Experiences of blended family life by children in Emmasdal School of Industries – Gauteng Province

M.A.Teachers and child care workers continue to perform important roles in the lives of children who have been placed in institutions of care. In institutions to which children have been referred for uncontrollable behaviour, it is evident that the children’s behaviour is compounded by their separation from families and they exhibit further behavioural problems in the school. The aims of the study were: to describe family life experiences of children from blended families placed in Emmasdal School of Industries; and, to make recommendations that sensitize teachers and child care workers to the struggles these children face. This study was conducted in Emmasdal School of Industries, Heidelberg (Gauteng). Selection of this site was informed by a concern for the insensitive handling of children in the school by staff members, where I am employed as a social worker. Family systems theory and developmental family approaches were used to illuminate the dynamic interplay of sub-systems within blended families (Popple & Vecchiolla, 2007; Hetherington, 2005). Two crucial concepts relevant to this study included family adaptability and family cohesion, which were deficient in the blended family experiences of children participating in this study.The research approach of the study was qualitative as the goal was to describe and analyse children’s lived experiences from their own standpoint. A pilot study was conducted followed by individual interviews with six children who came from blended families