The Effects of Social Media on Student Engagement and Collaboration: The Use of Facebook at the University of Botswana.
In the context of today’s electronic media, social networking sites have come to mean individuals, using the internet and web application to communicate in previously impossible ways. This study sought to explore the effects of social media on collaboration and engagement among students in the University of Botswana particularly the use of Facebook. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design which was employed to derive responses from sample size of 100 undergraduate in the Ba...
Entrepreneurship as a mechanism for addressing youth unemployment in Botswana: A reality or idealism
Increasing unemployment in most of the developing countries has become main hindrance behind decreasing livelihood standards and poverty. Worldwide, within the framework of potential efforts and strategies to boost employment and job creation for young people, literature shows that entrepreneurship is increasingly accepted as an important means and a valuable additional strategy to create jobs and improve livelihoods and economic independence of young people. With an unemployment rate of 20% ...
Emergence of cooperatives and the future of the social enterprises sector in Botswana
The concept of integrating social aims with profit-making is an emerging trend in the world today, especially in the wake of the 2007-2009 financial crisis which shone the spotlight on the problems of pure profit maximisation. Social enterprise is at the very core of this new movement to integrate social aims with profits, taking root in an increasing number of circles. The Botswana situation is marked by social enterprise being almost non-existent as a concept in the general consciousness. I...
Substance abuse and mental health effects among the youth: Implications for research
The aim of the study was to explore the mental health effects of substance abuse among the youth and to examine services put in place in helping mentally disturbed as a result of substance abuse. The study adopted a cross-sectional qualitative research approach. The data was collected through in-depth face to face interviews. Participants were sampled and divided into two sections: youth abusing substances and key informants. They were drawn using purposive and snowball sampling, and data was...
Lived experiences and consequences of unemployment on young women in Mahalapye, Botswana
The purpose of the present study was to identify factors that contribute to unemployment among young women aged 20-35 in Mahalapye village, investigate the effects of being unemployed, determine sources of support available to unemployed young women, and identify the gaps in state assistance in this regard. The study utilized a survey research method and adopted a descriptive research design. Cluster sampling was used with the sample size being one hundred (100) unemployed young women in Maha...
Alcohol and substance abuse in schools in Botswana: The need for social workers in the school system
The study explored social work interventions on alcohol and substance use amongst students in Botswana. The objectives of the study were to identify social work interventions on alcohol and substance use, to explore the prevalence of alcohol and substance amongst students, to ascertain students knowledge of the interventions, and to recommend effective and efficient social work interventions. The sample was made up of 100 students. A group administered questionnaire with closed ended and stru...
Sexual abuse of children in schools: The need for social work intervention
The present study explores sexual abuse of school children by teachers in senior secondary schools in Botswana. It adopts a cross-sectional quantitative approach. Data was collected from 3 senior secondary schools in the capital city of Gaborone, where the study was conducted. A survey questionnaire was self administered to 330 randomly selected participants of which 300 were students and 30 teachers. Each school comprised 100 students and 10 teachers. The study utilised social exchange theor...
Life after institutional care: Implications for research and practice.
The present study sought to investigate the lived experiences of care leavers from institutional care facility in Botswana. The study objectives were to explore the challenges faced by children after leaving the institutional care, and to identify services that can be offered to them in preparation for life in a society in general. The study adopted a cross-sectional qualitative research approach and data was collected through in-depth interviews which were qualitatively analysed. A total of ...
Improving youth employment in Botswana: The need for evidence based policy and programme development
Youth unemployment is a major policy concern that deserves urgent attention because it has become a threat to the social, economic and political stability of the country. It leads to a variety of social ills, including; poverty, alcohol abuse, crime and social unrests. Policy and programmes response to the problem of youth unemployment are many and varied but have almost always taken the form of social welfare provision and less on promotion of practical education and skills training. Governm...
Challenges to social policies: A critical analysis of youth intervention programmes in Botswana
Young people are an important human resource and Botswana is no exception. The critical challenge facing Botswana is to raise the rate of economic growth to levels incorporating broad based improvement in the standards of living and well-being of youth. The country faces high levels of poverty, unemployment and inequality which have hit the youth group so hard. Significant pockets of poverty remain, especially in rural areas. The living conditions of the vast majority of Botswana are deterior...