Provision of equal education for students with disabilities at tertiary institutions in Zimbabwe: prospects and barriers

The study investigated the extent to which students with disabilities were coping with the inclusive educational setting at one university in Zimbabwe. In particular, it aimed at tracing these students' perceptions towards their mainstream peers and lecturers, as well as determining the extent to which the university accommodated them into its various degree programmes. Data were gathered through a study of the institution's student admissions records over a period of eight years (1995–2002) and from 50 students with various forms of disabilities, using a focused questionnaire. The findings revealed that students with disabilities comprised less than 1 per cent of the total university student enrolment; and that most of them were marginalized into undergraduate degree programmes, mainly in the Faculties of Arts, Education and Social Studies. They were generally positive towards their mainstream peers and the inclusive education system practised at the university but were dissatisfied with the quality of services provided to them by lecturers. In view of these findings, recommendations on improving sensitivity towards issues of disability within the university's various organs and personnel have been made. Key Words: disability, impairment, inclusion, integration/mainstreaming, special needs education Jnl of Social Development in Africa Vol.19(1) 2004: 151-16

Loss of learning space within a legally inclusive education system: institutional responsiveness to mainstreaming of pregnant learners in formal education

This study investigated how education stakeholders in South Africa and Zimbabwe responded to the policy of mainstreaming pregnant learners in formal schools. The study sample consisted of pregnant and former pregnant learners, mainstream learners, parents, teachers and community representatives on school governing boards. The major findings were that: sociocultural beliefs of the community on pregnancy were more influential to educational access and participation of pregnant teenagers than the official school policy; stakeholders at both schools were found to have inadequate knowledge and political will to assist pregnant learners; and the South African school provided a more open response to teenage pregnancy, in contrast to concealment at the Zimbabwean school. The paper posits that the policy on mainstreaming pregnant teenagers in formal schools is largely a form of political symbolism. An all-inclusive approach to policy formulation and implementation is recommended as an intervention strategy to the problem.Key words: Teenage pregnancy, action science, policy, theory, practice

South African teachers’ perceptions on integration of sex education into the school curriculum

The purpose of this study was to reflect on South African learners and educators’ perceptions on the integration of sexuality education into the secondary school curriculum and how the inclusion of sexuality education into the school curriculum could be an intervention to the negative effects of teenage pregnancy on the girl child’s educational opportunities. Using the qualitative research approach the study gathered narrative data from 18 educators and 20 learners who were purposefully sampled from a school that faced high prevalence of schoolgirl pregnancy. Both in-depth and focus group interviews were the main data collection instruments. The gathered narrative data were thematically analysed by identifying themes that emerged from the participants’ perceptions about the integration of sex education into the school curriculum. Research findings revealed that inadequate educational parental participation, inadequate teacher development on sexuality education and socio-cultural conservatism are the main hurdles to the equitable educational opportunities for girls who could fall pregnant before school completion. From the findings, the study recommends that sexuality education be mainstreamed in teacher education curriculum, community structures such churches, family, school management, sporting and social clubs should be more open to discuss sexuality and gender equity issues. Lastly, the need for strengthening school-community and family partnerships is strongly recommended.Keywords: schoolgirl pregnancy, integration, sexuality education, curriculu

Democratisation of Formal Schooling for Pregnant Teenagers in South Africa and Zimbabwe: Smoke and Mirrors in Policy

Policies that provide for equitable access to formal education by girls who could fall pregnant while in school are now common in Africa. However, the benefits of such policies to the affected girls vary from country to country. This paper critiques postcolonial legislative and policy frameworks that aim to open educational opportunities to pregnant teenagers in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Benchmarking with international conventions such as CEDAW, CRC, EFA and MDG, the paper analyses South Africa and Zimbabwe’s postcolonial legislations and policies that affect the educational access, participation and outcomes of pregnant and parenting girls of school going age. The paper posits that although the observed policy institutionalisation in both countries is an important measure in  democratising formal schooling for girls who could fall pregnant while at school, that alone is inadequate without strategies aimed at confronting the negative traditional, social and cultural variables that militate against pregnant girls who choose to pursue their educational aspirations through the formal school system.Key Words: policy, educational access, formal schooling, pregnancy

Comprehensive report: a research framework on gender and socio-cultural inclusion in global change research

Commissioned by the South African National Research Foundation (NRF), MayThis Report is the product of a project attempting to design a framework which would better enable the mainstreaming of gender and socio-cultural components in research on any global change phenomenon. It is our hope that this is only the beginning of a much bigger project and we are currently working to secure further funding to make this vision a reality. This Comprehensive Report builds on the Preliminary Report: The Development of a Research Framework on Gender and Socio-Cultural Inclusion in Global Change Research which was an accumulation of ideas garnered from the Research Reference Group Meeting which took place in August 2014 (p. 6). This early report focused on the initial development of the conceptual outline and framework for this project. It included an introduction to the lack of gendered consideration in global change research an explanation of the presentations made at the Research Reference Group Meeting, as well as the first designs of the framework and why we envisioned particular concepts to be of significance in any global change research seeking to better mainstream sociocultural matters

Citizenship and Citizenship Education in Zimbabwe: A Theoretical and Historical Analysis

Civics, citizenship, and citizenship education are currently issues of attention for a number of state education systems over the world. Yet, because civics and citizenship education are contested and controversial concepts, it is sometimes not clear as to what the intentions of state authorities are in introducing civics and citizenship education in the curriculum. This chapter discusses the position of civics and citizenship education in Zimbabwe. Firstly, it looks at the different theoretical conceptions associated with civics and citizenship. It then traces the historical position of this subject in the country’s education system focusing mostly on why the subject has taken different forms at various political stages. The chapter then focuses on the current position of civics and citizenship education in Zimbabwe as of 2018 and tries to respond to the question as to why it is the way it is. It concludes with a summary regarding the subject in the country