NCJ Number
195549
Journal
Youth & Society Volume: 33 Issue: 4 Dated: June 2002 Pages: 545-572
Date Published
June 2002
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This study explored South African teenage girls’ views and experiences of farm life and their expectations of the future.
Abstract
Farm worker communities tend to exhibit their own distinctive values, norms, and lifestyles. Mobility among farm workers has historically been relatively low. The views and expectations of rural youth is an under-researched area. The lives of teenage daughters of Colored farm workers living on farms in the Boland and Wineland regions of the Western Cape in South Africa were explored in an attempt to understand the life world of young people living on farms. The data were obtained by conducting focus group interviews with 32 teenage girls of farm workers between the ages of 15 and 17 years. Three themes emerged in discussions with these girls on their future plans and expectations: education and future employment, marriage and children, and the viability of combining domestic and paid work. All participants wanted to complete their school education. When asked about their future occupations most girls foresaw professional and semiprofessional jobs for themselves. Most of the participants wanted to get married in the future. They were not only clear on the type of man they want to marry but also about the way they wanted to raise their children. Teenage girls have different views on combining marriage and full-time employment. Most girls who want to get married want to stay at home and look after their children if they could financially afford it. Their greatest dream involved visiting and/or living in other countries. The expectations of these girls appeared to correspond with those of non-farm girls and boys. This analysis seems to support the argument that social location and social divisions continue to influence individuals’ life changes--not at the level of group or class, but at the level of the individual. 20 notes, 31 references