Teacher agency in challenging contexts as a consequence of social support and resource management

International Journal of Educational Development 53 (2017) 80–91

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International Journal of Educational Development journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijedudev

Teacher agency in challenging contexts as a consequence of social support and resource management Liesel Ebersöhn* , Tilda Loots* Department of Educational Psychology, University of Pretoria, Faculty of Education, Groenkloof Campus, University of Pretoria, Leyds Street, Groenkloof, Pretoria, 0181, South Africa

A R T I C L E I N F O

Article history: Received 23 May 2016 Received in revised form 1 September 2016 Accepted 21 November 2016 Keywords: Asset-based approach School-based intervention High-risk school Instrumental social support Resource management Collectivist coping Teacher training

A B S T R A C T

Teachers in post-colonial settings are required to function within the constraints of structural disparities. Teacher agency is explained as an outcome of collectivist coping, using instrumental social support for resource management. Following an asset-based intervention with teachers (n = 37, male = 4, female = 33) in high-risk schools (n = 4, secondary = 1, primary = 3, urban = 3, rural = 1) in three South African provinces, these teachers demonstrated agency, in spite of deprivation, to draw on the available resources to cope with contextual hardship. The data sources of the nine year school-based study include multiple researchers’ observation data (field notes, researcher diaries, photographs), as well as participatory reflection and action (PRA) data (obtained from verbatim transcriptions of video and audio recordings). © 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

1. Introduction Teachers in South Africa, like others in similar postcolonial global southern countries, have to teach within the confines of inherited structural disparities. In a young South African democracy, teachers’ professional and personal lived experiences are therefore coloured by factors such as health challenges, the threatened livelihoods of students and their families, an inadequate school infrastructure and limited professional development for teachers. Poor service delivery and inadequate policy implementation compound the structural challenges. Teachers struggle to gain access to treatment when illness is identified, families with a low household income or death cannot gain access to welfare because of literacy limitations, textbooks are not delivered to schools, and health and safety in schools are limited because of the unreliable supply of transport, water, electricity and sanitation. Teachers in under-resourced schools are usually those required to provide the most challenging forms of care and support to students (Bhana et al., 2006). Following an asset-based (Kretzmann and McKnight, 1993) intervention with teachers in several challenging school contexts ( Ferreira and Ebersöhn, 2011), the participating teachers conducted several projects to address the chronic challenges. The aim in this

* Corresponding authors. E-mail address: [email protected] (L. Ebersöhn). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2016.11.005 0738-0593/© 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

article is to provide an explanatory framework, showing how these teachers became agents following this intervention, in spite of the continuing contextual disparities: How can teacher agency amid structural disparity be explained? 2. Background and contextualisation 2.1. Challenging contexts of south african schools South Africa struggles with the inequalities of post-colonialism, particularly poverty and HIV and AIDS, which lead to damaging consequences for individuals, families, schools and communities (Smit and Fritz, 2008). The number of orphaned and vulnerable children escalates and aggravates the existing socio-economic problems encountered in many South African communities. Currently South Africa is the most unequal society in the world (OXFAM, 2013; The World Bank, 2012). At policy level, such inequality in education implies that school leaders and teachers have to keep abreast of constant policy changes to achieve transformation. In schools, effective teaching has to occur amid shortages of textbooks, teacher aids and limited infrastructure. Poor service delivery means that schools cannot count on dependable access to potable water, and that sanitation, electricity and transport to schools are not a certainty. Students attending school live in communities struggling with high rates of crime and violence, especially towards children and women. The students know what it means to live in households with no or an infrequent

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income, may come to schools hungry and worry about their parents in a country with significant HIV infection and AIDSrelated deaths. Due to the many socio-economic problems in South Africa, schools are sometimes the only places where children might expect and find any level of care and support (Bhana et al., 2006). Schools and teachers are well positioned to act as potential protective resources in providing school-based psychosocial support to vulnerable individuals and high-risk communities (Ebersöhn and Ferreira, 2011; Morrison and Allen, 2007). In spite of the fact that schools and teachers are well positioned to act as potential protective resources in providing school-based psychosocial support (Morrison and Allen, 2007), the lack of resources, an overloaded curriculum, time constraints and the multiple complex demands on teachers mean that such responsibilities are often difficult and may not be fulfilled (Bhana et al., 2006). Furthermore, teachers often lack the skills needed to provide sufficient psychosocial support to students (Bhana et al., 2006; Hall, 2004; Wood and Goba, 2011). Visser (2004) believes that teachers have the potential to be agents for change, provided that they receive the right training and support. Against this background, we explain teachers’ actions following an asset-based intervention to support students and their families to overcome the psychosocial challenges encountered in the contexts of high poverty, school and community. 2.2. Collectivist coping and social support A growing body of research on coping has begun to identify the occurrence and the practical relevance of collective coping behaviours (Moore and Constantine, 2005; Yeh et al., 2006; Kuo, 2013). These emerging findings are significant as they prove the important role that collectivism plays in the process of coping with adversity and risk. The theoretical model for collectivist coping, as counterpart to the dominant Western individualistic coping paradigm, highlights the importance of cultural values and norms as pathways of coping (Yeh et al., 2006). Kuo (2013) explains collectivist coping behaviours as a result of the communal and relational norms and values of a cultural group (Kuo, 2013). Collectivist coping also includes a broad spectrum of stress responses, varying from value-driven to interpersonally based, to culturally conditioned emotional/cognitive and to religionbased and spirituality-grounded coping strategies (Kuo, 2013). In the literature, the important role that constructs such as social connectedness, social capital and the sense of belonging play in the context of collective coping are well documented (Campbell and Foulis, 2004; Taylor et al., 2005). As such, social connectedness has been found to have a direct negative effect on psychological distress (Lee et al., 2001) and the need for social connectedness is one of the key motivating principles that underlie social behaviour (Smith and Mackie, 2000). Nurullah (2012) argues that it is important to consider that although social support stems from members of a specific social network to which an individual belongs, the mere existence of a social network does not necessary entail providing or receiving social support. Instead, social support derives from significant assistance by others (in the form of meeting informational, emotional, material and/or companionship needs) which are acknowledged as support by both the recipient and the receiver. In a similar way, the existence of social capital does necessarily guarantee that social support will be available when needed by people in stressful situations (Nurullah, 2012). Recent studies suggest that the cultural context, (Kim et al., 2008, 2006) provider motivation, reciprocity, gender (Luszczynska et al., 2007) and the fitness of a match between the kind of stressors and the nature of the support provided (Lakey and Cohen,

