Caregivers’ Perceptions of the Influence of Covid-19 Pandemic on the Well-Being of Secondary School Learners in the Vosloorus Area, Gauteng, South Africa
Date
2023
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic did not only impact the education system in South Africa but as affected the lives of learners when remote learning was introduced to the education system. This new way of learning affected the well-being of learners in different ways. The purpose of the study was to explore the caregivers' perception of how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the well-being of secondary school learners in Vosloorus, Gauteng, and South Africa. The ecological perspective was the theoretical framework underpinning the research study. A qualitative research approach and a phenomenological design was used to focus on the social meaning that individuals attach to their circumstances, experiences, and situations. The design allowed exploring the caregivers’ perceptions on how COVID -19 pandemic affected the well-being of their grade 10-12 school going children. The population of the study was caregivers of grades 10 to 12 learners, at a secondary school in Vosloorus Gauteng. Purposive sampling was used to sample eight caregivers of grades 10-12 learners. The research instrument used was a semi-structured interview guide and the method of data collection was face-to-face interviews with caregivers. Thematic analysis was applied to analyse the data. The main findings showed that the COVID-19 pandemic left most homes in devastating condition, it left many mourning for their loved ones. Many learners were left orphaned or with one parent. Very few families did not experience the death of a loved one during this time, if it wasn’t a death of a family member, it was the passing on of a schoolteacher, a friend, or just someone you knew. This resulted in learners being bereaved, developing anxiety, and living in fear. Following the death of loved ones, the high rate of job losses was catastrophic. For caregivers and learners, the loss of employment or receiving a decrease in income added to their already poor socioeconomic status and it had other consequences for families and learners. Another major finding was that learners experienced overwhelming emotions, like fear, anxiety, and loneliness. There was also a high rate of grades dropping and learners being pushed to the next grade. Lastly caregivers perceived that COVID-19 contributed to the use of substances among learners.
Description
A report on a research study presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Social Work to The Department of Social Work, School of Human and Community Development, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023.
Keywords
Caregiver, COVID-19 pandemic, Learner, Marginalised community, Public school, Well-being, UCTD
Citation
Mqadi, Slindile Alicia. (2023). Caregivers’ Perceptions of the Influence of Covid-19 Pandemic on the Well-Being of Secondary School Learners in the Vosloorus Area, Gauteng, South Africa. [Master's dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg]. WIReDSpace. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/40053