The objectives of this research were investigate the lived experiences of
school-going learners who are HIV-positive; and develop ecosystemic
management strategies to help learners who are HIV-positive.
The literature research investigation revealed that HIV/AIDS is not just a
health problem but also attacks the education system itself. Demand for
education is dropping and changing, many educators are ill and dying, and
the trauma of loss associated with HIV/AIDS is entrenched in South African
classrooms. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has a traumatic impact on all educators
and learners. The work of educators both those who are HIV positive and
those who have developed full-blown AIDS will be compromised by periods of
illness. The pandemic thrives on sexual violence, male domination and child
abuse in South Africa. It is the ecosystemic paradigm that helps in seeing the
connecting link between family-school-community-society-world or school and
peers and this helps in providing a more useful synergistic focus than trying to
work in isolation with discrete segments of a microsystem for example, with
an individual in isolation. Management strategies for dealing with HIV/AIDS
include the notion that achieving sustainability requires bringing together a
variety of legitimate stakeholders, drawing on a variety of accepted bodies of
knowledge, to negotiate a learning path based on a series of conflict
resolutions within ecological constraints. Continual learning based on free flow
of information and mutual respect, and investment in effective management of
HIV/AIDS are keys to success.
The empirical research investigation revealed that psychologically disturbed,
emotional well-being, spiritual well-being, physical well-being, social life, their
scholastic performance, daily routine, there is a change in their behaviour or
health after the HIV- positive status has been revealed, they fear of death,
their academic performance at school is affected by absenteeism and lack of
concentration, there is absence of strategies to assist learners who are absent
frequently because of illness, they loose valued level of functioning, lack
assistance at school, fear being discriminated or ridiculed, there is absence
v
of measures to deal with discrimination at school, there is a lack of information
on HIV/AIDS, learners fear disclosing to friends and teachers, there is a lack
of communication between parents and infected learners about issues
regarding HIV/AIDS. Educators are also affected emotionally, spiritually and
physically. They become affected socially and they do not cope with the
impact of HIV. The level of communicating the HIV/AIDS pandemic within the
schools is low, the principals are not doing much as leaders to supplement
this low level of communicating about HIV/AIDS, school policies on HIV/AIDS
in these schools do not address issues of support for learners and educators
who are incapacitated because of HIV/AIDS, there is no monitoring tool used
in these schools to ensure HIV-policy adherence, principals in these schools
do not ensure that educators teach learners about matters pertaining to
HIV/AIDS, health programmes in these schools do not assist learners living
with HIV/AIDS within the school and the level of accepting and
accommodating infected learners and the personnel in these schools is low.
The level of involvement of community members in matters pertaining to
HIV/AIDS in these schools is low.
An ecosysternic management system is proposed in this research
vi / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2008.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nwu/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/1789 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Modisenyane, Modisenyane |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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