The development and implementation of policy guidelines remains a contentious issue. Over the past few years, difficulty still exists in implementing the Department of Education (DoE) 1999, National Education Policy Act, 1996 (No. 27 of 1996): National Policy on HIV/AIDS for learners and educators in public schools, and students and educators in further education and training institutions [here after referred to as DoE HIV/AIDS policy (1999)], while at the same time trying to transform the entire education system. This research explored the perceptions of educators in the Port Elizabeth District regarding the implementation of DoE HIV/AIDS (1999) policy guidelines. A secondary objective was to provide a reflection of how the implementation of guidelines on HIV/AIDS interventions within the schools of the Port Elizabeth District either conformed to or deviated from the guidelines outlined in the DoE HIV/AIDS policy (1999). The study was executed within the paradigm of qualitative research and employed an exploratory, descriptive and contextual design. The researcher conducted a pilot study to enhance the trustworthiness of the study. Purposive sampling was employed to recruit research participants, consisting of 12 educators from 10 schools in the Port Elizabeth District where HIV/AIDS interventions were being implemented. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviewing and analysed using Tesch’s (1990) in De Vos, Strydom, Fouché & Delport (2005:340-341) framework for analysis of qualitative data. Guba’s model (in Krefting, 1991) was used to ensure the trustworthiness of the study. Three themes emerged from the results of the in-depth semi-structured interviews: (1) Educators’ views on the DoE HIV/AIDS policy (1999) guidelines and its implementation (2) Gaps or shortcomings in implementation of the DoE HIV/AIDS policy (1999) and (3) Educator suggestions’ to inform implementation of the DoE HIV/AIDS policy (1999) in schools. The results from the study indicate that there is inconsistency in the policy implementation approach employed by DoE district level representatives and there is a need for knowledge and capacity development at district and school level. The value of the study is outlined as well as recommendations.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nmmu/vital:9895 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Heynes, Arnelle |
| Publisher | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Faculty of Health Sciences |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters, MA |
| Format | iii, 80 leaves, pdf |
| Rights | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University |
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