The pre-school child with leukemia : a psychological educational perspective

Abstract

The duration of the pre-school phase ranges approximately from the age of three to six years, with a vast broadening of the child’s cognitive, physical and psychological abilities. The pre-school child’s involvement in, meaning attribution and experience of his world, determines his relationship-, identity and self-concept formation, his self-talk as well as his eventual self-actualization. Pre-school children with leukemia are in a unique situation because their entire pre-school phase could be dominated by regular periods of hospitalization and/or visits to the oncology clinic. During this important phase of life these pre schoolers are confronted with regular painful medical procedures with accompanying side effects. The educational categories Involvement, Meaning Attribution and Experience and the accompanying ways of actualization namely, relationship-, identity- and self-concept formation as well as self-talk and self-actualization, of the physically health pre-school child and that of the pre-school child with leukemia, have been examined in this ideographic descriptive study.

Die kleuterfase duur vanaf ongeveer drie jarige- tot ses jarige ouderdom, waartydens ‘n snelle verbreding van die kind se kognitiewe-, fisiese- en psigiese vermoëns plaasvind. Die kleuter se betrokkenheid, betekenisgewing en belewenis van sy leefwêreld bepaal sy relasievorming, identiteitsvorming, selfgesprek, selfkonsepvorming en uiteindelike selfaktualisering. Die kleuter met leukemie bevind homself egter in ‘n unieke situasie deurdat, bykans sy hele kleuterfase, deur tydperke van gereelde hospitalisasie en/of besoeke aan die dagkliniek vir kanker pasiënte, in beslag geneem kan word. In hierdie belangrike lewensfase met betrekking tot die kind se volwassewording, word die kleuter met leukemie gekonfronteer met gereelde en pynlike mediese prosedures, met gepaardgaande newe-effekte. Die Opvoedkundige Kategorieë te wete Betrokkenheid, Betekenisgewing en Belewenis, met die gepaardgaande aktualiseringswyses naamlik, relasievorming, identiteitsvorming, selfgesprek, selfkonsepvorming en selfaktualisering van die fisies-gesonde kleuter, asook dié van die kleuter met leukemie, is in hierdie ideografies-beskrywende studie aan die lig gebring.