The facilitation of aggression in secondary schools in Mpumalanga

Learners in South-African secondary schools face challenges of growing into mature, responsible and healthy human beings amidst all the changes and societal problems in schools. There are so many problems, referred to as the mental health crisis among children in South Africa that confront secondary school learners, such as poverty, violence, crime, suicide, involvement in gangs, teenage pregnancies but to name a few. Education does not stand in isolation from the wider society around it but it is constantly influenced and moulded by the forces of cultural and social and economic development. The educational task of the school is synonymous with the educational aim of adulthood and social responsibility. Many children are experiencing challenges in coping with their emotions such as aggression and managing anger in their daily lives that a need has arisen for the facilitation of aggression management for secondary school learners through a Psycho-Educational Programme. This programme included new skills that are necessary for successful living and learning, thus focusing on life skills that enable secondary school learners to apply their knowledge, attitudes and values – what humans think, feel and believe and how to cope with an emotion like aggression. The researcher followed a structured framework in four steps in order to conduct the research, which adhered to the requirements of a qualitative and quantitative strategy. In step one the researcher followed an inductive reasoning strategy with a contextual, descriptive and exploratory focus (situation analysis). Secondary school learners' experience of aggression in their school was explored through individual phenomenological interviews conducted with a purposively selected sample and by means of field notes made at the conclusion of the interview process. The interviews proceeded until data were saturated. Guba’s model of trustworthiness strategies: credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability were applied. Each interview was audio taped and then transcribed. The data were then analysed according to Tesch’s (Creswell, 1994:154-155) descriptive, qualitative and systematic approach to data reduction where after a literature control was conducted. According to the data analysis four themes were identified: - learners experience aggression as part of their life; - aggression encompasses interpersonal relationships; - learners describe aggression as a negative experience; and - learners articulate measures to manage aggression. In step two the collected data from phase one was used to develop a Psycho-Educational Programme for secondary school learners who experience aggression in order to facilitate aggression management. During step three, two secondary schools were chosen. After selection the schools were randomly assigned as an experimental and control group. Secondary school learners were then randomly selected as participants from grade eleven learners at their schools. A questionnaire was used for pre-test and post-test purposes. Adherence to internal validity, external validity, reliability and objectivity ensured the trustworthiness of the process. The programme was presented to the experimental group only. The control group was treated exactly like the experimental group except that they did not receive the experimental treatment but a placebo programme as the group was only included for comparison reasons. In step four the evaluation of the Psycho-Educational Programme was done which enabled the researcher to focus clearly on the ultimate purpose of meeting the aims and purpose of this research study. The researcher can confidently express his trust and confidence in the Psycho-Educational Programme that was developed, implemented and evaluated. The evaluation of the data indicated that the questionnaires that were used as a measuring tool were reliable, appropriate and valid. The results indicated that the variables: self-awareness, interpersonal relationships and management of conflict were effectively included in the Psycho-Educational Programme and had a significant impact on the participants who took part in the experimental group. The placebo programme had no significant effect on the participants of the control group. In conclusion, mixed research methods of the qualitative and quantitative approaches were effective as it supported each other during this research study.Prof. C.P.H. Myburgh Prof. M. Poggenpoe