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2000) all influence the outcome of receiving and providing support. In Nurullah’s (2012) review of some recent developments in the area of received and provided social support, he highlights the cross-cultural contexts in which providing and receiving social support occur as an important area for future research. In this regard, researchers (Taylor, 2011; Kim et al., 2008; Taylor et al., 2005) differentiate between implicit instrumental social support (the comfort that comes from knowing that one has access to close others who will be supportive) and explicit instrumental social support (apparent emotional solace and instrumental aid from others) in cultural contexts. However, Nurullah (2012) argues that their research has so far focused more on the perceived availability of social support, not on the actually performed social support. In our article, we aim to build on existing knowledge in the area of social support and collectivist coping, by providing a framework of how teachers in challenging contexts acted as active agents of change as a consequence of social support and resource management. 2.3. Teacher agency Educational research, practices and policies have long been focused on the notion of teachers as active agents of change at school level in order to improve teaching and learning (Toom et al., 2015; Datnow, 2012). The idea of teacher agency has emerged in research to explain teachers’ active efforts in taking intentional action and making choices in order to make a meaningful difference (Toom et al., 2015). Yet, one of the questions is how can teachers become agents for change in spite of the continuing contextual disparities? We conceptualise agency by looking through the lens of the ecological approach, where agency is explained as a configuration of three interrelated dimensions, namely influences from the past, orientations to the future and engagement with the present (Emirbayer and Mische, 1998). Firstly, agency is embedded in past experience; and therefore individuals who draw upon previous experience are more likely to achieve agency than those without such previous experience. The second dimension of agency entails being oriented to the future by setting goals, envisaging possibilities and aspiring for positive outcomes. It therefore implies that people who are able to make extensive forecasts about their future paths might be expected to achieve greater levels of agency than those with limited aspirations. Thirdly, agency is acted on in the present, influenced by previously experienced risk factors and the resources available. The ecological approach to agency suggests that agency is linked to the motivation to generate change which differs from the past and present (Emirbayer and Mische, 1998). Agency can therefore be conceptualised as an emergent phenomenon, which occurs or is reached in constantly changing contexts over time and with an orientation to the past, future and present (Priestly et al., 2015). 2.4. STAR as asset-based intervention Kretzmann (1992) argues that schools are a compilation of assets and resources, and are essential contributors to community support and development. He refers to a list of potential areas of contributions by schools as active community partners towards community support and development. Asset-based initiatives can therefore promote community development and support. The focus is on the development, mobilisation and co-ordination of resources in a community context. Individuals are able to facilitate and steer support and development by accessing and managing the assets, resources, skills, capabilities and talents in schools and school communities. In this way, individuals are provided with the

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competence required for acting in and meaningfully engaging with their world. When individuals become active partners for change, instead of merely the recipients of aid, they are more likely to take ownership and develop a sense of enablement (Cordes, 2002; Kretzmann and McKnight, 1993; Mathie and Cunningham, 2002; Thompson, 2005). The asset-based approach is presented as an alternative to the needs-based approach. The needs-based approach focuses on deficiencies, needs and problems, which may prevent communities from recognising their strengths, capacities, assets and resources (Cordes, 2002). In education, where risk and need are high, such a one-dimensional image generates policy which targets resource provision, which is often not a possibility in an emerging economy setting where resources are spread thin. The danger is that schools, leadership and teachers may become consumers of services instead of producers of solutions. The point of departure of the asset-based approach (Eloff, 2006), also referred to as the half-full glass approach, is the belief in the presence of assets in every individual and resources in every system, which may not necessarily have been utilised yet. The asset-based approach is based on three fundamental principles, namely a focus on the positive, considering people as possessing the inner strength necessary for taking charge of their own lives and building relationships and networks. The asset-based process identifies individual assets and community resources (asset identification), and connects these assets to one another in ways that improve their power and effectiveness (asset mobilisation) by emphasising the establishment of networks and the building of relationships (Cordes, 2002; Kretzmann and McKnight, 1993; Mathie and Cunningham, 2002). This approach is aimed at creating a sense of enablement and self-determination. The reported study is located in a long-term research project (2003–2012), namely STAR (Supportive Teachers Assets and Resilience) (Ferreira and Ebersöhn, 2011, 2012), which is theoretically grounded in the asset-based approach. When STAR was conceptualised, Ferreira and Ebersöhn (2012) conjectured that teachers could facilitate psychosocial support through the assetbased approach. The starting point in STAR is that each of the participating teachers possesses assets and that each schoolcommunity context has resources. STAR is a school-based intervention between teachers in high-risk schools and educational psychology scholars aligned with the Centre for the Study of Resilience, University of Pretoria, aimed at capacity building to

