Transforming lives through quality, impact, and care – reads the essence of the University of the Free State (UFS). However, this phrase can also be used to describe the work of honours students in the Department of Psychology’s Community Psychology module with the Lettie Fouché School.
The
Department of Psychology has a long-standing relationship with the
Lettie Fouché School in Bloemfontein through the former therapeutic horse-riding programme with foundation phrase learners at the school. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the project was put on hold.
Promoting teacher well-being
Lecturer in the Department of Psychology, Dr Pravani Naidoo, says that community partners at Lettie Fouché have expressed a desire to continue their partnership with the university. This resulted in students seeking alternative ways to meaningfully interact with the school.
They have embraced podcasts as a form of e-service learning to promote the well-being of teachers and support staff, including hostel caregivers and therapists. The podcasts allowed the students to present their interventions in a practical and easily accessible way.
To determine the needs of the staff, the students engaged in a face-to-face needs assessment process with key stakeholders from the school, including Liana van Heerden, the Head of Occupational Therapy, and Charmaine de Waal, the Social Worker. This was followed by a needs assessment process on Google Forms, where staff answered questions related to their needs. They found that staff is experiencing challenges such as poor communication skills and conflict, which can often result in low levels of productivity and job satisfaction.
The students – informed by what they have learned in class theoretically and based on the needs assessment outcomes as part of their community intervention programme – identified self-compassion, character strengths, effective communication, and self-regulation towards conflict management as topics to address via their podcasts. These strategies are aimed at equipping and empowering the group of teachers to uphold good mental health and a healthy working environment.
The students prepared podcast transcripts, which were recorded in the new KovsieFM recording studio by Gerben van Niekerk from Kovsie Support Services. The podcasts were shared with the Lettie Fouché staff group via email. After receiving a request, they also made the recordings more widely available to occupational therapists and social workers at other schools in the Free State. The Lettie Fouché staff felt that the podcasts were of such high quality and relevance that it should be shared with their colleagues.
This initiative had the support of the school principal, Alexander Jordaan.
Via Google Forms and informal focus groups, the staff group provided their feedback on the podcasts to students. The focus groups, where Jordaan indicated his and the school’s support for the partnership, were arranged by the school.
During these sessions, the students were commended for producing professionally recorded podcasts, which were not too long and were easy to listen to. The staff also indicated that they had started practising many of the tools that the students shared with them to promote their well-being.
Students learning valuable lessons
One of the students, Felicia Sibambo, reported that she herself picked up many valuable lessons during this learning opportunity. “Participating in this community project improved my knowledge, skills, and experience. I am now more careful about what I say and how I say it, and I can pause before I speak, because I am aware that communication is one of the factors that affect conflict.”
Regarding her interactions with the school group, Felicia says, “I have acquired from them the qualities they portray, such as being kind, joyful, united, compassionate – the list is endless. I hope that they maintain that wonderful energy. It has been a lovely experience.”
Eden-Lee Mohr, who believes that it is important to be considerate and kind, was a member of the group that focused on communication skills and conflict management. She says the podcast not only helped the teachers; it also helped her. She says she also learned a lot about herself in this process.
According to Konaye Masiba, who learned to see things from different perspectives, this project has facilitated her personal growth. She states: “Working on this project was an advantage for me, because I gained knowledge concerning teamwork, time management, and the importance of communication.”
Rihani Lombard, who felt out of her comfort zone during the project, says she was once again reminded of the importance of prioritising her mental health. She also implemented the information that she shared with the Lettie Fouché work group in her own life.
Delmariè Cilliers says the project has made her more aware of the community and how to assess their needs. “Don’t assume their needs. It is very important to hear the community's voice and then act on their voice,” she says.
Podcasts adding value in e-service learning
Despite being a teaching tool equipping students in the Community Psychology module, the project greatly benefited the Lettie Fouché work group. They only had positive feedback to share with the students, especially about the format in which the information was shared. Van Heerden says the podcasts helped them to listen to the information at any time in any place. The topics covered were also relevant, they indicated. They also felt that the strategies shared with them, including self-regulation, practising self-compassion and mindfulness, were easy to learn.
She adds: “Besides equipping us to deal with day-to-day communication and conflict challenges, the Lettie Fouché staff appreciated the podcasts as it also reminded us about the importance of taking care of our own well-being. The group has without a doubt succeeded in their goal: promoting teacher wellness.”