Schooling in the Shadow of Death

Abstract

This article explores how Zambian youth encounter HIV/AIDS in their schools and communities, and presents ways in which they demonstrate their agency in creating new language, identities, and self-conceptions in response to these encounters. Utilizing qualitative interviews, participant observation, and student diaries, this study suggests that the role and delivery of schooling must be re-examined given high teacher mortality, teacher misinformation, and young people's exposure to the disease outside of schools. Students' diverse experiences in and outside of school shape their knowledge and beliefs about HIV/AIDS in a time when all social institutions in Zambia have been affected by the disease.