joice tafirenyika

Learning disabilities are a common phenomenon among learners in primary schools. Dyslexia is one such learning disability prevalent in mainstream classes. Research studies on strategies used by primary school teachers to manage learners with dyslexia in mainstream classes are scarce. This study analysed strategies used by Grade 3 teachers in managing learners with dyslexia in mainstream classes at a selected primary school in Mazowe District in Zimbabwe. A qualitative research design was used. Interviews, observations and document analysis were used. The findings revealed that prevalent characteristics of dyslexia include: fluency, comprehension, word decoding, phonological processing, spellings, and receptive language processing disorders. Teachers’ strategies include look and say, remediation, positive reinforcements, individualized instruction, games, peer tutoring among others. The study concludes that teachers are using both appropriate and inappropriate strategies in managing learners with dyslexia. The study recommends staff development programmes to create and support an enabling environment for the management of dyslexic leaners in mainstream classes.

Research ethics are the cornerstone of conducting effective and meaningful research. Selected theses by doctoral students show variations in ethical considerations applicable. This article discusses personal reflections and refractions in an experiential journey in which child-rearing practices of refugees were studied. Based on the framework of research ethics, the processes of getting permission to access the study site, informed consent by refugee participants, confidentiality, and dealing with beneficence are explored with emphasis on ethical challenges and how they can be resolved. The paper concludes that gaining access to research site does not translate to gaining access to research participants. Seeking permission to do research with institutionalised refugees may be ‘unethical’, considering how permission is granted administratively on behalf of refugees - for refugees, but without refugees. Implications include that doctoral students need to establish identity with the ‘researched’ earlier than commencement of fieldwork. From the experiential journey, possible recommendations include the critical need for doctoral research to be monitored by university ethics committees to empower postgraduate students to manage looming ethical issues in research

The majority of young children with a disability live in low- and middle-income countries, where access to inclusive early learning programs supported by governments or non-government organizations is usually unavailable for the majority of the population, who live in rural areas. This study explored the feasibility of leveraging materials and personnel available within local communities to provide inclusive early learning programs in rural Zimbabwe. Caregivers of young children with some disability were given the opportunity to describe their experienced challenges; ways in which they informally support their children’s early learning; and the types of skills and resources they were able and willing to offer to support the establishment and operation of a more formal group-based inclusive early learning program. Qualitative data were generated from a purposive sample of caregivers of children with diverse impairments (n = 12) in two remote rural districts in Zimbabwe. Themes were i...

Zimbabwe adopted a policy for compulsory enrolment of 3 to 5 year-olds in ECD 'A' and 'B' grades in primary schools. However, some eligible children are not attending these classes for reasons which include poverty, disability and lack of special education needs constituting marginalisation. The current study sought to evaluate community knowledge about inclusive home-based Early Childhood Development programmes, assess rural communities' attitudes towards the establishment of inclusive home-based ECD programmes and identify practices that can be used to sustain inclusive home-based ECD programmes in selected rural communities in Zaka and Bikita districts in Masvingo province. Data were collected from 60 purposively sampled participants comprising 30 parents of children without known disabilities, 12 caregivers, six (6) ECD teachers, and 12 parents of children living with disabilities. Data were analysed through thematic content analysis. Findings showed that par...

This paper examines critically the evolution of management theories and how they have informed the supervisory practices of the Early Childhood Development (ECD) Programme in Zimbabwe. The paper identifies a number of management theories that have influenced the supervision of the ECD Programme in Zimbabwe. Theories that have been found to have greatly informed the supervision of the ECD Programme in Zimbabwe include Scientific Management, Systems and Contingency. However, the Bureaucratic Management, Administrative, Human Relations, Total Quality Management, Learning Organisation and Re-engineering theories have had some influence on the supervision of the ECD Programme. The paper was a desk review. Unlike others, the study established that the Quantitative Theory of Management was not as influential in the supervision of ECD because of the view held by most supervisors that managerial decisions and the nature of the ECD Programme itself cannot be quantified. The paper concludes th...

Socio-political conflicts in the Great Lakes Region of Africa have caused an upsurge in the refugees who flee to other regions of the world for safety. Consequently, refugee camps have become common contexts of child growth and development owing to the forced movements of people from their original homes and countries into foreign and unfamiliar ecologies. This article reports part of the findings of a larger exploratory sequential study that explored the nature and quality of refugee immigrant caregivers’ childrearing practices at Tongogara Refugee Camp (TRC) in Zimbabwe. This study reports the resilience in childrearing among selected refugee immigrant caregivers resident at Tongogara Refugee Camp in Zimbabwe between 2013 and 2016. Eighteen (18) refugee mothers and thirteen (13) elders purposively sampled among refugees from DRC, Burundi and Rwanda participated in a qualitative study that used focus group discussions and key informant interviews to collect data. The main finding o...

Socio-political conflicts in the Great Lakes Region of Africa have caused an upsurge in the refugees who flee to other regions of the world for safety. Consequently, refugee camps have become common contexts of child growth and development owing to the forced movements of people from their original homes and countries into foreign and unfamiliar ecologies. This article reports part of the findings of a larger exploratory sequential study that explored the nature and quality of refugee immigrant caregivers’ childrearing practices at Tongogara Refugee Camp (TRC) in Zimbabwe. This study reports the resilience in childrearing among selected refugee immigrant caregivers resident at Tongogara Refugee Camp in Zimbabwe between 2013 and 2016. Eighteen (18) refugee mothers and thirteen (13) elders purposively sampled among refugees from DRC, Burundi and Rwanda participated in a qualitative study that used focus group discussions and key informant interviews to collect data. The main finding o...