The South African Black adolescent street child as problematic education situation

Abstract

There are approximately 6 000 to 10 000 street children in the Republic of South Africa. Because of their obvious presence there may be the misconception amongst the South African public that it is a recent phenomenon, limited to South Africa and directly related to the socio-political changes of the last couple of years. The street child phenomenon is, however, an international problem which occurs world-wide in developed and developing countries. The aim of the research was to determine to what extent the family and general life situation of the adolescent street child reflect the characteristics of a problematic educational situation. For the purposes of this investigation, an ideographic research method was utilized. Interviews were conducted with ten adolescent street children from a first phase shelter in Port Elizabeth. The reports were qualitatively analysed. The results of the investigation indicate that the family and the general life situation of the street adolescent reflect the characteristics of a problematic educational situation and that the education of the street child fails within the family situation. © 2001, Taylor and Francis Inc. All rights reserved.