Intoxicated in the classroom : teachers’ experiences of teaching drug addicted learners in KwaZulu-Natal township schools, South Africa

Abstract

The number of drug users in Africa is projected to rise in the next decade by as much as 40 per cent, simply because of the growing youth population on the continent (UNODC,2021). Yet relatively very little is known and understood about the plight of teachers who contend with drug-addicted learners in their classrooms. The need for this study was prompted by the traumatic experiences of teachers in these drug-ridden classrooms in the KwaDabeka Township, in the KwaZulu-Natal province. Teachers are threatened, physically harmed, verbally abused, and emotionally and psychologically traumatised by learner who use drugs during class. The saddest part though, is that these teachers suffer in silence. The purpose of this study is to investigate teachers’ experiences regarding teaching learners addicted to drugs in KwaZulu-Natal township schools. There is a paucity of research that explores the plight of teachers who conduct lessons in drug-ridden classrooms within the township context. This is a qualitative study located within the Interpretivist paradigm. Six teachers from three high schools in KwaDabeka were selected for the study. Purposeful sampling was utilised to select teachers with experience of teaching drug addicted learners. Interviews were conducted as data-gathering techniques. We used thematic data analysis to analyse data. This study is supported by the Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory and Critical Emancipatory Theory. Four main findings emerged from the data, which were used to make recommendations to improve teaching and learning in drug affected township schools.