Abstract
Learners affected and infected by HIV/AIDS have been given priority status in the
development of inclusive education. The Department of Education should
develop and support the personal and professional self of educators as torch
bearers of its educational policy. This inquiry attempted to understand educators’
teaching experiences to establish what educational and psychological support
was needed to better include such learners. The information obtained may
enable District Based Support Team’s (DBST’s) and School Based Support
Team’s (SBST’s), as well as educational psychologists to develop educators, as
limited research has been done in this regard.
In this inquiry the data collection methods included 16 questionnaires completed
by educators, an individual interview with a principal as well as two focus group
interviews (with educators, and then with SBST and School Management Teams
(SMT’s) members combined). Collages were visual representations of educators’
experiences and aided group discussions. Data obtained was analysed using the
constant comparative method to determine the common themes and sub themes
describing educators’ experiences over and above the identified educational and
psychological support they needed to better include child-headed family learners
within their classrooms.
The findings presented suggest orphan status awareness at schools cannot be
taken for granted. In coping with the effects of orphan-hood, learners presented
with characteristic barriers such as: learning difficulties, incomplete school work
and homework, failure to participate, school absenteeism, hunger, concentration
difficulties, tiredness and sleeping in class, neglected appearance, behavioural
difficulties, signs of sexual abuse, and accelerated adulthood. Efforts to create
supportive learning environments included: impartial treatment, learning support
provision, accessing support services and meeting basic needs for food, clothing,
love, belongingness, reassurance, motivation and encouragement. Educators
iii
related accompanying negative psychological experiences (i.e. feeling sadness,
distress and pain, as well as being emotionally drained and experiencing a sense
of frustration at not knowing how to help or feeling unable to help). Identified
educational and psychological support included: capacity building through
contextualized and customized in-service training programmes, financial
incentives and motivation, improved resources, increased governmental
involvement, accessing multidisciplinary support services, community support
and self care.
Educators need to be supported and developed within a framework of whole
school development if the goals of building health promoting schools within an
inclusive education system are to be realised. Recommendations included: (i)
Compelling stakeholders and health professionals to inform school and district
based support teams of a learner’s orphan status. (ii) Building pre-service and
in-service capacities through modules or customized workshops, on the
identification, support and referral of learners from child-headed homes, basic
counselling skills as well as self care awareness and educator burn out. (iii)
Schools must develop financial incentives and motivation schemes by fund
raising, obtaining sponsorships and ‘granting leave’ to deserving educators.
Resource sharing was also encouraged. (iv) Government should conduct needs
analyses at grass roots level to ensure equitable support service provision
relative to the number of learners from child-headed homes at a school. (v)
Educational psychologists or school counselors on behalf of school based
support teams can co-ordinate Community Building Approach principles as one
way of sharing the burden of care amongst interested stakeholders and
community members.
Prof. Jace Pillay