Overview

The Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of Children, Families and Society (CISCFS) is an interdisciplinary centre that aims to advance knowledge production and critically engaged scholarship on children, families, and society. Specifically, the CISCFS aims to provide a holistic understanding of the interplay between the South African family (and its members) and the diverse contexts and societal structures wherein it is located to strengthen families for family well-being. To this end, we apply evidence-based and participatory practices in collaboration with partners and stakeholders, translating knowledge to practice, which are embedded within the realities of children, families and society.

For more than 10 years, the focus of Child and Family Studies has been to establish a critical mass in the field of family science, to build evidence for the need for guidelines and subsequent interventions. To meet this intention, CISCFS has partnered both locally and internationally.

At a local level, CISCFS has, and continues, to partner with community-based organisations such as The Parent Centre, Mfesane, ELRU and the NOVA Institute. Government remains a partner as Local Government (The City of Cape Town and Saldanha Bay Municipality), Western Cape Provincial Government (Department of Social Development and Department of Health), Northern Cape Provincial Government (Department of Social Development). At an international level, CFS has partnered with the University of Missouri (USA, centred on hookah use in the family and identity of Coloured people), KU Leuven (Belgium, directed at psychological well-being, the parent-child relationship and Self-Determination Theory), the University of Huddersfield (UK, focusing on ECD and Higher Education), the University of Maastricht (Netherlands, developing an intervention for hookah pipe use), Australia (research on developing responsible individuals and families linked to a local NGO), as well as a Brazil/Cuba/UK ECD Consortium and Africa Consortium (Strengthening Capacity in Parenting), has raised the profile and increased awareness of the nature of the work conducted in and by CISCFS.

CISCFS, over 15 years, has produced more than 200 peer reviewed articles in national and international journals; two books and 16 book chapters; conference presentations both locally and internationally; has hosted its first family strengthening conference on parenting interventions in collaboration with Parenting in Africa Network (May 2017); and has hosted seminars and workshops on family strengthening and building partnerships. The aforementioned publications have been cited internationally and are used to enhance the teaching in CISCFS by including South African perspectives on family, and contextual, cultural perspectives. These publications have also afforded capacity strengthening with other colleagues in the faculty through writing for publication and co-authoring. Honing skills in research methodology has also been foregrounded with training on how to conduct systematic and scoping reviews.

Vision and Mission