The support needs of South African educators affected by HIV and AIDS

Abstract

In a qualitative study of 77 South African educators, participants were asked to explain how they are affected by HIV and AIDS and how they would best like to be supported in response to this. The term 'affected' refers to educators who have colleagues, learners or loved ones who are HIV-positive or who have died from HIV-related illnesses, or those who teach children orphaned by AIDS or learners who are vulnerable because of a parent's or caregiver's HIV status. Their responses endorse current theory regarding support for educators in the context of the epidemic, but their needs for support also include forms of 'ecosystemic compassion': that is, a longing for the school management, learners' parents, learners, and colleagues to have compassion for their HIV-related predicaments. Because the latter need was pronounced among those educators caring for an ill HIV-positive loved one, this study introduces the importance of researchers' and stakeholders' sensitivity to the possibility of differentiated support, according to how educators are affected by HIV. Many of the participants' calls for support were at odds with policyfacilitated demands on educators to function as pillars of support to vulnerable learners and communities in the age of HIV and AIDS. The findings provide a caveat with regard to educators who require support-notwithstanding the expectation that they function as ecosystemic agents of support. Finally, the educators' calls for support should be tempered by resilience theory, which suggests that while it is important to support HIV-affected educators, the choice of supports should not stymie educators' agency or discourage educators' active participation in the support process.

Formative evaluation of the STAR intervention: improving teachers’ ability to provide psychosocial support for vulnerable individuals in the school community

“…The teacher fulfilling a pastoral role embraces the concept of facilitation of learning holistically (Ogina, 2008;Theron, 2009) -thereby acknowledging the entwined nature of intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual and physical development in children. In this manner the community, citizenship and pastoral roles expected of teachers is likely to provide the necessary support to children (DoE, 2000).…”

“…Intervention research has proven to be an effective means of capacity development (Richter & Desmond, 2008;Theron, 2009). Similarly, a participatory reflection and action (PRA) approach provides a pathway where research and practice can meet (Chambers, 2008).…”

Collaborated understandings of context-specific psychosocial challenges facing South African school learners: a participatory approach

“…The strain of being responsible for younger siblings may cause anxiety, resulting in poor concentration in class and poor attention to homework, resulting in poor academic performance (Tsegaye, 2008). In an attempt to cope financially, some girls in these contexts turn to men who will provide financial assistance for temporary periods, but then add to their problems through unwanted pregnancies (Miller et al, 2014;Theron, 2009) or HIV infection. Transactional sex (Potgieter, Strebel, Shefer, & Wagner, 2012) in these contexts is at times a conscious choice by some girls to generate an income (Ibebuike et al, 2014).…”

“…Inequitable access to resources (Bruce, 2014;Spaull, 2013) and sectored poverty (Donald, Lazarus, & Lolwana, 2010) continue to play a role in contributing to the psychosocial challenges faced in South African under-resourced communities, which consequently affect the wellness of members of the school community in that context (Donald et al, 2010). Contextual challenges relevant to this article include poor living conditions in informal settlements with little access to basic amenities (Donald et al, 2010), poor parenting (Ward et al, 2014), poverty-related HIV/AIDS issues (Theron, 2009), socioeconomic influences on teenage sexuality (Miller et al, 2014), substance abuse (Tlale & Dreyer, 2013), school violence (Mampane, Ebersöhn, Cherrington, & Moen, 2014), and poor parent participation within school structures (Joubert, Ebersöhn, Ferreira, du Plessis, & Moen 2014;Khanare, 2012;Mncube, 2009). South African school teachers are inadequately prepared to support learners within such contexts (Masitsa, 2011;Motshekga, 2010), having only received very basic concepts of educational psychology and community development as part of their preservice training (Donald et al, 2010).…”

“…An asset-based paradigm (McKnight & Kretzmann, 1993;Pillay, 2012) suggests that teachers possess the potential and willingness to support vulnerable learners if they are equipped with the knowledge and skills to do this (Hoadley, 2007;Malindi & Machenjedze, 2012;Mampane & Bouwer, 2006;Theron, 2009). In this article, the authors suggest that a participatory action learning and action research (PALAR, Zuber-Skerritt, 2012) process would be suitable to improve the capacity of participating teachers to support learners and thereby feel less overwhelmed and anxious.…”