The problem of children on the streets of Harare has been increasing over the last five years. The majority of these children appear to be of school-going age. Who are these children? Where do they live? Why are they not attending school? This study is an attempt to provide answers for these questions, to evaluate current policy and programmes for street children and to promote appropriate and effective policy measures. A convenience sample of two hundred and eight children, who fulfilled the definition of street child used in the study, were interviewed using a questionnaire and focus group discussions. A number of children's homes, a probation centre and a remand home were visited and personnel from non-governmental organisations working with street children were interviewed. The study found that the majority of children were male (89%), and the age distribution ranged from six to seventeen years. The mean time period spent on the street was 18,4 months. The most common reason for leaving home was that the family was unable to support the child. Most of the children slept in a nearby squatter settlement or at the city railway station. The most popular income generating activity was guarding motor vehicles. Five of the children were attending alternative education programmes and one third had never attended school. The most common medical conditions were acute respiratory infections, diarrhoeal disease and skin rashes. Some of the children had suffered physical (12) and /or sexual (10) abuse while on the street. Substance abuse, notably glue sniffing, was widespread with 78% of the children admitting to this activity. A general attitude of hopelessness prevailed among the children and few could envisage brighter prospects for the future. Short term measures to improve the children's lives on the street must be taken, but the long-term solution requires a broad attack on poverty in order to eradicate the root problems that force children onto the streets. Recommendation were aimed at the major role players in the lives of street children - the Government, the Department of Social Welfare, the Zimbabwe Republic Police and Non-Governmental Organisations.

The study sought to establish the impact of using the local content policy in reducing television cultural influences on Mbare youth in Zimbabwe. It is assumed that television has ideological and hegemonic functions which have come to dominate the life styles of the youths on issues of dress styles, musical tastes and language, thus threatening and weakening the long established local cultures. Hence the Zimbabwean government’s local content policy was established to reduce influences of alien cultures. This study, therefore, sought to establish if Mbare youth cultures confirm or reject the imitation of television cultures with regard to dress styles, music tastes and language. In addition, the investigation aimed at establishing the feasibility of using the local content policy to reduce foreign cultural intrusions vis-à-vis globalisation challenges. The three theories utilised in the discussion of the influence of television on Mbare youth culture in this study include the cultivation theory, the theory of hegemony and the uses and gratification theory. A qualitative study was adopted to gather data using focus group discussions, questionnaires and semiotic analysis. The sample of the study consisted of 87 participants and 4 Youth.com programmes. The study revealed that television has ideological and hegemonic functions. As such, it tends to be a dominant influence on the life styles and culture of Mbare youths. The study also established that Youth.com influences youth culture through music. In Zimbabwe music has become the most influential aspect of Youth.com despite not being specified in the local content policy on television broadcasting. Furthermore, the study shows that the implications of globalisation on local television content are undermining government efforts to preserve local cultures through the local content policy. The primary reason for this has to do with the fact that Youth.com programme does not contain a higher quota of local content as stipulated in the policy. However, although the local content policy was viewed as a political gimmick, the the study revealed that it was necessary in view of youths’ vulnerability to television’s ideological and hegemonic influences. Nevertheless, in view of the loopholes revealed by this study, the policy requires to be revised to cater for all the essential cultural elements, such as, music, which are allowing alien cultures to penetrate local ways of life. For instance, the urban groove music has major impacts on the culture of Mbare youths.

MRDV / Institute for Rural Development

Institute for Rural Development / MRDV

PhD (History) / Department of Development Studies / This study is about the involvement and participation of Bulilima youths in Zimbabwe’s national liberation struggle from 1960 to 1980. The study describes and explains how and to what extent Bulilima youths were involved and participated in Zimbabwean guerrilla war. Bulilima is a border district between Zimbabwe and Botswana which, from 1960 – 1980 became Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) guerrillas’ central and key strategic entry point into and exit out of Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). For the purposes of this study, the term youth refers to young people between the ages of twelve and twenty-five, born in Bulilima District between 1945 and 1967. During the guerrilla war, the use of the category youth was political, with biological and cultural aspects also taken into account. The study is primarily based on the war experiences of twenty-six women and twenty-six men who were youths during the time period of the study (1960 – 1980). It is qualitative and involves forty-eight open-ended interviews in the major villages of Bulilima District. The interviews are complemented by a survey of both primary and secondary sources. It is hoped that the results of this study will raise salient issues on the involvement and participation of Bulilima youths in Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle.

Behaviour problems are a problem in many secondary schools in Zimbabwe. This study attempts to investigate the causes and manifestations of behaviour problems of adolescent learners and to develop guidelines for teachers on how to assist learners with behaviour problems in the classroom. This is a qualitative study using focus group and semi-structured interviews. The main findings contributing to the causes of behaviour problems among adolescent learners are environmental factors, such as the family and the school and peer pressure. Behaviour problems are manifested by adolescents as disruptive behaviour, aggressive and antisocial behaviour, telling lies and theft. The findings highlight important guidelines, which teachers can use to assist and understand learners with behaviour problems in the classroom. The guidelines present an endeavour to solve problem behaviour in the classroom. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Special Needs Education)

Behaviour problems are a problem in many secondary schools in Zimbabwe. This study attempts to investigate the causes and manifestations of behaviour problems of adolescent learners and to develop guidelines for teachers on how to assist learners with behaviour problems in the classroom. This is a qualitative study using focus group and semi-structured interviews. The main findings contributing to the causes of behaviour problems among adolescent learners are environmental factors, such as the family and the school and peer pressure. Behaviour problems are manifested by adolescents as disruptive behaviour, aggressive and antisocial behaviour, telling lies and theft. The findings highlight important guidelines, which teachers can use to assist and understand learners with behaviour problems in the classroom. The guidelines present an endeavour to solve problem behaviour in the classroom. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Special Needs Education)