Communication, indigenous culture and participatory decision making amongst foster adolescents

This paper analyses the experiences of adolescents in foster care placement with specific reference to participatory decision making in an indigenous African cultural context in South Africa. The emphasis is on the voices of... [ view full abstract ]

This paper analyses the experiences of adolescents in foster care placement with specific reference to participatory decision making in an indigenous African cultural context in South Africa. The emphasis is on the voices of foster adolescents in an indigenous African cultural context and their experiences of inequality when communicating and expressing opinions. The theoretical framework adopted was Interactional Communication Theory (Watzlawick, Beavin and Jackson, 1967) in which individuals interact through the use of symbols to co-create and interpret meaning (Wood, 2004:9–11). This theory incorporates some elements of systems theory (Von Bertalanffy, 2003) with the emphasis on the interrelatedness quality as integral to the communication processes.
A qualitative exploratory research study was done with 29 adolescents in foster care. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 adolescent participants and as well as enriching the data with two focus groups consisting of eight adolescents in each group. Findings indicate a lack of openness of the foster care system in terms of the communication approach, international covenants and legislation that was used. The approach used was not based on interactional practices and perpetuated inequalities amongst adolescents. Also, the socio-cultural context of the foster family played a major inhibiting and determining role for adolescents regarding the level of free and open communication in their placement pertaining to decision making.