'Including the excluded' : teaching children left behind by emigrating parent in Harare, Zimbabwe

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the challenges confronting learners who remain in Zimbabwe when parents emigrate and to investigate whether and how teachers are equipped to deal with the specific needs of these learners as part of inclusive education. A phenomenological research approach was used to investigate this new phenomenon of left behind learners. The study was carried out at two high schools and two teacher training institutions in Harare, Zimbabwe. Primary data was collected through in-depth interviews with 12 learners and 6 lecturers. Two focus group discussions, each with 6 teachers were also conducted at the schools. Secondary data was collected from the analysis of relevant documents. Study results indicate that learners were left mainly in the custody of relatives, domestic workers or on their own. The challenges that the majority of the learners faced at home included abuse by guardians, the diversion of remittances to non-core expenditure, and inadequate support on educational, cultural and social issues. Most of the learners reported experiencing sadness, anger, despair, low self-esteem as well as feeling abandoned, neglected and rejected by their biological parents. The challenges at school included learners concentrating less in class, skipping classes and coming to school late. A few of the learners reported being on the verge of dropping out of school. The majority of interviewed teachers were unaware of the vulnerability of learners left behind by emigrating parents. Rather, some teachers viewed these learners as being economically advantaged, spoilt and delinquent and thus not requiring help. Most teachers reported being more competent in dealing with classical vulnerabilities: the physically and mentally challenged, orphaned and those affected by HIV and AIDS. Few teachers were therefore capable of meeting the needs of left- behind learners through inclusive education practices as the majority of them reported having no adequate knowledge and skills to handle this new vulnerability. This finding was confirmed by lecturers at teacher training institutions who reported that their curriculum had limited scope to teach inclusive education approaches to teacher trainees. Furthermore, there was no policy or framework to guide the implementation of inclusive education in schools. Thus, the little that teachers were equipped with was theoretical knowledge rather than practical skills necessary for inclusive education. Like teachers, most lecturers were generally not aware of the vulnerability of learners left behind by emigrating parents. The likelihood that lecturers could effectively capacitate teachers to handle inclusive education competently was therefore minimal. The study concludes that without a comprehensive inclusive education policy, inclusive education in the country will remain elusive. It is therefore recommended that an inclusive education policy be crafted and adopted and that the current teacher education curriculum be revamped to make the training of teachers more responsive to contemporary challenges such as those represented by learners left behind by emigrating parents.