations need to be taken into account when deciding to apply a qualitative research methodology. Strauss and Corbin (1990) make the point that qualitative methods could be used to make better the understanding of any phenomenon about which little is yet known. Qualitative methods also could be used to gain new perspectives on insights and objects of what is already known, but more significant in the use of qualitative methods is the in-depth analysis 35
which reveal more than otherwise would be difficult to convey quantitatively. In this regard, qualitative methods are appropriate in situations where the variables are first identified and possibly later tested quantitatively, but also, where the researcher has determined that quantitative measurements cannot adequately describe nor approximate a given reality. In this case, research problems tend to be framed as open-ended questions that will support discovery of new information and clarify a situation. For example, Gaitskell's (1998) study on shelters for abused women in Durban raised questions on the efficacy of shelters to help abused women and what were women's perceptions and feelings. Similar concerns will be explored in this study on shelters for children living and/or working on the streets. The ability of qualitative data to capture and describe a phenomenon is an important consideration not only from the researcher's perspective, but from the reader's perspective as well. Qualitative research reports are rich in detail and insights of all experiences of the involved participants in any given situation or world of study and in this sense, are more meaningful to the reader. The researcher hopes and expects that the process of qualitative research faithfully followed will derive useful information not only on the nature of the shelters, but also on what they do on a daily basis. Qualitative approach allowed managers to be interviewed and focus group discussion to take place in the shelters, as the participants' natural setting. The process divulged information regarding the views and experiences of shelters staffs as service providers and of children as recipients of the shelter services. The choice of a qualitative approach is significant and valid, not because as some people suppose that qualitative research is soft and demands less rigor (Neuman 1997: 328), but because it allowed flexibility in the process of the project, and therefore had the potential and capacity to derive data which when interpreted will fit the situation under analysis. Consequently, the information could inform policy makers on how best and at what cost the intervention and reintegration of the deserving children living and/or working on the streets can proceed because the phenomenon persists. 36
Page 1: A Study of Shelters for Street Chil
Page 4 and 5: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I extend my sincer
Page 6: TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 0 NE 1 IN
Page 9 and 10: LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Showing the
Page 11 and 12: children's homes. In 1996 the Europ
Page 13 and 14: specifically in its policies (http:
Page 15 and 16: Hosken, (2004) in an article titled
Page 17 and 18: 1.5 The Purpose and Objective of th
Page 19 and 20: names of the shelters have been ren
Page 21 and 22: 1.8.2 Organizationalll1eory Shelter
Page 23 and 24: Chapter Four: Data analysis. The ch
Page 25 and 26: communities posing enormous challen
Page 27 and 28: To perceive human social reality as
Page 29 and 30: Shelter's intervention/reintegratio
Page 32 and 33: 2.4 Definitions The focus of the re
Page 35: enforcement officers, outreach work
Page 40 and 41: 3.1 Introduction CHAPTER THREE RESE
Page 42 and 43: given to the demands of shelter pro
Page 46 and 47: 3.4 The Researcher in Qualitative I
Page 48 and 49: which means children there, are sta
Page 51 and 52: paid to the recording devices. The
Page 53 and 54: esearchers need to agree or disagre
Page 55 and 56: • Staff morale was high when moti
Page 57 and 58: 3.11 Ethical Considerations Babbie
Page 59 and 60: 4.1 Introduction CHAPTER FOUR OATA
Page 61 and 62: 4.2. Shelters Services and Programs
Page 63 and 64: children with their families where
Page 65 and 66: y the shelter's philosophy, goals,
Page 67 and 68: 4.2.5 Shelter Routine and Regulatio
Page 69 and 70: 4.2.6 Policy on Visitors The four s
Page 71 and 72: children played; this was done depe
Page 73 and 74: living and/or working on the street
Page 75 and 76: 4.3.1 Structure and physical locati
Page 77 and 78: Apart from management of shelters,
Page 79 and 80: Regarding transparency, accountabil
Page 81 and 82: Staff expressed that children shoul
Page 83 and 84: was immediately reassuring to child
Page 85 and 86: will to choose whether to or not li
Page 87 and 88: Sangoma (traditional doctor) and I
Page 89 and 90: Look at this shelter look at the do
Page 91 and 92: preferable. Participants continued
Page 93 and 94: It is okay when one is going with a
Page 95 and 96:
5.1 Introduction CHAPTER FIVE DISCU
Page 100 and 101:
The challenges of children living a
Page 102 and 103:
differed greatly from the feelings
Page 104 and 105:
een on the streets for a very long
Page 106 and 107:
from the overseas. Some of the loca
Page 108 and 109:
programs to communities and familie
Page 110 and 111:
explained, was their priority. It i
Page 112 and 113:
streets, consequently, shelters int
Page 114 and 115:
perspectives, understanding, and ca
Page 116 and 117:
understand such discourses. Through
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6.1.3 Conclusions Regarding Researc
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and appreciation that the children
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Shelters could endeavour to reinfor
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The effort is to move the children
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macroeconomic factors, the local mi
Page 128 and 129:
REFERENCES Acker, A. (1986). Childr
Page 130 and 131:
Brown, D. C. (1996). 'Why ask why:
Page 132 and 133:
Gronbjen, K. A. (1992). Nonprofit H
Page 134 and 135:
Mills C. W. (1971). The Sociologica
Page 136 and 137:
Swart, J. (1987). 'Street Children:
Page 138 and 139:
Street children in http://allafrica
Page 140 and 141:
3.1.5. Does the shelter have any re
Page 142 and 143:
4. Social and Recreation 4.1. How a
Page 144 and 145:
Follow-up questions What are the sh
Page 146 and 147:
APPENDIX 3 FOCUS GROUPS CHILDREN Pl
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6. Shelter routine and Discipline:
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