Growing Up in the New South Africa: Childhood and Adolescence in Post-Apartheid Cape Town

368 Pages·2010·4.84 MB·English

by  Rachel Bray

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in the new South Africa
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in the new South Africa
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Growing up Titles.indd 2 2010/02/26 1:46 PM
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s. Published by HSRC Press
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src www.hsrcpress.ac.za
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w First published 2010
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o ISBN (soft cover) 978-0-7969-2313-4
d fr ISBN (pdf) 978-0-7969-2314-1
a ISBN (e-pub) 978-0-7969-2315-8
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o © 2010 Human Sciences Research Council
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Fr The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not necessarily
reflect the views or policies of the Human Sciences Research Council (‘the Council’)
or indicate that the Council endorses the views of the authors. In quoting from this publication,
readers are advised to attribute the source of the information to the individual author concerned
and not to the Council.
Copyedited by Mark Ronan
Typeset by Baseline Publishing Services
Cover design by Michelle Staples
Printed by [printer], Cape Town, South Africa
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Contents
Tables and figures vii
Preface ix
The Fish Hoek valley: Maps and photographs 1
1. Growing up in post-apartheid South Africa 21
2. Discourses and realities of family life 48
3. The familiar world of the neighbourhood 97
4. Segregated and integrated spaces: Mobility and identity beyond
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es 5. The real worlds of public schooling 170
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Notes 331
The authors 334
References 335
Index 350
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Tables and figures
Table 1.1 Details of participants in ethnographic research 35
Table 1.2 Markers or indicators of the transitions to adulthood 40
Table 2.1 Whereabouts of (biological) mothers and fathers of children aged
0–13 in Cape Town (% of total) 51
Table 2.2 Whereabouts of (biological) mothers and fathers of adolescents aged
14–17 in Cape Town (% of total) 51
Table 2.3 Proportions of adolescents aged 14–17 who report spending time
with mother, father or both parents, according to parental
whereabouts (%) 82
a Table 5.1 Distribution of test scores by neighbourhood income quintile
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a Figure 2.3 Proportion of life spent with parents, by race and income, adolescents
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Figure 3.1 Safety in the neighbourhood as reported by young people
aged 17–20 105
Figure 3.2 Perceptions of friendliness and helpfulness of neighbours 108
Figure 3.3 Participation in sports or religious or music/dancing groups among
adolescents aged 14–17 114
Figure 5.1 Matric candidates and results (1993–2006) 172
Figure 5.2 Grade attainment in the Valley (2001) 173
Figure 5.3 Test scores by current grade (2002) 174
Figure 5.4 Test scores by neighbourhood income (Cape Town, 2002) 175
Figure 6.1 Who in the family helps with homework? 214
Figure 6.2 Educational expectations of parents of adolescents aged 14–17, by
neighbourhood 217
Figure 6.3 Educational expectations of adolescents aged 14–17, by
neighbourhood 218
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Figure 6.4 Educational expectations of adolescents aged 20–22, by
neighbourhood 218
Figure 6.5 Current educational reality of adolescents aged 20–22, by
neighbourhood 219
Figure 6.6 School attendance by age, Ocean View (%) 227
Figure 6.7 School attendance by age, Masiphumelele (%) 228
Figure 6.8 School attendance by age, Fish Hoek (%) 228
Figure 6.9 Reasons for not being enrolled in school, ages 15–17 231
Figure 6.10 Premature departure from school, by age and neighbourhood type 232
Figure 6.11 Study and work status, by age and neighbourhood type 243
Figure 7.1 Sexual activity and pregnancy among girls, Cape Town 258
Figure 7.2 Sexual activity and impregnation among boys, Cape Town 258
Figure 7.3 Sexual activity and pregnancy among girls, by type of neighbourhood
and age, Cape Town 259
Figure 7.4 Sexual activity and impregnation among boys, by type of
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viii
Preface
This book is the product of a collaborative effort by researchers in the Centre for
Social Science Research (CSSR) at the University of Cape Town. It presents primarily
qualitative research, and has its origins in a perceived need to go beyond quantitative
research. The CSSR was established in 2001 with the goal of strengthening capacity
in quantitative social science. One of the CSSR’s major projects was the Cape Area
Panel Study (CAPS), for which a ‘panel’ of almost 5 000 adolescents across Cape
Town were interviewed repeatedly over several years as they grew into adulthood.
CAPS was a joint project of the CSSR and scholars at the University of Michigan,
and was co-directed by Jeremy Seekings (from the CSSR) and David Lam (from the
University of Michigan). The first wave of interviews was conducted in 2002, and
a subsequent waves in 2003/04, 2005 and 2006. It soon became clear that progress
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s qualitative and quantitative research, and so an ethnographic research project was
