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Psychosocial support for vulnerable rural school learners : in search of social justice!

Published Article / Psychosocial support has been defined as an ongoing process of meeting emotional, social, mental and spiritual needs, all of which are considered essential elements of meaningful and positive human development. It goes beyond simply meeting the learners' physical needs, placing greater emphasis on learners' psychological and emotional development and their need for social interaction. The Free State Department of Basic Education defines vulnerable learners as orphans, heads of child-headed households, neglected learners and all learners who do not have access to a basic set of school uniforms. The department states that there are currently 70 000 of these learners in the province. This article presents a theoretical critique, within a social justice paradigm, of efforts aimed at supporting vulnerable learners psychosocially in the rural areas of South Africa. It describes attempts to afford vulnerable learners education and addresses their marginalisation and inherent powerlessness (social justice). It argues that psychosocial support (meeting their needs) for vulnerable learners will improve their access to education.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:cut/oai:ir.cut.ac.za:11462/607
Date January 2012
CreatorsHlalele, D.
ContributorsCentral University of Technology, Free State, Bloemfontein
PublisherJournal for New Generation Sciences, Vol 10, Issue 2: Central University of Technology, Free State, Bloemfontein
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
Languageen_US
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeArticle
Format147 603 bytes, 1 file, Application/PDF
RightsCentral University of Technology, Free State, Bloemfontein
RelationJournal for New Generation Sciences;Vol 10, Issue 2

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