The challenge in most developing countries is lack of funding in education. This leaves no option for most learners except to drop out of school. Even when safety nets are provided for by governments, this does not fully address the issues of access, equity and retention in secondary education. Education for All, as pronounced in the Dakar Declaration (2000) calls on governments to address access, retention and equity in basic education, overlooking the provision of secondary education. Many policies were adopted by governments in post-colonial rule in Africa and Asia to address the colonial disparities in education. This had a tendency of drowning the budgets in educational matters, notwithstanding the issues of fully addressing access, equity and retention in secondary education. In the developing world, the bulk of the population lives in rural areas where infrastructure for teaching and learning still has to catch up with the urban setting. In view of the global economic meltdown in the 1980s, 1990s and mid-2008, education has seen a squeeze on its budget. It is in this context that funding for secondary education has to be analysed in order to establish policies and programmes which are most suitable and sustainable to enable access, equity and retention of learners in secondary education. Models of funding in various countries are carefully examined in this study, in order to draw on the best practices in funding secondary education as applicable to the Zimbabwean case, and possibly to other countries in a similar situation. The research was carried out in three administrative districts of the Manicaland province of Zimbabwe. Using a mixed methods approach, this study examines the safety nets for the provision of secondary school education in Zimbabwe and proposes better ways to finance secondary school education. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)

Poor academic achievement in Zimbabwe secondary schools prompted the study. Literature has demonstrated the importance of self-concept for achievement. The study investigates the significance of the relationship between learner self-concept and academic achievement in secondary schools in Zimbabwe, and also compares self-concepts and achievements on the basis of gender, age, form, school location, school type and type of attendance, e.g. boarders or day scholars. Data was collected from 1281 adolescent learners in urban and rural government and non-government secondary schools by means of questionnaires and interviews. Results confirmed the positive and reciprocal relationship between learner self-concept and academic achievement. Sport appears to have an influence on the academic achievement of male learners in government schools. Learners believe that sport improves their confidence, discipline, time management skills and social relationships. Non-academic self-concepts correlate highly and significantly with the cognitive self-concept. Males and females appear to be similar regarding their self-concepts and overall academic achievement though girls have better cognitive self-concepts. School location and type, and type of attendance have a significant influence on learner academic achievements and self-concepts. Age may influence academic achievement and self-concepts as well. Junior adolescent learners appear to have better self-concepts than senior learners, though their academic achievement is similar. Learners in Government B schools and those in urban schools seem to have better self-concepts than those in other schools. Day scholars appear to have better physical, emotional and general self-concepts than boarders. The results emphasise the need to pay attention to self-concept as well, when trying to improve the academic achievement of learners. / Educational Studies / D.Ed.(Psychology of Education)

The aim of this research was to determine the motivation levels of Zimbabwean rural secondary school teachers, and to identify and discuss the factors that influence their motivation so that management interventions could be designed to enhance teacher motivation. A quantitative research design, involving the descriptive sample survey method to collect data by means of self-administered structured questionnaire was adopted. The sample consisted of 175 rural secondary school teachers in Bikita District. The information was statistically analysed with the aid of a computer after which it was interpreted. Results indicated that teachers were not highly motivated and satisfied with their jobs, and that their motivation was affected by several aspects of their work. Working conditions emerged as a primary demotivator while interpersonal relations was a principal motivator. The data also showed that certain biographical variables affected teacher motivation significantly. Subsequent to these results recommendations to enhance teacher motivation were made. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Education Management)

Orphans from child care institutions and from extended families attend the same schools as non-orphans. They are often given the same psycho-social support yet it is clear that they have different psycho-social needs. Their backgrounds are usually different from those of other adolescent learners because, often, they would have observed or nursed sick parents who eventually died from AIDS-related illnesses. This qualitative study aimed at investigating the psycho-social needs of orphaned adolescent learners in child care institutions and those in extended families in the context of HIV and AIDS. The study further sought to find out how the psycho-social needs affected the HIV- and AIDS-affected orphans’ school performance and social behaviour. In-depth interviews were conducted with four orphaned learners from child care institutions and four from extended families using open-ended questions. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Findings of the study were that the psycho-social needs of AIDS-affected orphans in families were met by relatives more than those of AIDS-affected orphans in child care institutions. The results of the study also revealed that there was not much difference in school performance between HIV- and AIDS-affected orphans from extended families and those from child care institutions. Thus this study contributes to Sociological and Behavioural literature in the area of HIV and AIDS as well as the education literature of the vulnerable groups like orphans. The school offered psycho-social support en masse with no special programme for orphans affected by HIV and AIDS for fear of stigmatising the orphans. / Health Studies / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)

