Submitted in fulfillment of a degree of requirement of a degree of Masters in Community Work In the Department of Social Work in the Faculty of Arts At the University of Zululand Supervisor: Prof N.H. Ntombela Co-Supervisor: Dr J.D. Adams Date of Submission: November 2014 / The essence of the study was on the experiences of orphaned learners at school. These experiences were limited to the psychosocial support being provided by educators and their peers to the orphaned learners during their time at school. Bearing in mind the level of stress these orphaned learners go through after the loss of their biological parents, the purpose of the study was hence to explore how orphancy was being supported psychosocially and the extent to which these support contributes to their learning and continuation of schooling. The researcher objective was to understand how orphaned learners perceive themselves through the psychosocial support they receive from their peers and educators. The significance of this study was to provide an account of how orphanhood should be catered during their schooling. To attain the research objective, a qualitative research design was used to explore the experience of the orphaned learners consequently an exploratory study. Semi-structured interviews were used as an instrument for data collection and seven participants were purposively selected due to their rarity. These participants were within high schools from the Eskhaleni Township. These participants were double orphans because they had lost both parents prior to study and residing with extended families and others reside in child-headed homes. The analysis of the data revealed that orphaned learner do experience support from their peers and educators while at school. Within the boundaries of psychosocial support the findings showed that these learners received social support from both educator and peers. Social support was in the form of motivational talk, empathized and sympathized concerns were expressed from their peers and educators. Peculiar to peers were the social attention they received during school hours most especially when their countenance were perceived to be moody. Whilst most educators only reacted in the provision of social support after realizing that the participants were not performing well at school. Unlike social support, the participants revealed that they did not receive any form of psychological support from neither peers nor educators. Out of the scope of the study the participants nonetheless acknowledged other forms of supports that they got from their peers and educators such as financial supports and were of much valuable and appreciative from their perspective. The researcher therefore recommended that township school should be provided with professional counselors at schools. Furthermore the South African School Act, Children’s Right and School based policies should be amended in considerations of orphaned leaners necessities. / University of Zululand Research Fund,

This study investigated the way in which educators identified and managed the needs of the orphaned learners they encountered in their situation as educators in a school setting. The sample in the study consisted of a total of 12-orphaned learners and 8 educators from one primary and one secondary school in the rural part of Mpumalanga Province in South Africa. Data on how orphaned learners viewed their situation were collected using draw-and-write strategy and observation followed by in-depth interviews and follow-up interview questions. The aim of interviewing the orphans themselves was to explore their own views of the realities of their lived experiences of orphanhood and their expectations of the world around them. Data on how educators identified and responded to the needs of the orphaned learners were collected using in-depth interviews and follow up interview questions. The experiences of the orphaned learners interviewed indicate a need for social and emotional support besides the obvious material need. Two distinct identities (among the educators themselves) emerged from the interviews with these educators: <ul><li>There were educators who responded positively by providing support to the orphaned learners.</li> <li>And there were educators who responded by referring the orphaned learners to the educators who help orphaned learners.</ul> The findings of the study revealed that internal motivational factors had a strong influence on the choices these educators made in responding to the needs of the orphans; and lack of knowledge and skills in identifying and responding to the orphans’ emotional needs could have a negative impact on educator response. The findings also showed that the level of interaction and involvement in a relationship with the orphans determined the way the educators identified and responded to these orphans’ needs. The study suggest the need for training educators to be in a position to provide care and build relationships, as a means of helping fulfill the social and emotional needs of these learners. / Thesis (PhD (Education Management, Law and Policy))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

The study investigated the academic performance of orphaned secondary school learners between the ages of thirteen and eighteen in the Shamavunga Circuit. The study used the qualitative method. This included the sampling of ten orphaned learners from one school in the Shamavunga Circuit. The qualitative component of the study involved sampling three educators and three guardians of orphaned learners from one secondary school in the Shamavunga Circuit. This study was aimed at investigation the perceptions of educators and learners of the academic performance of orphaned learners at secondary schools in the Shamavunga Circuit, Limpopo province. The study found that the educators were of the view that, as compared to their counterparts, orphaned learners are more likely to display unruly behaviour, a lack of concentration and an inability to complete their written schoolwork. The educators also suggested that because the majority of orphaned learners were heading their families (child-headed), there was no one to monitor and supervise them. On the other hand, it has been suggested that the majority of orphaned learners were staying with their caregivers/guardians. The study also revealed that the educators were not well trained in terms of dealing with orphaned learners. In other words they lacked the proper skills and knowledge required to deal with orphaned learners. On the other words, the orphaned learners were of the view that some of the educators were not treating them well as they called them names and they were also not providing them with the support that they should have been receiving from adults who should be playing a parental role in their lives. Furthermore, some of the orphaned learners suggested that the caregivers (guardians) with whom they lived misused their grants for their own benefit. The study also revealed that the guardians of orphaned learners were often not coping and were uneducated. Accordingly, they were unable to adequately meet the needs of these orphaned learners. In conclusion, the study recommended interventions at the school, government as well as the community levels. For example, it is suggested that grandparents (guardians) be provided with support as they were becoming exhausted as a result of having to look after the orphaned learners. It is also suggested that the government build more drop-in centres and orphanages and also provide training for the educators who have to deal with the orphaned learners. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)