promote resilience and support in vulnerable school-community contexts. This national project commenced in 2003 in a pilot phase with ten teachers from a primary school in an urban informal settlement in the Eastern Cape province and consisted of several interrelated studies. In this article, we draw on data from the first phase and well as the second phase (2005–2007) where we replicated the pilot project in three other schools (two urban primary schools in Gauteng and a rural secondary school in Mpumalanga). The rationale for using data from these four schools is that they have participated for the longest period in the STAR project. Dissemination research followed in 2007–2011, where teachers from the first two phases were trained as STAR facilitators who, in turn, trained teachers in six neighbouring schools (two schools in each of the three South African provinces). Although researchers are no longer actively involved in this project, we still have regular contact with the team leaders of each school. The participating teachers took ownership of STAR and were able to sustain their asset-based projects over a long-term period. 3. Methodology In this comparative school-based intervention study, four schools (primary = 3, secondary = 1; rural = 1; urban = 3) were purposively selected as representative of schools in challenging contexts which are characteristic of high risk in South Africa. High risk was defined as (i) chronic, ongoing risk, together with (ii) cumulative, multiple sources of risk, within (iii) structural disparities of few and low accessibility to services. Criteria for a “high-risk school setting” included school community and household indicators of socio-economic level (indicated by household income, community-level unemployment and literacy levels) and the prevalence of HIV-infected and affected households (indicated by the disclosed HIV-positive status in households). Students and teachers travel on untarred roads, which are particularly difficult to navigate during rainy seasons. Free school transport is not available and public transport is expensive and unreliable. Housing is rudimentary, often constructed from loose boards and tin. There is limited access to municipal services for the supply of electricity, water and sanitation. Structural disparity is evident in the scarcity of resources shown in Photographs 1–4 . School principals guided the purposive selection of ten teachers per school who showed commitment to roles other than teaching and learning in schools. All nominated teachers accepted

Fig. 1. Teacher agency as an outcome of collectivist coping using instrumental social support for resource management.

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Photographs 1–4. Structural disparity is evident in the scarcity of resources in each of the selected contexts.

participation in the study. Although the original sample of participants consisted out of ten participants per school, some participants left the study due to various reasons (e.g. resigned to accept new career opportunities at different schools, time constraints and personal reasons). The sample of participating teachers who were involved throughout the study was as follows: primary, urban school in the Eastern Cape (n = 10, 10 female); rural secondary school in Mpumalanga (n = 9, 6 female and 3 male); urban primary school in Gauteng (n = 10, 9 female and 1 male); and an urban primary school in Gauteng (n = 8, 8 female). The STAR intervention (XXX)1 consisted of three phases and seven sessions, which were implemented over approximately 6–12 months, depending on each school’s unique needs and circumstances. Participatory Reflection and Action (PRA) (Chambers, 2008) was used to foreground power sharing between the researchers and the participating teachers (Nhamo, 2012). Although the researchers acted as facilitators in this process, PRA is aimed at co-facilitating change (here in partnership with teachers) by evoking agency. PRA-directed activities resulted in spontaneous discussions about the participants’ experiences (Anderson, 2002), and we drew mainly on the data obtained from these sessions. Informal focus groups in the form of group discussions formed part of each of the PRA sessions. Table 1 gives a summary of the intervention sessions conducted. Session 1 focused firstly, on establishing rapport with the participating teachers and creating cohesion in the group. The researchers introduced the project to the group and explained voluntary participation and the goals of STAR. Secondly, this

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session focused on what each community “looked” like and what resources and potential resources there were in each community. The research team facilitated the participating teachers’ awareness of the available and potential resources in the various communities. Each group was asked to construct a community map, by compiling an outline of the community (in writing and/or by means of pictures). Afterwards a disposable camera was provided to each group and each group was requested to take photographs of landmarks to be included in the community maps they had constructed. The participants had the opportunity to add the developed photographs to their maps during session 2. Each group reported back on this process during an informal focus group Table 1 Summary of the sessions conducted during the intervention phase of the research study. Intervention session

Goal/Objective

Pre-intervention phase 1 Mapping the community as well as the resources in the community 2 Identifying assets/resources, potential assets/resources as well as challenges in the community 3 Identifying needs and potential ways of addressing them Intervention phase 4 Initiating school-based initiatives 5 Developing a plan of action in terms of the identified projects and initiatives Post-intervention phase 6 Monitoring the progress of the projects and planning the way forward 7 Final reflection and application in future

Author identifiers are replaced with XXX.

