Child-headed Households: Techniques to lessen the detrimental Impacts of Poverty on Secondary School Students from Chimanimani District in Manicaland Province, Zimbabwe
Issue: Vol.5 No.13 Issue Article 6 pp. 2089-2098
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20245136 | Published online 7th October, 2024
© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
The purpose of this study was to examine strategies to reduce the negative effects of poverty among learners from Child-headed Households. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory was employed as the theoretical framework. The study used a qualitative research design. Thirty-two participants were purposefully selected. Interviews, focus groups and document analysis were employed as data collection tools. The study established that the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM), supplementary feeding schemes, and income-generating projects were the main strategies which were employed to cushion secondary school learners from child-headed households. It is recommended that school administrators prioritise funding income-generating projects to help schools satisfy the psychological requirements of learners from child-headed households. This study adds to the body of knowledge about how adolescents from child-headed households experience academic success. In several sub-sectors of the Zimbabwean education sector, it expands understanding of the lived experiences of a sample of teenage students from low-income homes in Manicaland Province that has never before been investigated. The report makes a clear call to action for the Zimbabwean government to reconsider the BEAM support model in light of the insufficient funds now provided to learners and children ofchild-headed households.
Keywords: Academic Success, Child-headed Households, Poverty, Psychological Development,Vulnerable groups
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Dr. Vincent Chidhumo is a Psychology of Education Lecturer at Madziwa Teachers’ College. He holds a Doctor of Education in Educational Psychology from the Durban University of Technology, South Africa. His research interests entail developmental psychology, guidance and counseling, adolescent psychology, assessment and an array of social phenomena affecting humanity. He teaches an assortment of modules in the domain of psychology of Education at both primary and secondary school student Teachers together with undertaking research supervision. He is comfortable with both qualitative and quantitative research procedures. On the academic research front, Dr Vincent Chidhumo has more than 10 publications which include journal articles.
Dr. Jose Abraham is working as a Senior Lecturer in Physics at the School of Education, Durban University of Technology South Africa, with a passion for helping students understand complex concepts. His research interests is in Science and Mathematics Education.
Prof. Moses Kufakunesu is a Psychology of Education Lecturer at the Great Zimbabwe University.He holds a Doctor of Education in Psychology of Education from the University of South Africa. His research interests entail developmental psychology, guidance and counseling, adolescent psychology, assessment and an array of social phenomena affecting humanity. He teaches an assortment of modules in the domain of psychology of Education at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels together with undertaking research supervision. He is comfortable with both qualitative and quantitative research procedures. On the academic research front, Prof Kufakunesu has more than 50 publications which include journal articles and book chapters.
Chidhumo,Vincent, Jose Abraham & Moses Kufakunesu, “Child-headed Households: Techniques to lessen the detrimental Impacts of Poverty on Secondary School Students from Chimanimani District in Manicaland Province, Zimbabwe,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 5, no.13 (2024): 2089-2098. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20245136
© 2024 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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