Browsing by Author "Lester, Soraya"

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    Engagement in parenting programmes: exploring facilitators of and barriers to participation
    (2016-03-16) Wessels, Inge; Lester, Soraya; Ward, Catherine L
    The large-scale delivery of evidence-based parenting programmes is key to nation building in South Africa. In order to achieve change, parents must participate in these programmes. This policy brief aims to contribute to an understanding of participation by exploring the barriers and facilitators encountered by a sample of parents who were invited to take part in one of two local parenting programmes. Recommendations to improve recruitment and retention strategies are provided.
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    UCT ERT Student Experience Survey 2020
    (University of Cape Town, 2020-09-25) Marquard, Stephen; Walji, Sukaina; Lester, Soraya; Kefale, Kende; Deacon, Andrew
    Final report of the UCT Emergency Remote Teaching Student Experience Survey 2020, an online survey of student experiences of emergency remote teaching (ERT) during the 2nd term of 2020 (April to July 2020). The purpose of the survey was to inform and improve the design of courses taught online during the second semester of 2020 (August to November), and improve support for students where possible. The survey was thus a form of institutional research and followed an exploratory research design rather than setting out to confirm or disprove specific hypotheses. The report presents key concerns of students during this time period, including mental health, course workload in relation to available time, and challenges relating to course site design, assessments, social connectedness, Internet access and mobile data and preferences relating to video material and synchronous teaching. While most students experienced some difficulties arising from ERT and the COVID-19 lockdown conditions, students who no longer had access to UCT residences after the start of ERT were particularly adversely affected.
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    What do we know about preventing school violence? A systematic review of systematic reviews
    (Taylor & Francis, 2017-01-30) Lester, Soraya; Lawrence, Cayleigh; Ward, Catherine L
    Many children across the world are exposed to school violence, which undermines their right to education and adversely affects their development. Studies of interventions for school violence suggest that it can be prevented. However, this evidence base is challenging to navigate. We completed a systematic review of interventions to reduce four types of school violence: (a) peer violence; (b) corporal punishment; (c) student-on-teacher violence and (d) teacher-on-student violence. Reviewers independently searched databases and journals. Included studies were published between 2005 and 2015; in English; considered school-based interventions for children and measured violence as an outcome. Many systematic reviews were found, thus we completed a systematic review of systematic reviews. Only systematic reviews on interventions for intimate partner violence (IPV) and peer aggression were found. These reviews were generally of moderate quality. Research on both types of violence was largely completed in North America. Only a handful of programmes demonstrate promise in preventing IPV. Cognitive behavioral, social-emotional and peer mentoring/mediation programmes showed promise in reducing the levels of perpetration of peer aggression. Further research needs to determine the long-term effects of interventions, potential moderators and mediators of program effects, program effects across different contexts and key intervention components.