Abstract:

Teachers find themselves faced with various challenges ranging from emotional distress, absenteeism to teaching and learning reciprocal understanding. For instance learners from child headed households (CHHs) experience learning challenges due to problems they experience from their homes. The aim of the paper is to review the coping strategies of teachers in a classroom situation in a rural school environment, where there are disadvantaged pupils such as those from CHH. This is an enormous phenomenon prevailing in our schools in South Africa. The prevalence has been identified since 2010 to date. Estimated figures showed 122 000 household of the 18.2 million by then of CHH in South Africa (Meintjies, 2021:4, Mohlakwana, 2021:6). These are households wherein members are 18 years and below (RSA Act No.38 of 200); who assume parental role and takin care of other children (Social Development, 2010:13). This is the issue that captivated the paper, how do teachers cope with learners from CHH who are faced with different life experienced challenges? This will allow us an opportunity to review teachers coping strategies in a rural school environment in this regard and which may be relevant for addressing other challenges of the disadvantaged. Free attitude interviews were utilised empirically to determine teachers' awareness and provoke discourses around CHH phenomenon. Participatory action research (PAR) steered the project through the lens of critical emancipatory research (CER). Six teachers participated of which three were class teachers, one principal, one deputy principal and the other teacher was the SGB representative. The results designate that teachers in the first place were not aware of the prevalence of CHH, let alone how to assist since they were never trained in this matter. They were just puzzled with the behaviour portrayed by other learners in the classroom. Lack of knowledge and lack of communication actually caused stress to teachers since learner performance was affected. From the research teachers learnt that less collaboration in the department of education was detrimental for both learners and teachers themselves. It becomes vibrant that teachers need psychological support in order to be able to support learners with their emotional distress. They also need to know which steps to follow when faced with challenges emanating from CHH learners for progress and sustainability.

Keywords:

Coping strategy, Child headed household, rural environment.