Abstract
M.Ed. (Educational Psychology)
The rapid growth of HIV/AIDS has left millions of children orphaned and vulnerable
worldwide. Some of these children are left to raise other children while some of them are
abandoned and in need of care and support. Challenges faced by Orphans and
Vulnerable Children (OVC) include three core areas, that is, material, emotional, and
social problems. Therefore, OVC need more support thanchildren who are not vulnerable.
Hence this study aimed to explore the role of primary school LO teachers in providing
basic counselling support for orphans and vulnerable children in Soweto, Central
Johannesburg District. It also aimed to provide interventions and recommendations based
on the findings.
This study used a qualitative approach to gain in-depth insight into what role LO teachers
play in providing basic counselling support to OVC from their perspectives and from the
world in which they live. The researcher intended to interact with the teachers through
interviews to obtain their subjective views about their role in working with OVC.Purposive
sampling was used to choose 18 LO teachers that have worked with OVC. These
teachers participated in the semi-structured individual Interviews, focus groups and
completed a questionnaire. Moreover, Bronfenbrenner’s (1986) bio-ecological systems
model formed the main theoretical framework for this study. This theory was also
integrated with Erikson’s (1963; 1968) psychosocial theory and Nsamenang’s (1992;
2005; 2006) theory of social ontogenesis to understand the development of children.
Three themes which the LO teachers encountered in their work with OVC were identified
during the research. These themes were the need for playing a parental role, the need
for collaboration with other stakeholders and challenges in providing basic counselling
support to OVC. Three sub-themes also emerged under the challenges that teachers face
in providing basic counselling support to OVC, namely the lack of guardian involvement,
OVC’s inability to disclose their personal problems and the need for teacher training in
basic counselling skills.