Teachers and school social workers collaborating to support South African adolescents with psychosocial challenges

Abstract

The strategies employed by teachers and school social workers are deemed pivotal in aiding adolescents grappling with psychosocial challenges. Despite the worldwide acknowledgment of the importance of comprehensive support for adolescent development, there exists an evident lack of inquiry into the approaches employed by these professionals in the context of South African public schools. This qualitative exploratory pilot study, conducted with teachers and school social workers (n = 6) from a bigger research project in two Gauteng District eleven schools, explores the perspectives of teachers and school social workers on supporting adolescents with psychosocial challenges. The thematic analysis confirmed that diverse approaches were used to support adolescents, the challenges faced by these professionals in their efforts to provide support, and existing and needed multidisciplinary collaborations in the school. The study recommends that a bigger research study be undertaken focusing on this current aim and multidisciplinary collaboration efforts in schools. It also argues that teachers need to be trained to identify adolescents with psychosocial challenges and school social workers need to be deployed in school settings.