Psychology and poverty reduction: a global special Issue

A “global special issue” on poverty brought together 9 international psychology journals during 2010 through 2013. The purpose was to highlight psychology’s contribution toward the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These goals are rooted in the “capabilities approach” and highlight the importance of fostering environments that support 3 core domains: health, basic education, and income. Here, we analyze what the global special issue contributed. As a whole the global special issue provided an account of “how” psychology engages with poverty and poverty reduction. First, the global special issue, more than other research on poverty, was focused on lower- and middle-income settings. Second, while the content of the articles could be coded into 3 specific domains (health/well-being, education/development, and society/work), the vast majority of the articles straddled more than 1 category. Third, the contents of the global special issue could be organized in terms of the type of contribution: that is, practicality, theory, description, and advocacy. We highlight the importance of addressing wider situational and sociopolitical structures that constrain capability and potential, without losing sight of the person. Psychology might (a) concentrate resources on finding out what actually works to enable poverty reduction; and (b) apply what we know to ensure that research on poverty reduction is more informative and compelling to community stakeholders, organizations, and policymakers. Such an “implementation science” could advance poverty reduction and human development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved

Parents’ Perceptions of HIV and AIDS Education among their Children in Secondary Schools in Masvingo Urban, Zimbabwe

The study sought to establish Zimbabwean parents’ views on HIV and AIDS Education among their children attending secondary schools in Masvingo. A qualitative design was used. An open ended questionnaire was used to collect data from twenty conveniently selected parents with children attending secondary schools in Masvingo urban, Zimbabwe. Data were thematically analysed. The study revealed that parents believed that their children were aware of the HIV and AIDS pandemic from the discussions they held with them and from questions they were sometimes asked by their children. Sources of children’s knowledge included teachers, school awareness programmes, parents, churches, media and peer group discussions. Parents saw their role as that of directly discussing HIV and AIDS related issues with their children. Some parents felt that schools were not doing enough on HIV and AIDS education while others believed that schools were trying their best. Mothers were taking a more leading role than fathers in teaching children about HIV and AIDS. Parents believed that the implementation of the HIV and AIDS education programme was negatively affected by a number of factors which include lack of resources and cultural beliefs. Parents thought that they should be exemplary by participating in HIV and AIDS education advocacy and testing programmes. Researchers made recommendations to improve the implementation of HIV and AIDS education in schools to enhance sustainable development in response to the HIV and AIDS pandemic.