Orphaned and vulnerable learners’ psychoeducational challenges: foundation phase educators’ experiences.

Abstract

The loss of a parent is one of the most traumatic events a child can face, making it imperative to understand the specific challenges encountered by orphaned learners for effective support and intervention. Orphaned learners often grapple with the difficulty of living without their parents, leading to numerous psychological challenges such as depression, stress, anxiety, and poor selfconcept. This study aimed to explore foundation phase educators’ experiences of teaching and offering support to orphaned learners who display psychoeducational challenges. The research study was conducted in a Quintile 5 public primary school in the KwaKhangela District. The study was framed within Bronfenbrenner’s ecological system. This qualitative case study used the interpretivist paradigm to understand three purposively and conveniently sampled Foundation Phase educators’ experiences of offering psychoeducational support to orphaned and vulnerable learners. Data generation encompassed semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Thematic analysis was conducted to distill patterns, themes, and underlying meanings from the generated data. The study revealed that a myriad of challenges was faced by orphaned learners, including emotional trauma, significant academic difficulties, socio-emotional struggles, and barriers to effective engagement within the classroom environment. Drawing largely on data from interviews and document analysis, the study found that the schools are obligated to make substantial progress in supporting orphaned learners, facilitated by a proactive school management team, a dedicated school-based support team and empathetic educators. The findings recommended that interventions such as differentiated instruction, additional support including the provision of food and stationery, one-on-one teaching sessions, and counselling from a school-employed social worker were implemented at the school. In addition to the support provided within the schools, efforts are to be made to seek support structures outside the school environment.