Strategies for success: Supporting child-headed households in education from Manicaland Province, Zimbabwe

Strategies for success: Supporting child-headed households in education from Manicaland Province, Zimbabwe

Vincent Chidhumo & Kamleshie Mohangi

Issue: Vol. 7 No.6 2026 Article 10 pp. 1552 – 1566
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20267610 Published online 14th July 2026

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ABSTRACT

Child-headed households (CHHs), in which adolescents assume adult responsibilities after losing or being abandoned by their parents, pose a growing challenge to educational equity in Zimbabwe’s Manicaland Province. In this context, HIV/AIDS, economic migration, and the breakdown of extended kinship networks have led to an estimated 15,000–20,000 such households. This study investigates which school-based support strategies most effectively improve educational outcomes and well-being among secondary school students from CHHs. Using a convergent parallel mixed-methods approach grounded in Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory, quantitative data were collected via structured surveys completed by 18 teachers and administrators regarding 40 CHH students across six secondary schools in the Mutare and Mutasa districts. Qualitative data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with 12 teachers and 10 students. The results show that comprehensive support combining material aid, academic tutoring, psychosocial counseling, and flexible attendance and assessment policies significantly improves attendance (Cohen’s d = 1.12), academic performance (d = 0.89), and well-being (d = 1.04) compared with fragmented, single-component efforts. These effect sizes far exceed typical benchmarks for educational interventions, yet only 30% of students received this support, indicating that current practices are fragmented. The qualitative analysis emphasizes the importance of respectful teacher-student relationships, the tension between household survival needs and a rigorous O- and A-level curriculum, and the critical role of collaboration among schools, NGOs, and communities. This points to the need for coordinated, multi-level support systems, formal government recognition of CHHs, flexible examination and attendance policies, and trauma-informed teacher training.

Keywords: Child-Headed Households, Orphans, Educational Support, Vulnerable Children.

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ABOUT AUTHOR(S)

Vincent Chidhumo earned a Doctorate and a Master of Education in Educational Psychology. He has worked at Madziwa Teachers College in Zimbabwe in the Department of Education Foundations, Psychology, and Inclusive Education, and at the University of South Africa (UNISA) as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. Chidhumo Vincent has published more than ten research papers. His work centers on the educational and psychosocial challenges faced by orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in Manicaland Province, Zimbabwe, especially adolescents from child-headed households. He has written widely about this group. His research includes studies using Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory to examine barriers to secondary education for adolescent orphans in Manicaland, and studies applying Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory to the academic challenges faced by learners from child-headed households in the Chimanimani District. More broadly, his work explores how poverty affects educational achievement and psychosocial outcomes among OVC learners and examines ways to improve school-based support. Chidhumo is a strong advocate for recognizing and treating children who head households with dignity in Zimbabwe’s education system.

Prof. Kamleshie Mohangi is a full professor and a registered Educational Psychologist in the Department of Psychology of Education at the University of South Africa (UNISA) in Pretoria. Her research focuses on parent-child relationships, mental health in children and adolescents, family dynamics, resilience, and inclusive education. She often uses positive psychology to study well-being in different family and school settings. Mohangi primarily uses qualitative research methods and has published extensively on the psychosocial well-being of children and adolescents. Her work includes studies on multigenerational households during COVID-19, adolescent identity development, and counseling support for postgraduate distance-learning students. She is also a co-author of this study on educational support strategies for child-headed households in Manicaland Province, Zimbabwe.

TO CITE ARTICLE

Chidhumo, Vincent, and Kamleshie Mohangi. “Strategies for success: Supporting child-headed households in education from Manicaland Province, Zimbabwe,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 7, no.6 (2026): 1552 – 1566. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20267610