Evaluating the implementation of HIV and AIDS education in schools in the uMhlathuze District

Implementing HIV and AIDS education in schools has for some time faced challenges in South Africa. Although much has been achieved in terms of policy, the implementation thereof has remained questionable. Monitoring and evaluation has the ability to determine the achievement of policy or program implementation, and therefore offer insights into necessary reforms. The main aim of the study was to assess the quality of the implementation of HIV and AIDS education in schools and determine the facilitators and barriers to the implementation and whether the teachers’ levels of HIV and AIDS knowledge influenced the quality of the implementation. The study utilised the elements of both the Contextual Interaction Theory (CIT) and the Monitoring and evaluation framework as the conceptual framework. Data about the implementation of HIV and AIDS education in schools were collected using both the positivism and interpretivism paradigms. Life-Skills and Life Orientation teaching teachers from both primary and secondary schools were selected using a systematic procedure of selecting every fifth school from an alphabetical list of schools in the Umhlathuze district. Teachers completed questionnaires that had been piloted with 25 Life-Orientation teaching teachers in a workshop, and the Life-Skills and Life Orientation subject advisors participated in the in-depth interviews. The quantitative data was analysed using SPSS version 22 and recorded interviews were transcribed, coded and analysed using thematic analysis. The results showed that 82.7% teachers teaching Life-Skills and Life Orientation implemented HIV and AIDS education, although not to satisfactory standards. Teacher characteristics that influenced quality implementation were time, confidence, support, capability, comfort, and knowing the contents of HIV and AIDS policy. The study further revealed that whilst teachers had an overall ‘above average’ knowledge of HIV and AIDS, they had serious knowledge gaps. The reported barriers to implementation included lack of appropriate knowledge, lack of support and resources, no provision for content, Life Orientation subject overload and lack of monitoring. Based on these findings recommendations were made on how the Department of Basic Education (DBE) may structure the HIV and AIDS education as a separate subject with succinct content for different levels and strengthen the monitoring of the implementation. The study also came up with the framework for the monitoring of the implementation of HIV and AIDS education in schools that schools and district offices could utilise.

Author dc:creator

• Mzimela, Adelaide Misiwe

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Nzima, D.R

• HIV --AIDS --school education --South Africa

Licence

• https://devspace.unizulu.ac.za/bitstreams/ba4a2518-de90-463a-9d5f-88d4a7e3d657/download