3.4 HIV/AIDS and Education 67
3.4.4 The Impact of HIV Positive Educators on Teaching and Learning 73
Literature Review: Scanning the HIV and AIDS Scenario
D.Ed Thesis: An insight into the experiences of educators living with HIV and AIDS in the context of schooling
and beyond 73
retiring. The HSRC recommends that a comprehensive HIV and AIDS prevention programme be implemented in areas of high prevalence, the placing of educators in areas where they live, and the distribution of ARVs immediately to teachers who need it.
3.4.4 The Impact of HIV-Positive Educators on Teaching and Learning
Teachers are considered to be central pillars in any education system, and their survival and well-being is crucial for the sustainability of the education system. Whilst the World Bank (2002: 2) alludes to the view that “education offers a window of hope unlike any others for escaping the grip of HIV and AIDS”, and Fylkesnes et al (2001) believe that education has been shown to be related to the reduction of HIV prevalence rates amongst young people. They note that Uganda and Zambia have both experienced dramatic declines in the infection rates of young girls, and add that in Zambia, it has been found that a girl who has dropped out of school is three times more likely to be HIV-infected than one who remained at school.
Educators are a high risk group in several countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Testing of educators in Zambia found high levels of infection in the group compared to other groups in the population (Badcock-Walters & Whiteside 2000; Kelly 2000; Unicef 1999), including Malawi and Uganda (World Bank 2002). The Sadtu preliminary study into the mortality of its members showed that out of 701 deaths from August 1999 to May 2000, a significant number were considered to be AIDS-related (Mannah 2001).
Increased absenteeism of the HIV-positive educator has costly implications for the quality of teaching and learning, as well as workload and working conditions for educators in most affected schools. Kelly (2002) explains that HIV-positive educators will not always work to their full potential; it is estimated that repeated sickness could lead to an educator losing approximately six months of teaching time during that period.
ARV treatment should reduce the rate of illness as well as educator attrition. Coombe (2000) argues that the morale of affected educators is also likely to fall as they deal with the illness and the mortality of colleagues, relatives and friends. She says that affected
educators will have to assist with the additional responsibilities of infected educators, such as counseling and caring for infected/affected learners. She also advised that these stresses may need to be addressed and incorporated in initial and continuous educator training and development.
The following information from the HSRC Report (2005)29
The report found that the highest prevalence of HIV infection was among single educators, whilst married educators had the lowest HIV prevalence rate. Another important factor of note from the report is that the educators with a degree or higher have the lowest HIV prevalence rate and educators with a diploma have a higher HIV prevalence rate. The study investigated the HIV prevalence of educators by province and found significant differences. KwaZulu-Natal (the province in which this study was carried out) had the highest HIV prevalence of 21.8% when compared with other provinces. The HSRC Study (2005) showed that educators with fewer years of teaching experience had a significantly higher HIV prevalence when compared to other senior
is included to provide some statistics on the prevalence of HIV infection among educators. This report was used extensively in this chapter, given its reliability as a national research unit. Conspicuous racial differences in HIV prevalence were observed. Blacks had a prevalence of 16.3%
compared to whites, coloureds and Asians, who had a prevalence of less than 1%. Young women educators had a much higher HIV prevalence of 17.4%, compared with 12%
among their male counterparts. At age 25-29 years, female educators had a much higher prevalence rate of 30.4% in contrast with 14.5% among men in the same age group. HIV prevalence amongst women peaked at 25-29 years and thereafter declined to 17.5% at age 35-39 years and continued to decline to 5.2% for educators aged 50-54 years. A 12%
prevalence was recorded among men aged 18-24 years, to 14.5% among those aged 25- 29 years. This rose sharply and peaked at 22.1% among men aged 30-34 years and remained high at 20% among men aged 35-39 years, then declined rapidly to a low 2.2%
among men aged 55 years and older.