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Fig. 3. [{Photograph 5 and 6}] Examples of school-community asset-maps which teachers created to visually portray identified risks and resources.

discussion. 3 are examples of the school-community maps of assets which the participating teachers had created to visually portray the identified risks and resources. Session 2 of the intervention focused on the identification of assets/resources, potential assets/resources and challenges in the community. The groups were given small pictures of cows, calves and snakes, and requested to use these symbols to categorise the various components of their community maps as challenges, resources or potential resources. For this purpose, the participating teachers pasted the pictures on their maps, namely snakes next to the challenges facing their community; cows next to the assets and the resources being utilised in the community at that stage; and calves next to the potential assets and resources. Then each group reported back on the identification of assets/resources during an informal focus-group discussion. Session 3 focused on the ways in which the assets (cows) and potential assets (calves) could be utilised in order to address the identified challenges (snakes) in the various communities. The community maps constructed in the previous sessions were given to the participating teachers. Each group received a poster with a picture of a snake and a poster with a picture of a knobkierie.2 The groups were asked to work from the community asset maps they had created, and firstly to list the challenges facing the community on the separate poster of the snake. Secondly, each group was requested to identify ways of addressing the identified challenges, by focusing on the resources (assets and potential assets) available in the community. These potential solutions were listed on the poster with the knobkierie, symbolising potential ways to “kill the snakes”. The groups were encouraged to hold small-group discussions for guiding their mapping activities. Session 4 focused on the identification of potential school-based projects which could initiate psychosocial support. During this session, each group was given their snake and knobkierie posters constructed during the previous sessions, asking them to briefly review these posters in terms of the content included. The participants identified (on the knobkierie posters) the potential but unutilised resources and assets (calves) in the community and listed them on a separate cardboard sheet. They brainstormed and identified potential projects they could initiate in order to address some of the challenges listed on the snake posters, by turning calves into cows, in other words by utilising unused resources and assets. Each group was given an opportunity to share its members’ ideas during an informal group discussion, and write these down on a sheet of paper. In the second

2 A short wooden stick with a knob at one end, used by South African tribesmen as a traditional weapon: knob+-kierie (from Nama kieri “knobkierie”), suggested by the Afrikaans knopkierie.

part of Session 4, three intervention projects were selected as a focus in each school. The participants indicated their preferences for the projects they would like to be involved with and divided themselves into three task teams. Each task team identified a task team co-ordinator. Photograph 7 shows the participating teachers’ planning during this second phase (XXX). Session 5 focused on planning the identified projects according to the action steps needed for initiating the projects. Each task team developed a plan of action and strategies for reaching their goals. They had to formulate their planning for each project, using the five Ws (and one H) approach: What? Who? How? When? Where? The participants allocated tasks and responsibilities to each team member and decided when the planned action would be taken. They presented their plans of action on a poster. Each poster had a line with a picture of a calf on the left and a picture of a cow on the right. A movable arrow was used to indicate to what extent the project objectives or action steps had been attained as the study progressed. Each task team had the opportunity to present their plan of action to the rest of the group, who could then ask questions and give input. Each participating teacher also formulated a personal declaration of commitment to the group and project. The session was concluded by requesting the groups to initiate the projects before the next series of sessions (approximately three months later), by putting their formulated plans into action. During session 6, a discussion was facilitated on the progress of the initiated projects. Each group had the opportunity to reflect and report back on the implementation of their plans of action and the progress of the project. They were asked to use the arrow on their initial action plan to indicate to what extent the planned action steps and strategies had been completed. Each task team then had the opportunity to revise their planned actions and strategies where needed, and to present their adjusted plans of action and future strategies to the rest of the group. Photograph 8 shows how the monitoring was documented visually. Session 7 focused on final reflection and application in future. A final focus group discussion was conducted where the participants shared their experiences on the potential value of the projects, their accomplishments and challenges. The way forward was planned and future possibilities were explored. PRA intervention sessions were conducted in English as this is the language the participating teachers in all the selected schools use as the language of instruction. English was not the home language of the participants or the researchers. Some members of the research team were proficient in several South African languages and interpreted when the need arose. PRA intervention sessions and related focus groups were audiovisually recorded and transcribed verbatim. Observational

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Fig. 4. [{Photograph 7 and 8}] Teachers planning and monitoring their school-based support projects.

data, especially the data based on the tenets of observation in the context of interaction (Angrosino and Mays de Pérez, 2000), were documented in multiple researcher diaries, field notes and photographs (Walsh, 2007). Although we initially obtained the participants’ consent before taking any photographs and assured them of anonymity in the consent agreements, they requested us to show their faces and make their identities recognisable in any representation or written report of the study. The participants were proud of their accomplishments and therefore requested to be recognisable on visual data. Data were obtained across all three phases of the research (pre-intervention phase, intervention phase and post-intervention phase). In-case and cross-case thematic analysis was conducted with the acknowledgement of the co-creation of knowledge and meaning by both the viewer (researcher) and the viewed (participants). To this end, the researchers and participants built open relationships, providing opportunities to give unique perspectives and present worldviews in their terms. Following Charmaz’s (2000) principles of constructivist-grounded theory, the data sources were coded using broad categories, patterns and themes in-case and cross-case. Memo writing was used to elaborate on the processes, assumptions and actions, and then included in codes. Each line of textual data and each visual image were coded and re-coded. Notes were made about possible themes and categories and broad themes were refined into more specific categories, themes and subthemes. Once the multiple coders had reached agreement on a point of saturation, the themes and subthemes were finalised. Rich descriptions of challenging school cases are provided to assist with transferability to similar cases. Together with an audit trail, this enhanced the transparency and rigour by addressing the criteria of credibility, transferability, dependability, conformability and authenticity (Seale, 2002). Cases were compared; we searched for silences and negative cases, and considered alternative explanations for findings. We made use of member checking to verify the themes and subthemes and to ensure the authentic representation of the participants’ perspectives. Prolonged engagement in the research field ensured a credible study. In this way, deriving quick conclusions was limited as fieldwork continued until the data had been saturated (Patton, 2002). Multiple researcher journals assisted reflection on the possible influence of researcher bias. We used the following ethical principles throughout the study: voluntary participation, informed consent, safety in participation, privacy and trust. We kept the participants

