Teachers’ Experiences with Learners from Child-Headed Households: Eastern Cape Teachers’ Voices of Despair

Abstract

Child-headed households (CHHs) phenomenon is evident in South Africa and stretches beyond our borders and across the globe. Among the contributory factors are socio-economic conditions, HIV/AIDS pandemic, migration, and abandonment to mention a few. This study sought to explore the lived experiences of teachers who teach learners from CCHs. The researchers used Bronfenbrenner’s theory as the lens to interrogate the interaction between the teachers and learners from CHHs. This was a qualitative study underpinned by interpretivism paradigm to gain an in-depth experiences of teaching learners from CHH through semi-structured interviews. As a case study, the researchers identified and constructed appropriate daily experiences of teachers of learners from CHH in Duncan Village, East London, South Africa. Four (4) teachers from three Duncan Village schools were purposively selected. The collected data was categorised and thematically analysed.  The study found that the learners from CHH experienced persistent deprivation of necessities and school resources Deprivation led to these learners to lack concentration in class and poor academic performance, just mention a few. Therefore, this study concluded that schools and teachers as micro-systems need to be empowered and be sensitive, welcoming, and accommodating to the learners from CHHs. Based on these findings, this study recommends schools to establish functional school-based support teams of teachers to look at the welfare of the learners from CCHs, by providing psycho-social support. Furthermore, recommends a collaborative engagement with various stakeholders to act in the best interest of the child.