The role of life orientation teachers in addressing the emotional needs of HIV/AIDS affected learners in the intermediate and senior phases at two schools in Gauteng

M.Ed.This study explores the role of the Life Orientation (LO) teacher in addressing the emotional needs of HIV/AIDS affected learners in the Intermediate and Senior Phases at two schools in Gauteng. The study was executed in the Eldorado Park area of Gauteng Province in South Africa, whereby two organisations, namely, HIV/AIDS Care Centre and HIV/AIDS and Adolescence Care Centre, were involved. The sample in the study consisted of five learners in the Intermediate and Senior Phases, all affected by HIV/AIDS; two caregivers, two social workers and two teachers who are teaching these learners. I conducted interviews with the two LO teachers at the two schools, who then identified learners affected by HIV/AIDS and whose parents had already succumbed from this disease. After gaining consent from their caregivers I then conducted interviews with both the caregivers and learners. These participants then informed me about the centres with which they are linked in the community, after which I approached the centres and requested to conduct interviews with the social workers. The interviews with the social workers, teachers and caregivers form the basis for my study of the emotional needs and basic emotions displayed by such learners affected by HIV/AIDS. The first set of themes derived from my study are emotional needs that learners display, emotions that learners display and coping strategies adopted by learners in dealing with emotions. The next set of themes derived from my study are how LO teachers ensure the effective functioning of their roles, what tools do LO teachers use to ensure the effective functioning of their roles, how LO teachers tout the effective functioning of their roles and what LO teachers do to stay abreast of developments in the teaching fraternity. It was clear from the data collected that even though LO teachers received training regarding HIV/AIDS, the training was insufficient to address the emotional needs of orphans affected by HIV/AIDS. It also came to light that teachers wished to support these learners but due to time constraints and over-crowded classes due to learner-teacher ratio were unable to do so. The study suggests that more teachers should receive the necessary training to better their skills for responding to the emotional needs of learners affected by HIV/AIDS