informed about the results and findings emanating from the reported study. 4. Limitations of the study The sampled cases of schools in challenging contexts are all characterised by socio-economic risk factors such as poverty, unemployment and high HIV/AIDS prevalence, which limited the transferability of the findings to resource-scarce contexts with comparable barriers. The sample of participants was predominantly female, restricting a broader male perspective on responding to challenging school contexts. The participating teachers in the reported study included teachers who were committed to investing in the holistic development and wellbeing of students, and who did not have only a teaching and learning focus. Consequently the responses of teachers who were otherwise focused on their careers have not been included in the data. The fact that the teachers were familiar with the purpose of the reported study, were aware that they were under observation and might have wanted to respond favourably, could have influenced their responses. Similarly, the presence of the research team as well as a long-term partnership relationship could have influenced the participating teachers’ behaviour and responses. Based on the criteria for selecting the participants, it could be assumed that the participating teachers already displayed some level of agency. Therefore, teacher agency could not be explained solely as an outcome of collectivist coping using instrumental social support for resource management. 5. Results The results of our study propose that teacher agency is aprobable outcome of collectivist coping, using both implicit and explicit instrumental social support for resource management. Resource management by the participating teachers for instrumental social support was reflected in the identification, access to and mobilisation of existing resources, flexibility, networking and lastly hope, optimism and aspiration. In our study, resource management was employed to provide both explicit and implicit instrumental social support. Instrumental social support is defined as a person’s experience of being cared for, valued and respected as part of a mutually supportive social network, through tangible services to help cope with adversity (Taylor, 2011). Our study showed that explicit instrumental social support, where people

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actively draw on existing social networks and resources, was evident in physical spaces, natural resources, institutions and organisations, health support, capacity development and the provision of safety. Emotional spiritual and social care and support were identified as implicit instrumental social support, where people benefited from the emotional comfort and support from others in their lives (Taylor, 2011). Fig. 1 demonstrates teacher agency as a possible outcome of collectivist coping, using both implicit and explicit instrumental social support for resource management. Next we present our results according to the three themes discussed above. 5.1. Resource management for instrumental social support Teachers’ agency was evident in the way in which they were able to identify, access and mobilise the available resources for social support. In order to manage resources, the participating teachers identified, accessed and mobilised the required resources in school contexts to cope with contextual hardship and address emerging needs, as illustrated in the following verbatim quotations: So I was just thinking that maybe if we can involve our learners here in our school with the project (School 2, Participant 9, Line 10–12); and We would like maybe to work with other schools (School 2, Participant 9, Line 518) The following excerpt from one of the researchers’ journals reflects the teachers’ ability to identify community resources during the intervention phase of our study: Wow, what a nice bunch of photos, they really put effort in exploring their community’s assets. One of the educators, who does not stay in the same community than she is teaching, reflected back that she never knew what are actually available in the community (Research Journal 2). In their management of resources, the participating teachers demonstrated flexibility in revising the existing strategies and planning new strategies to improve the effectiveness of their assetbased initiatives. Their flexibility and ability featured open communication strategies and the enablement of different role players to contribute their capabilities. The following verbatim transcripts illustrate the teachers’ ability to revise the existing strategies and implement new strategies for their asset-based initiatives: So I think if we can come up with a different strategy now, delegate people amongst the groups, select the ones that seem capable to take the lead (School 2, Participant 10, Line 320–323); We are able to meet time and again and reviewing our strategies, where we are lacking and how can we move forward, checking wherever we are lacking, whether we need to change our strategies and things like that and so on (School 3, Participant 12, Line 560–565). In their management of resources, the participating teachers mobilised different assets and resources by linking them through the formation of new networks and partnerships what Ebersöhn (2012) indicated as flocking for resource allocation and management. The teachers displayed networking skills by establishing collaborative partnerships with individuals and with organisational role players in order to provide social support in their school-community contexts: We are working with different people (School 1, Participant 20, Line 206); We networked with the pastor and place of safety . . . (School 3, Participant 13, Line 61–62). In a similar way, Benson (2006) states that healthy communities typically mobilise social networks and the meaningful participation of the community in support of shared community goals. In this way, as in other studies using the asset-based approach for community change, the participating teachers showed agency in involving different community members to engage actively in establishing and maintaining relationships among local residents, associations and organisations (see Cordes, 2002; Kretzmann and McKnight, 1993; Mathie and Cunningham, 2002; Thompson,