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cpr initiated within the CSSR in 2004 by Rachel Bray and Jeremy Seekings. Rachel Bray
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w 15 months of fieldwork in the Cape Town neighbourhoods of Masiphumelele, Fish
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m Hoek and Ocean View respectively. This qualitative research proceeded in parallel
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o Analysis of the qualitative data from each neighbourhood was conducted both
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w individually and collaboratively by Imke, Rachel and Sue. Jeremy analysed the
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e quantitative data and participated in discussions about the qualitative research. Rachel
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Rachel taking primary responsibility for about two-thirds of the chapters and Jeremy
for one-third. Just about every chapter, however, includes substantial contributions
from Rachel, Sue, Imke and Jeremy. The one exception is Chapter 7, for which
Lauren Kahn was primarily responsible. Lauren had conducted fieldwork among
adolescent girls in the same neighbourhoods in Cape Town, focusing specifically on
their friendships and sexual relationships. She incorporated findings from her own
research and from the research by Rachel, Imke and Sue into a composite chapter.
Every chapter was discussed repeatedly in collective workshops, and read and reread
by each member of the team. Both Rachel and Jeremy restructured and rewrote
almost every chapter.
Some sections of the book have appeared in other forms. Sue, Imke and Lauren
drew on their analyses for their master’s dissertations (Gooskens 2006; Kahn 2008;
Moses 2005). Jeremy, Sue, Imke and Lauren contributed articles to a special issue
of Social Dynamics (32[1] 2006). Rachel and Imke co-wrote an article on the ethics
of conducting research with children in Anthropology Southern Africa (Bray &
Gooskens 2006). Rachel drew on this and further ethnographic work with mothers
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and young children to co-write work on childcare, poverty and HIV/AIDS with Rene
Brandt in, among others, the Journal of Children and Poverty (Bray & Brandt 2007).
Most of these papers – and others – were published as working papers in the CSSR
Working Paper Series.
Ariane de Lannoy, a PhD student in the CSSR, who is researching educational
decision-making among young people in Cape Town, provided particular input
to Chapter 6. Katherine Ensler, a visiting student from Princeton, assisted with
observational research in high schools in Fish Hoek and Masiphumelele.
This research was only possible because of the enthusiasm shown by many children
and adolescents in Fish Hoek, Ocean View and Masiphumelele, and by many of
their family members and neighbours. We are especially grateful to the six teenage
residents of the Valley who volunteered to join the team as young researchers:
Riccardo Herdien, Thandolwethu Mbi, Karen Painter, Samantha Peacocke, Zahir
Slarmie and Siyabulela White. All names used in the text are pseudonyms.
a We were able to conduct research inside schools through the generous assistance of
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c. the principals and teachers at Fish Hoek Primary, Middle and Senior High; Marine
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ss. Primary; Ocean View Secondary; Ukhanyo Primary; and Masiphumelele High. We
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hsr and especially to Dr Ronald Cornelissen. Staff and volunteers working in state
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w services, NGOs and churches welcomed us into their work environments or gave
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m their time for interviews or informal discussions. Nomatamsanqa Fani and Lindiwe
d fro Mthembu-Salter provided invaluable research assistance and translation services.
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o The research presented in this book was funded largely by the CSSR. The funders
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w included the Andrew W Mellon Foundation, as part of its grant to establish the
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e d CSSR, and the Ford Foundation, through a grant to the AIDS and Society Research
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Fr Unit (which is part of the CSSR) to support research that generates new forms of
knowledge. Sue Moses received a generous scholarship from the Potter Charitable
Trust, which also funded a workshop in early 2005. The major funder of CAPS was
the US National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, through grants
R01-HD39788 (research on ‘Families, Communities and Youth Outcomes in South
Africa’) and R01-HD045581 (research on ‘Family Support and Rapid Social Change
in South Africa’).
A number of academics provided important advice along the way, especially Andy
Dawes, Pamela Reynolds, Fiona Ross and Susan Levine, and our colleagues in the
CSSR who gave feedback on presentations in the CSSR seminar series.
This publication was supported with generous assistance from the University of Cape
Town and the South African Netherlands Research Programme on Alternatives in
Development (SANPAD).
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