ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to describe the role of Life Orientation (LO) in the development of altruistic behaviour among adolescents aged 14 t0 16 years in one rural school of Limpopo Province. The participants were purposively selected. Most communities struggle to involve adolescents in voluntary activities such as home-based care, cleaning campaigns, conducting study groups, and others, if there are no incentives such as money. The study collected data through semi-structured interviews and the altruism scale questionnaire. The latter is not a psychometric measure but a screening tool that gives a qualitative value that can be analysed. The findings of the study have shown that LO has not yet played a critical role in developing altruism in youth, especially adolescents. Participants having reported lack of perceived seriousness taken by their LO teachers on the topics during LO lessons resulted in their different perspectives and experiences regarding the subject. In addition, altruism has not been included in LO curriculum. Therefore, further investigation of the cause of belief in superstition amongst adolescents and downgrading of LO is important.