29 Report prepared for the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) on the factors determining educator supply and demand in South African public schools.
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educators. The issue of residence is worthy of note, because it has an impact on an educator’s HIV status. Educators residing and teaching in rural schools were found to have significantly higher HIV prevalence than educators residing in urban areas and teaching in urban schools. Educators who traveled more than 10km away from home also had a slightly higher HIV prevalence rate than educators who traveled less than 10km to their school. According to the Mobile Task Team (MTT) (2005) educator mortality had increased significantly from 7.9% in 1997/8 to 17.7% in2003/4, educator attrition due to medical reasons has also grown from 4.6% to 8.7% during the same period. HIV and AIDS has also been cited as a contributing factor to what the National Policy Framework for Teacher Education and Development in South Africa (2007) acknowledges as an ‘impending shortage’ of teachers in the country.
The HSRC Study (2005) argues that educator absenteeism and attendance is a crucial issue at all schools. Educators who perceived that they had support from the DOE, SGB, learners, parents, unions and religious groups in the community in their role as educators, reported significantly less absenteeism and fewer “unhealthy days”.
Coombe & Kelly (2001) support the above view: the package of habits and dispositions that learners accumulate throughout their schooldays; the way school education opens one up to future prospects and the increased opportunities it provides for economic independence which helps to keep learners focused, highlight the importance of focusing on the educators’ health and wellbeing. The World Bank (2002) observes that school education is among the most powerful tools for transforming the poverty and gender inequality environment in which HIV and AIDS flourishes, adding that it is universally acknowledged that growth out of poverty and growth in education are almost synonymous.
3.5 Looking at HIV and AIDS and Education through Political Lenses
For the education system to function, all categories of the education staff must know about HIV and how to protect themselves against it. There is also a growing need for
attention to the management and mitigation of impacts. On the political implications, Kramer (1990: 110) states that, ‘There is nothing in this whole AIDS mess that is NOT political ‘.
According to the above quotation, there appears to be much political interference regarding this serious pandemic, in handling this pandemic, cogniscence must be taken in upholding human rights.
3.5.1 Issues around Human Rights and HIV and AIDS
HIV and AIDS presents many challenges with respect to socio-economic and Human Rights throughout the world. People living with HIV or AIDS have the same basic rights and responsibilities as all other citizens. The Charter of rights on HIV and AIDS which was launched in 1992 is the Bill of Rights of people living with HIV or AIDS (Van Dyk 2008). The human rights principles enshrined in the charter are necessary to ensure non- discrimination and public health in South Africa. The following aspects are some of the crucial issues in maintaining the rights of people living with HIV and AIDS:
Liberty and freedom of movement-all HIV positive people must be able to go wherever they want to without any restrictions placed on them
Confidentiality and privacy-they have a right to confidentiality about their health and HIV status, health care professionals are legally and ethically bound to maintain patient’s health information confidential
HIV testing- no person may be forced to take an HIV test without his or her informed consent
Education on HIV and AIDS-all people have the right to proper education about HIV and AIDS
Employment-HIV testing should not be compulsory in any employment policy and it ought not to be used as grounds for refusing employment
Health and support services- all HIV positive people have a right to housing,
food, social security, medical assistance and welfare
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A rights-based approach is essential because it is the most effective means of addressing the social, political and economic factors that contribute to the spread of HIV and AIDS.
According to the South African Constitution, all it’s people have a right to state health care, and should not be discriminated against because of their HIV status. It also carries a moral obligation on governments to protect and respect the human rights of their citizens.
HIV impacts negatively on people’s lives and this is compounded by marginalisation and stigmatisation on the basis of race, behaviour and status. The violation of rights can also be as basic as the right to freedom of choice. Closely linked to the idea of rights is the issue of policy position.