2005). The cultural dimensions of interconnectedness and social activity as a means of coping were evident in the way in which teachers demonstrated coping within a collectivist context of social support. Intracultural coping as a cultural norm was also evident in the way in which these teachers demonstrated the utilisation of supportive networks and the mobilisation of group members to work collaboratively to combat adversity and risk (Yeh et al., 2006). Hope, optimism and aspiration was evident in these teachers’ resource management efforts: We hope that the idea will grow and become bigger and bigger amongst our learners and we hope that with the idea that we have and the vision we are having in our group we think that it will grow into the community and the community will see that we are not just there for teaching but we are also there for the other errands that affects the community (School 2, Participant 24, Line 906–912); Nothing will be impossible for us to achieve (School 3, Participant 12, Line 614–615). The following excerpt from one of the researchers’ journals also echoes the teachers’ hope, optimism and aspiration: Each team co-ordinator reported on their accomplishments and way forward. I realized that they really accomplished a lot. There was a positive team spirit that no one could dim. Teachers were so optimistic about the growth of their projects and they came up with amazing future goals and targets (Research journal 1). In line with the participating teachers’ demonstrated optimism, hope and aspiration, current studies agree on the positive effects of an optimistic outlook in dealing with barriers and adversity (see Carver and Scheier, 2005; Fritz and Smit, 2008 Fritz and Smit, 2008). These teachers’ ability to cope in a solution-focused way, by positively reframing problems in terms of alternative and workable solutions, can be related to the findings of Fritz and Smit (2008), indicating that teachers were optimistic about the future and able to cope in spite of the adversities they encountered. 5.2. Explicit instrumental social support and resource management The participating teachers managed resources to provide explicit instrumental social support (Taylor, 2011). The resources used for explicit social support included unused physical spaces and natural resources, and institutions and organisations in school communities with which to collaborate for social support. These teachers used explicit social support to manage the resources available in a high-poverty environment by assisting with health challenges, including nutrition, HIV and AIDS information and counselling, as well as by accessing health services. Buffering against prevailing structural disparities was also evident in these teachers’ explicit instrumental social support to develop the capacity for income generation, provide material resources to students and their families, and assist with safety to guard against crime. Resource management for explicit social support meant that the teachers identified physical spaces (including buildings, apparatus and equipment) which could be mobilised: Our school is big, it has a lot of classrooms, it’s about 20 classes excluding the other centres, the labs and the library that we have (School 2– Participant 24, Line 725–726); We just focused more on what we have and what we can use on our premise . . . (School 4, Participant 16, Line 218–219). Choksi (2004) claims that physical resources are among the first to be mobilised after making asset-based interventions. A possible reason for starting with physical resources may be the visible and tangible nature of the buildings and other physical resources available. For resource management, the participating teachers also identified and mobilised natural resources in school contexts: . . . there is water, . . . there is a dam . . . (School 1, Participant 1, Line 12–13); . . . in our area the soil is fertile (School 2, Participant 11, Line 462). The teachers in all four of the participating schools

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Fig. 5. [{Photographs 9–12}] Vegetable gardens established at each of the participating schools.

showed agency in establishing a vegetable garden by mobilising natural resources, namely under-utilised land on their school grounds. One of the teachers explained the process of establishing a vegetable garden as follows: We asked the lady from ACVV3 to supply us with the seeds and she did that. So they did the ploughing. We asked the guy from the Municipality to give us tools or equipment . . . we are going to ask him to come with the tractor so that the land must be cultivated properly (School 1, Participant 1, Line 703–709). One of the teachers in School 2 referred to the piece of land that they mobilised to become their vegetable garden: We got our space at the back there behind the classes, it was just a place which seemed as if it cannot grow anything . . . (School 2, Participant 24, Line 753–755). One of the researchers commented in her research journal: “I was curious to see what they did and whether their projects progressed . . . ? I was utterly impressed I saw a huge vegetable field in front of me. I was so proud . . . There were a lot of community members working in the gardens, each with a small plot allocated to them. They really took ownership for their piece of vegetable garden. When I left at about 17:00, they were still busy (Research journal 2). The following visual data (Photographs 9–12) illustrate the vegetable garden initiatives in each of the schools. The initial fundamental goal of establishing vegetable gardens of all the teacher cohorts in our study was to support family systems in need because of poverty and HIV/Aids. This differs from Choksi’s (2004) study, where community vegetable and flower gardens were established to create social interaction and recreational opportunities in the community. The poverty context in the reported study requires food security as primary aim, instead of social cohesion. Incidentally, however, the vegetable gardens in the schools did also lead to the schools becoming community spaces of care, rather than only spaces for teaching and learning.

3 Abbreviation for Afrikaanse Christelike Vroue Vereninging, a Christian Women’s movement in South Africa.

The participating teachers also included institutions and organisations as resources. They demonstrated agency in identifying and mobilising NGOs, faith-based organisations, community organisations, educational and health-related organisations as potential resources in their communities, as is evident in the following excerpts: . . . but also tomorrow we are going to visit ACVV,3 because we want them to help us where to go (School 1, Participant 1, Line 16–17); Even also make use of the council of this community (School 1, Participant 3, Line 122); . . . different churches on Sundays, . . . social clubs because we blacks believe in social clubs (School 3, Participant 13, Line 196–197); Circle of Life is an NGO, it’s an asset, it’s a local institution in our community, so we make use of all those assets (School 4, Participant 16, Line 215–226). Instrumental social support also explicitly benefited from health support, including nutrition, HIV and AIDS information and counselling, and access to health services. Nutrition was a central health care concern where these teachers managed resources. The teachers in School 4 demonstrated agency in rebuilding an existing kitchen to form the basis for their feeding scheme for vulnerable children and households in their schoolcommunity context. One of the teachers in School 4 referred to their kitchen and vegetable garden as the main resources for their feeding scheme: . . . with the kitchen for the needy children, and using the vegetable garden for that . . . (School 4, Participant 18, Line 266–267). Explicit instrumental social support for HIV and AIDS information and counselling was evident where the teachers in School 1 mobilised under-utilised buildings and office space to establish an HIV/AIDS support initiative, an HIV/AIDS information and resource centre, as well as a counselling room on the school premises. The information and resource centre was established to give students and community members information and resources about HIV/ AIDS. School 1’s group leader explained how they decided to mobilise their ‘sick room’ in order to make their resource and

