Over the last months, the Pulse team in Parys has conducted a survey to school teachers, parents and guardians of Field Band members in Free State, partially with the purpose of mapping attitudes towards people living with disabilities and what Field Band might be doing in terms of improving those attitudes.

The survey had 120 respondents in total, and the results of the survey will be presented as part of a comprehensive report next month. Before the release of this report (and due to the Easter break) we would like to share some of our findings with the readers of this blog.

In our survey we listed a range of statements, in which the respondents ticked a box according to their agreement/disagreement. One of the statements read as follows: “Field Band improves attitudes towards people living with disabilities”. We found that 84% of the parents/guardians agree or strongly agree to this statement. Correspondingly, 90% of the teachers are in agreement:

In response to the statement “Field Band helps its members to make healthier decisions” – as many as 75% of the parents/guardians – 3 out of 4 – agree or strongly agree that Field Band helps its members to make healthier decisions.

The claim that Field Band has an impact on the member’s ability to make healthier decisions is is also reflected in some of the written responses from the parents, such as this one: “Field Band has helped my child a lot, it has kept him/her off the streets”. The members also talk about these decisions in the interviews we’ve had with them: “Field Band tells me not to smoke or steal or do bad things. I’m very proud for this.”

We asked the survey respondents if they had seen a change in their child or student since joining Field Band and 80% said yes! Just listen to what some of them had to say:

• «I see a lot of change in my child. He is now more confident, he doesn’t worry what other kids think of him, Field Band has lifted his self-esteem.» (Parent)
• «Yes! There is a change. It makes them stay out of bad influence e.g. immoral friendships.» (Parent)
• «Yes, because they know and believe they can do anything, disable or not» (Teacher)

We believe these findings show support in the community for what Field Band is doing in terms of the inclusive bands. Stay tuned for the final report in April!

Written by Eirik and Ingrid