3.5.2 Implementation of HIV and AIDS Education Policies
In an era of HIV and AIDS, there is a range of national and provincial education specific policies that deal with issues regarding the educator’s right to employment without discrimination and learners’ rights to education without fear of discrimination. The issue of human rights in relation to HIV and AIDS permeates almost all the education policies, the core elements of The National Policy on HIV and AIDS for Learners and Educators in Public Schools and Students and Educators in Further Education and Training Institutions focuses on human rights and is heavily entrenched in the South African Constitution. This policy recommends that each school have a strategic plan to cope with the epidemic and support its learners and educators with the dissemination of correct information, eliminate discrimination and make the school the centre of hope and care.
The DoE’s Workplace Policy for HIV and AIDS provides guidelines for all its employees on the management of HIV and AIDS. This policy emphasises the creation of a supportive environment for employees living with and affected by HIV and AIDS, the policy also advocates the elimination of discrimination. The South African Schools Act (DoE:1996) provide for ‘quality education for all learners of school going age’, whilst this is commendable, one needs to question whether this is always possible in an era of HIV and AIDS when learners drop out of school to work and supplement the family income or to care for ill family members.
The above policies have a common thread running through them, that of upholding human rights, elimination of discrimination and support for the infected and affected.
Policies are designed to govern practice but Lewin et al (2004b) argue that policy is useless if it is not practiced. HIV and AIDS pose a huge challenge in the school environment, that of educator absenteeism due to ill-health, death of an educator and learner drop out rate. At times policies are formulated and the context and environment are not taken into consideration, then the policy cannot be implemented, therefore it is important for all stakeholders to come on board for the successful implementation of a policy. As mentioned earlier that educator absenteeism because of ill-health is a huge problem, the Employment of Educators Act 76 of 1998 provides a framework for employment, which address pertinent issues of conditions of service, procedures for termination of services, misconduct and a host of related issues. This policy was developed to provide schools with mechanisms that protect educators from unfair treatment, but at the same time hold them accountable for delivery of quality education
3.6 Conclusion
Although much research has been done around HIV and AIDS, there is still a need for expansion in our understanding and knowledge of new challenges of the HIV and AIDS epidemic, more especially the management of the disease, especially in countries where the prevalence rate does not seem to be abating. The main obstacle to successful HIV and AIDS prevention and mitigation programmes is implementation and sustainability at grassroots level.
In this chapter I have discussed the impact of HIV and AIDS on society, the fragmentation of homes and families, and the plight of girls and women in trying to protect themselves. The section on anthropological issues focused on gender inequality and problems generated. An in-depth discussion of stigma was also provided in this section as a feature of anthropology. Education issues in an HIV climate were discussed and the many challenges experienced in the school environment highlighted. Following
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the education issues, HIV/AIDS school policies were discussed in the section on political implications.
In this era of the HIV pandemic, an additional responsibility is placed on the school community, that of providing care and support to both learners and educators on the HIV management journey. This chapter focused on literature relating to social, anthropological, educational and political issues of HIV and AIDS.
Chapter Four will concentrate on the methods used to collect data for the study and argues for the use of qualitative methodology in working with the vulnerable who constitute my sample in the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
Methodology
Mapping out an Introspective journey of educators living with HIV and AIDS
4.1
Introduction'Sharing one’s story is a way of purging, or releasing, certain burdens and validating personal experience; it is in fact central to the recovery process... Life stories can help other people see their lives more clearly or differently, and perhaps be an inspiration to help them change something in their lives.'
(Atkinson 1998: 26)
Atkinson’s words could be aligned to the saying, “a problem shared is a problem halved”.
Sharing an experience or a problem generally lightens the load and also creates an awareness in the listener about his/her own life. On reflection, the listener may be inspired to re-look/re-organise his/her own life. This chapter begins with a discussion of life story as a methodology, which is used to study the lives of HIV-positive educators.
By choosing life story within a feminist approach, I hope to capture my participants’
stories in their own voices as far as possible, because women’s voices and feelings are generally ignored. The nature of this study is sensitive; I have therefore chosen qualitative research as an approach because of the reflective nature of the process.