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Fig. 6. [{Photographs 13–16}] School 1’s HIV/AIDS support, information and resource initiative.

support centre more successful: We are going to break one of our classrooms, our school is not so big, and make the centre bigger and work. We called the staff and we decided on the room . . . it was our sick room then we split it because it was two rooms and then we fit in a sliding door so that it can be used (School 1, Participant 20, Line 160– 175). The visual data in Photographs 13–16 illustrate School 1’s HIV/AIDS support, information and resource initiative. Similar to the way that the teachers in the reported study implemented HIV/ AIDS awareness and education as one way of addressing HIV/AIDSrelated challenges in their school-community contexts, the existing literature agrees on the importance of HIV education, lifestyle training and awareness programmes as a strategy to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, promote safe behaviour relating to HIV/AIDS (Bennell, Hyde & Swainson 2002), and reduce the ignorance and stigma associated with HIV/AIDS(Campbell, Foulis, Maimane & Sibiya, 2005). Instrumental social support also explicitly targeted access to health services. Here the participating teachers’ agency counteracted the low literacy levels of parents who were unable to read or complete the admission forms, and lacked the funds for using the unreliable transport. These teachers demonstrated the ability to network with organisations and institutions in order to establish resources for the provision of health, as is evident in the following verbatim quotations: And there is a lady from Hospice . . . she’s going to work with us here at school in our support group (School 1, Participant 8, Line 513–515); . . . there are school nurses that we are working with. So if the child reports that I have a parent who is very ill, I just pick up the phone and call sister X, she comes to our school we go to the place and then she does the rest. Admission is done by her (School 3, Participant 23, Line 436–441). Explicit instrumental social support also targeted capacity development. Here the teachers in School 2 mobilised their existing

skill sets and an under-utilised classroom. These teachers showed agency in teaching unemployed school-community members beadwork skills and providing a central workstation to them to do beadwork during the week, and thus responded to the high level of unemployment in their community. The visual data in 7 show unemployed community members doing beadwork in one of the classrooms in the school. The following verbatim quotation refers to the community members who came on a regular basis to School 2 to participate in the beadwork project: They all came, positively and it means that they were interested in doing the work . . . the whole day they were here, they brought their own food, they ate during break time, they only went home at four in the afternoon. So it shows really that they were interested (School 2, Participant 18, Line 266–267). This is echoed by the following excerpt from one researcher’s journal: Parents came in their numbers – we could not believe our eyes . . . She assisted them with great patience to master the basic skills of beading . . . I left the school with a warm feeling in my heart (Research journal 2). Managing resources so that they would be instrumental in social support for capacity development, particularly of the parents of students, was also evident in these statements: . . . those parents were trained in various aspects, to put a few, they were trained on HIV/AIDSand counselling . . . they were trained in parenting empowerment, to know how to deal with kids . . . they were also trained in trauma . . . they also trained us as educators . . . you see we are working with different people, all those workshops were catered for by different NGOs (School 1, Participant 20, Line 184–212); . . . There are children who are dealing with drugs, they come to the office and given advice because we are working hand and glove with Child Line. And then we have the teachers, as she has already said that, who are training two schools (School 1, Participant 20, Line 245–251); Yes we do have the awareness and the HIV and

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Fig. 7. [{Photographs 17–18}] Unemployed parents and community members are busy with beadwork in one of the school’s previously under-utilised classrooms.

AIDS awareness day . . . we will be calling people in to come and highlight or give us more knowledge about HIV and AIDSand the police will be coming soon, they’ve been invited to the school to come and address the learners about safety, how to take care of themselves during school hours and after schools now that there’s a lot of bullying in schools (School 3, Participant 16, Line 167–175). The capacity development of teachers, parents and community members in our study is also in line with one of the key priority areas of Bennell et al. (2002), namely social support through the inclusion, involvement and capacity development of parents and caregivers. The teachers participating in our study mobilised parents and community members to participate in their asset-based initiatives, and in the process they developed their skills and abilities. In the same way, the Child Protection Society of Zimbabwe (1999) argues that it is important for communities to take ownership and responsibility for mobilising human resources in their community. In its study, this society utilised community volunteers to support AIDS orphans at a practical, material, emotional, educational, recreational, legal, cultural and spiritual level. The study argues that community members are significant resources that could fill the gap between needs and resources. The extent of deprivation is illustrated in the explicit target of providing material resources to students: We had various stakeholders, they managed to give us support and food parcels. Our learners were getting food parcels, they were receiving clothes, school shoes and uniform from other people (School 1, Participant 20, Line 144–146); Also the Shebeen4 which is closer to our school is starting to open his business at 3 in the afternoon, he also donated paint to our school (School 3, Participant 21, Line 312–314); And then we’ve got X, which provide the grades 1 and grades 2 and those needy learners in our schools, full uniform from shoe, underwear, the skirt for the girls, the top for the girls, the boys: the trouser, and even the jerseys, everything is provided to them on a yearly basis (School 3, Participant 21, Line 388–392). Socio-economic stressors such as poverty, unemployment and crime often make individuals vulnerable to a lack of trust, safety and security. Among those most at risk in poverty-stricken communities are children, as their access to basic food, shelter and housing is often limited (Dass-Brailsford, 2005). In our study, the participating teachers used networking to manage resources with organisations and institutions in order to establish resources for the provision of safety, as is evident in the following verbatim quotations: We have a safety committee and on that safety committee we have a constable or inspector and you go and you

