Lived Experiences Of Orphaned Learners And School Level Strategies For Their Inclusion At Selected Public Secondary Schools In Omusati Region, Namibia

ABSTRACT

From the premise that education enables people to live with dignity, this study investigated, in meso-systemic settings (home and school), the lived experiences of orphaned learners (OLs) from two selected public secondary schools in the Outapi Constituency, Omusati Region, Namibia. Additionally, the study investigated the implementation of the 2013 Sector Policy on Inclusive Education in a rural setting, inquiring the strategies that schools employed to include OLs, and to further address barriers that hindered access to education. Orphaned learners in Namibia, as part of the educationally marginalised, are at risk of exclusion from education, and they are exposed to discriminatory education settings, despite the policies and various attempts for inclusive education (IE) practices. To better understand concepts and variables of the study, the researcher employed a phenomenological case study approach. The study did not only set out to observe and hear the voices and see visuals of the OLs, but also to engage their caregivers and educators to obtain their perceptions on IE. Furthermore, the study sought to gauge the understanding of caregivers and educators on the basic legal frameworks in place to promote inclusive practices in Namibia. The researcher did all these investigations in a bid to unravel how the lived experiences affected the orphaned learners’ schooling processes, and to develop a conceptual model of inclusion, care and support for OLs in Namibia. This conceptual model, in the form of a proverbial brick house, facilitates the development of a holistic approach for the care and support, psychosocial wellbeing, and optimal learning opportunities for orphaned and other vulnerable learners. Data was collected from eight orphaned learners, seven caregivers, and six educators through multiple strategies, and analysed using ATLAS.ti. The study found that OLs faced many social challenges, including the inability to access state sponsored welfare grants intended for OVCs in Namibia, either because the OLs were over-age (above 18 years), or they lacked required documents to apply for the grants, resulting in a compromise on their wellbeing. In accordance with Humphrey (2008)’s philosophy on inclusive education, OLs were merely present at xx schools, but were not fully socially accepted, nor allowed the opportunity to participate in activities that enabled them to achieve their goals through receiving holistic education. The study further revealed that a majority of the OLs lived in conditions that were characterised by absolute poverty, food insecurity because of climate change, differential treatment, and they often endured verbal, physical, emotional, and psychological abuse at the hands of their caregivers, relatives, fellow learners and educators. Moreover, some schools that the OLs attended do not have hostel facilities, leaving them with no option but to rent in informal location nearby, or lodge with strangers to attend school – thereby posing a negative effect on their academic performances, increasing their financial burdens, as well as, exposing them to potential risks and various exploitations. The study concluded that in the absence of educational, material and psychosocial support for OLs, the envisaged equitable inclusion of orphaned learners, as part of the educationally marginalised, in Namibian schools remains a pipedream. Also, Namibia’s 2013 Sector Policy on IE, which aspires for all schools to create accommodating learning environments, has not been applied effectively in some schools, at least not in the ones that participated in this study. To this end, the researcher supports the call that inclusive education in Namibia should clearly define the agenda to provide and facilitate quality education for all learners, irrespective of their characteristics or backgrounds.