I acknowledge at the outset the use of Liamputtong’s works (2007). Since the data collection process was ongoing for many months, grounded theory was used, which allowed for the data to be analysed as it was being collected. Life story and life history aspects are also discussed, mainly to show the suitability of using life story to collect data for this study, because life stories generally refer to real events and experiences. The
Chapter Four Indrashnee Devi Appalsamy Methodology: Mapping out an Introspective Journey of educators living with HIV and AIDS
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main data collecting method used was the interview, hence a discussion on relevant aspects of the interview has also been included in this chapter. In order to have successful interviews, the research participants have to be carefully chosen. In this chapter, I also share my sampling technique. The sensitive nature of this research required me to pay careful attention to ethical considerations, which are discussed.
While the interview was the primary data collecting method, I have also included relevant input from focus group meetings I had with members of school management teams (SMTs)1
Qualitative methods are especially appropriate for this study because of the sensitive nature of the study. Flexibility is a feature of qualitative research, as is the reflective nature of the research process (Liamputtong 2007). Qualitative research lends itself to the life story approach in different ways. According to Tewksbury and Gagne (2001: 72, cited in Liamputtong 2007), “Qualitative investigations are not explorations of concrete, from three different areas in KwaZulu-Natal, namely, Maphumulo, Inchanga and Ndwedwe. The families, and in some cases close friends, were also part of these groups. The focus group discussions were guided by the five questions I asked at the meetings. Permission was granted to me to meet with one participant’s spouse, the mother of another participant and close friend of yet another. Their responses to my questions are recorded in Chapter Five. Three teacher union representatives also granted me brief interviews, and their responses are likewise recorded in the next chapter.
The participants in this study were opportunistically chosen given the sensitive nature of the research. Opportunistic sampling involves following new leads (participants) during fieldwork. Finding willing participants for this study was very difficult, and I discuss the challenges I encountered in the search for participants. The chapter concludes with brief comment on the issue of validity in this type of research.
4.2 The Use of Qualitative Research in Researching Sensitive Issues
1 School Management Teams (SMTs), in South Africa this team is made up of the school principal, the deputy-principal and Heads of Departments (HOD).
intact frontiers; they are movements through social spaces that are designed and redesigned as we move through them. The research process is fuelled by the raw materials of the physical and social settings and the unique set of personalities, perspectives, and aspirations of those investigating and inhabiting the fluid landscapes being explored”. The views of Tewksbury and Gagne are appropriate for this type of study, allowing for “open-endedness”. Warren (2002: 7) contends that qualitative research is more “open-ended” as “it is more concerned with being attuned to who is being researched, than with setting out a precise route for all to follow, as in survey research”. Liamputtong and Ezzy (2005) have a similar view to that of Warren: they say that qualitative research methods are flexible and fluid, and therefore suited to understanding the meanings, interpretations and subjective experiences of vulnerable groups, in that qualitative research methods allow researchers to hear the voices of their participants. Qualitative research allows the researcher to become immersed in the social setting of the research environment, to an extent that enables the building a sound relationship of trust between the researcher and the participant.
Trust and rapport are also important aspects in research, and especially so in sensitive research, because the data that is being sought sometimes concern intimate and confidential aspects of a participant’s life.
Becoming trusted and seen as someone with whom research participants are comfortable spending time, talking, and sharing their lives is called ‘establishing rapport’. In order for a researcher to truly understand the world from the perspectives of those being studied and to see how persons being studied think about their world it is critically important for rapport to be established.
(Miller & Tewksbury 2001:55)
Building trust and rapport (as suggested above by Miller & Tewksbury) are extremely necessary for conducting research especially with vulnerable and hard-to-reach people.
Building this trust and rapport at an early stage of the interview process will reap the rewards of rich data. Fontana and Frey (2005) are in agreement with Miller and