| Summary: | Against the background of evidence that HIV-AIDS has had and continues to have
an enormous impact on all South African schools, a need has arisen for HIV -AIDS
policies and programmes to be effectively implemented in all schools. In this study, a
qualitative methodology was used to evaluate policy implementation in the North
West province. Data was gathered by means of field notes, observation and
interviews with management and educators. The study found that although principals
and educators are knowledgeable about HIV -AIDS, there is a tendency to
discriminate against infected educators, particularly in terms of educator workload.
This study also revealed that educators fear being accidentally exposed to HIV -AIDS
infected blood, despite the guidelines given in the National HIV -AIDS policy and the
availability of emergency first aid kits. The key thought emerging from this study is
that not all schools are able to deal effectively with HIV -AIDS and that schools
urgently need to plan or implement their own policies in this regard. School-based
HIV-AIDS policies can only be successful if they take cognisance of local contextual
issues and involve the three spheres of influence in the lives of educators and
learners, namely, the sphere of the school, the sphere of family life and the sphere of
the community. === Sociology === M.A.(Social and Behavioural Studies in HIV-AIDS)
|
|---|
