Dr. Hamilton Grant Pharaoh
University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Title: Feasibility of a youth development programme: A South African study
Biography
Biography: Dr. Hamilton Grant Pharaoh
Abstract
Statement of the Problem: Designing comprehensive youth development programmes that combat the engagement of Health Risk Behaviour amongst the youth has become a crucial component in the battle against the challenges that the youth are confronted with in an ever changing environment. These programmes need to be designed in such a manner that it addresses the current needs of the youth which includes the important transferring of skills to assist them to make better health choices. A Delphi technique was used to explore the feasibility of a designed comprehensive youth development programme that was aimed at combatting Health Risk Behaviour amongst youth in selected high schools in the Paarl area, Western Cape. A purposive sample of 24 experts was invited to participate in the Delphi study. The Delphi process was administered online using Google docs. Experts were requested to participate in an online questionnaire to give their opinion on the feasibility and content of the Youth Development Programme that was designed by the researcher. The consent form and the questionnaires for the various rounds of the Delphi were designed on Google Form. The experts were asked to follow the prompts/ links provided in the email they received. Google Forms enable the participants to complete and submit the consent forms and questionnaires online. Specific questions were arranged in order for the panel of experts to give input as to: (i) the scope of the programme, (ii) the content of the programme, (iii) the approaches of the programme, (iv) the implementation of the programme, (v) the resources of the programme and (vi) the cost of the programme. The results and observations following the Delphi study indicated that the Delphi technique can be a very helpful tool during the design and development of a programme, especially when the need of expert input is of high priority, as it creatively ascertains expert opinion and advice on a specific area or topic. More importantly aspects have been highlighted that should affect the design of the youth development programme, which include:
1. Scaffolding of the programme into specific age- and gender-based activities;
2. The understanding that the programme should be sensitive to the diverse needs and background of its participants;
3. The need for training of facilitators in order to have the participants being mentored by facilitators equipped to deal with the challenges that will emerge throughout the programme.