4 Typically an unlicensed establishment or private house selling alcohol in a township.

ask and they appoint one to your school and it works wonders. The principal is also part of the Community Forum (School 4, Participant 16, Line 431–437). 5.3. Implicit instrumental social support and resource management The participating teachers managed resources to provide implicit instrumental social support (Taylor, 2011) in order to counter social isolation and promote social connectedness and a sense of belonging (Taylor et al., 2005). The resources these teachers used for implicit social support included the teachers’ skills, as well as organisations and institutions in schoolcommunities with which to collaborate for social support. Implicit instrumental social support meant providing emotional, spiritual and social care and support to families in their homes, and to one another as peers at school and faith-based comfort. The HIV/AIDS support initiative included comforting home visits to community members infected and affected by HIV/AIDS: We managed to support families, socially, emotionally and as well as the support group. All of them they used to go to visit homes, to give a prayer, to give emotional support and this project was new to us and we wanted results. We worked together, involving others (School 1, Participant 20, Line 119–123). These teachers’ agency in managing resources to provide implicit social support is also evident in the following excerpt from one of the researchers’ journals: “I am so astounded with these teachers’ capacity to provide vulnerable children, parents and community members with emotional care and support. They visit many homes and families in their spare time to pray with them and give them hope on an emotional level (Research Journal 1). Lubbe and Mampane (2008) support the results obtained in our study, emphasising that compassionate and caring teachers who are involved at an emotional level could play an important role in contributing to children’s feeling more positive about the future and enhancing their self-worth. In Nurullah’s (2012) review of recent literature in the area of received and provided support, he highlights the role of religion in the provision and receiving of social support as an area for further research. 6. Discussion The results of our study suggest that teacher agency is a possible outcome of collectivist coping, using both implicit and explicit instrumental social support for resource management. Consistent with the results of our study, the conservation of resources (COR) theory of stress and coping (Hobfoll, 2001, 2011) is also embedded in a context of chronic adversity. According to this theory, individuals and groups seek to obtain, protect and conserve resources. Stress is likely to occur when there is a loss or a threat of

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the loss of resources. The COR theory therefore suggests that coping originates from a risk or loss of resources. Similar to our findings, COR also emphasises resource management as a pathway to coping. The participating teachers in our study demonstrated the ability to use resource management to provide both implicit and explicit instrumental support (Taylor et al., 2005) to cope with adversities and risk. Teacher agency in schools becomes incrementally more important when other institutions and services are underrepresented, as is often the case in emerging economy contexts such as in South Africa. The study set out to provide an explanatory framework for how teachers in high-risk school contexts became agents, regardless of structural disparity. In spite of the continuing contextual disparities, teacher agency was possible as the participating teachers provided both explicit and implicit social support and collectively and collaboratively managed the limited resources available to overcome chronic challenges. Teacher agency can therefore partly be explained as an outcome of collectivist coping, using instrumental social support for resource management.It should be noted that based on the selection criteria used for this study, it could be expected that the participants already showed some level of teacher agency. We argue that the asset-based approach could act as a catalyst for the process of social support and resource management in challenging contexts. Following an asset-based intervention and facilitation, the participating teachers in high-risk and high-need schools identified, mobilised and managed capacities, assets and resources. During these teachers’ implementation of the assetbased process, asset-based initiatives were planned, steered, revisited, revised and improved. Teacher agency was therefore a probable outcome of collectivist coping using instrumental social support for resource management. This process resulted in various unique outcomes that ultimately addressed the chronic challenges in their school-community contexts. 7. Conclusion The findings of our study therefore argue that teacher agency as a probable consequence of social support and resource management is possible if teachers are given the necessary facilitation and training similar to the asset-based intervention in the reported study. This suggests that policy as well as teacher training in similar contexts of significant adversity could benefit from including foci on mapping assets and resources, mobilising assets and resources by using networks and by monitoring and managing the use of assets. In a young democracy, where people are still being socialised into participatory decision-making and advocacy for rights and services, the asset-based approach is presented as possible platform for introducing and taking initiatives to address societal challenges by lobbying the collective. It may be useful to send facilitators into schools to collaborate with teachers in setting up a plan specifically designed for their school, and which addresses the potential challenges by making the best use of existing assets and resources, instead of imposing a one-off approach of one size fits all to address psycho-social problems in school-community contexts. In this way, teachers would have the opportunity and responsibility for taking ownership of selfgenerated solutions to address their particular needs and challenges through teacher agency. Our long-term study provides further evidence that this combined pathway for teacher agency could be sustained over time and that the use of social support for teacher agency in challenging contexts does seem to be robust. Structural changes may result in long-term alleviation, however, so that teachers could focus their agency of resource management and social support on teaching. In this way, the energy that is often focused on

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