Orphans from child care institutions and from extended families attend the same schools as non-orphans. They are often given the same psycho-social support yet it is clear that they have different psycho-social needs. Their backgrounds are usually different from those of other adolescent learners because, often, they would have observed or nursed sick parents who eventually died from AIDS-related illnesses. This qualitative study aimed at investigating the psycho-social needs of orphaned adolescent learners in child care institutions and those in extended families in the context of HIV and AIDS. The study further sought to find out how the psycho-social needs affected the HIV- and AIDS-affected orphans’ school performance and social behaviour. In-depth interviews were conducted with four orphaned learners from child care institutions and four from extended families using open-ended questions. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Findings of the study were that the psycho-social needs of AIDS-affected orphans in families were met by relatives more than those of AIDS-affected orphans in child care institutions. The results of the study also revealed that there was not much difference in school performance between HIV- and AIDS-affected orphans from extended families and those from child care institutions. Thus this study contributes to Sociological and Behavioural literature in the area of HIV and AIDS as well as the education literature of the vulnerable groups like orphans. The school offered psycho-social support en masse with no special programme for orphans affected by HIV and AIDS for fear of stigmatising the orphans. / Health Studies / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)

The aim of this quantitative study was to determine whether there were significant relationships between cultural factors and academic achievement of secondary school female learners in the Chimanimani district of Manicaland in Zimbabwe. According to literature, home environment variables, school environment variables and learner variables influence academic achievement of learners. The home environment includes family's expectations, the family's socio-economic status, exposure to role models and child-rearing practices. The school environment includes teacher's attitudes and the curriculum. Learner variables encompass self-concept, gender role concepts as well as the learner's attitude and aspirations. The empirical research found significant correlations between all cultural factors and academic achievement, particularly in English and at times in mathematics. These correlations were low but positive. The investigation also revealed that diverse age groups did not differ significantly in academic achievement in mathematics or in English. However, females from diverse socio-economic backgrounds differed significantly in their academic achievements. / Psychology of Education / M.Ed.(Psychology of Education)

This study examines the extent to which the teaching of Shona novels can be used to promote unhu (humanness) in Zimbabwean secondary schools where there has been a call for the teaching of cultural values. The school syllabi for Shona make this position abundantly clear. For that reason, anchoring the discussion on the role of literature in Africa as expounded by African scholars such as Ngugi wa Thiong’o (1981), p’Bitek (1986) and Achebe (1989) among others, the study observes that literature plays an important role in moulding character through advancing unhu. For instance, as Achebe (1989) argues that the novelist is a teacher, the study therefore locates literature as a life-affirming and life-extending affair. The discussion of the role of literature as a potential conduit for expressing unhu takes place within the theoretical confines of Afrocentricity, an African-centred theory that places the interests of Africa at the centre of any analysis involving African people. The selected novels namely Pfumo Reropa (1961), Kunyarara Hakusi Kutaura? (1983) and Ndafa Here? (2007) are therefore interrogated from an Afrocentric point of view. The three novels are representative of different historical epochs in Zimbabwe’s cultural trajectory. In addition, they have featured quite prominently on the school syllabi for Shona. Through a combination of interviews and critical analysis of the novels, the study crucially observes that the proper teaching of literature can effectively transform the thinking of learners thereby locating them in their own cultural platforms. However, for this to happen, teachers must be properly trained in order that they develop an appreciation of the value of literature in imparting unhu among learners. As a result, the study thus proposes sufficient conscientisation of teachers and learners on the concept and practice of unhu be systematically carried out. At the same, there is need for greater planning in constructing a more informing syllabus, as well as the deliberate inclusion of texts that canonise unhu. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)

The aim of this quantitative study was to determine whether there were significant relationships between cultural factors and academic achievement of secondary school female learners in the Chimanimani district of Manicaland in Zimbabwe. According to literature, home environment variables, school environment variables and learner variables influence academic achievement of learners. The home environment includes family's expectations, the family's socio-economic status, exposure to role models and child-rearing practices. The school environment includes teacher's attitudes and the curriculum. Learner variables encompass self-concept, gender role concepts as well as the learner's attitude and aspirations. The empirical research found significant correlations between all cultural factors and academic achievement, particularly in English and at times in mathematics. These correlations were low but positive. The investigation also revealed that diverse age groups did not differ significantly in academic achievement in mathematics or in English. However, females from diverse socio-economic backgrounds differed significantly in their academic achievements. / Psychology of Education / M.Ed.(Psychology of Education)