Teachers’ Lived Experiences and Intervention Strategies in Managing Substance Abuse among Rural Secondary School Learners in South Africa

IntroductionThis study determined the prevalence of substance abuse amongst rural secondary school learners in a selected province of South Africa.MethodologyThe study adopted a quantitative approach using a descriptive survey design. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire from a total of 338 randomly selected learners, age 14 to 18 years, from 10 secondary schools that make up a rural Vhembedzi circuit in the Limpopo Province. Permission to enter the circuit and the schools was obtained from the circuit manager and parents’ or learners’ informed consent was obtained prior to data collection.ResultsThe majority of the participants (94% male, 98% female) had never used substances. Most of the learners started using substances between the ages 15 to 20 years. The majority of learners who were using substances were male. Of the respondents, all the female (100%) students reported to have stopped substance abuse. The majority (63% male, 50% female) of the learners tried to stop substance abuse but failed. Most of the learners (72% male, 71% female) did not have family members who were substance users. The majority of the students attested that substances can be easily obtained in their communities or villages. The majority (68%) of the leaners knew that substance abuse is dangerous to health.Conclusion and recommendationRural secondary school learners in South Africa have a low prevalence rate of substance abuse. Hence, there is a need for a counselling program in each school to provide support and refer such learners to an appropriate institution for rehabilitation.

Substance abuse and mental health concerns are growing issues among high school learners in South Africa. The study aims to investigate the prevalence, correlations and consequences of substance abuse and mental health concerns in Limpopo province. The study draws on Denise Kandal's theory of Gateway to understand and explain the progression of substance use and abuse among youth being high school learners and identify at-risk individuals as well as develop targeted prevention programs. The study adopted a qualitative case-study research design involving Five learners from Grade 10 as participants. The findings of the study revealed that 62,3% reported substance use, with alcohol and cannabis being the most used substances. Additionally, less than 50% of learners are screened positive for mental health concerns, including depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. Notably, substance abuse was found to be significantly associated with mental health. The findings highlight the need for integrated prevention and intervention strategies addressing both substance abuse and mental health concerns in high schools. The study contributes to the understanding of co-occurring substance abuse and mental health concerns among high schools in South Africa. The findings emphasized the need for a comprehensive support system to address the issues and promote learner’s well-being.

The main aim of this research paper was to discuss the application of the Attitude Toward Enterprise (ATE) Test1 developed by Kingston University, London on secondary school learners in South Africa. A total of 1 748 usable questionnaires were gathered from grade 10 learners in the Sedibeng District and utilised for statistical analysis. Five factors with eigen-values greater than one describing the entrepreneurial attitudes of young learners were extracted during exploratory factor analysis. Tests for reliability and construct correlation produced satisfactory results to recommend the Enterprise Attitude Questionnaire for further use on young learners in South Africa. A comparison of the mean differences between the constructs for demographic variables produced statistically significant differences in a number of instances, but no visible effects or practical significance to suggest that these differences have any effect in practice. Practical recommendations are offered for further employment of the Enterprise Attitude Questionnaire in entrepreneurship research on young learners.

The persistent under-performance of Grades 8 and 9 learners in South African schools has led to escalating dropout and repetition rates, necessitating urgent intervention. Despite existing strategies, most efforts focus disproportionately on Grade 12, leaving a critical gap in addressing early high school under-performance. This study was initiated by the Department of Basic Education (Mopani West District, Limpopo Province) in collaboration with the University of Limpopo, and seeks to consolidate existing literature on the factors contributing to under-performance among Grades 8 and 9 learners in South Africa. This scoping review was conducted using Arksey and O’Malley’s five-stage framework to systematically map key themes from relevant studies. The review thematically identified four major factors influencing learner under-performance in Grades 8 and 9: (i) subject content and teacher pedagogy, (ii) learners’ personal and social challenges, (iii) school leadership and management issues, and (iv) systemic barriers. The findings provide a consolidated evidence base for policymakers, school leaders, and teachers to develop targeted interventions. Additionally, the study highlights gaps in the literature, guiding future research on improving academic outcomes in the foundational high school years.

A pre-post test follow-up design was used to test the effects of a systematically developed photo-novella (Laduma) on knowledge, attitudes, communication and behavioural intentions with respect to sexually transmitted infections, after a single reading by 1168 secondary school learners in South Africa. The reading resulted in an increase in knowledge on the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), change in attitude to condom use and towards people with STIs and/or HIV/AIDS, as well as increased intention to practice safe sex. Laduma did not influence communication about sexually transmitted infections and reported sexual behaviour and condom use. While print media proved to be an effective strategy to reach large numbers of youth and prepare them for adequate preventive behaviours, the study also identified the need to combine print media with other planned theory-based interventions that build confidence and skills to initiate the preventive behaviour.

The rise of the Third Industrial Revolution (3IR) introduced various interactive digital platforms such as computer-mediated communication (CMC). These platforms include social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, X (formerly known as Twitter), and Instagram. During the exchange of messages, social media users use language distinctively to express their thoughts. Both conventional and non-conventional writing styles manifest. For instance, while others use well-formed language in line with the conventions of a standard language, some use unconventional language, which is termed multiple names such as textism, texteese, and social media language. Since most of the social media users’ age profiles match the age group of learners in secondary schools, it became necessary for this study to explore the possible impact of social media on learners’ academic writing, particularly in the official indigenous languages of South Africa. This study used a qualitative research approach to explore the impact of social media on learners’ writing of the Sepedi language in 10 secondary schools in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. Using focus group interviews and document analysis, the paper discovered that learners’ application of writing mechanics such as grammar and punctuation marks are affected by social media. The paper is conceptualised through cultivation theory.

South Africa, after Apartheid and with a democratic government and newly amended policies, committed to provider equal opportunities to every citizen, including the right and access to education. The purpose of this study, following the state of the education system as it is, is to investigate the social issues that contribute to the poor performance of secondary school learners in South Africa, and specifically the Palala circuit in the Waterberg district, Limpopo. A mixed methods approach was used (qualitative and quantitative) to investigate the possible improvements that could be used to deal with the social issues facing secondary school learners. The target population was 10 secondary schools in the Palala circuit in the Waterberg district, Limpopo. The sample was 10 principals, 10 Head of Departments (HoDs), 10 Life Orientation teachers, and 30 learners, 3 per school in the 10 selected schools. The response rate was 93% and data was collected by using questionnaire surveys and interviews with the same 56 participants. The study revealed the predominant social issues that affect the academic performance of learners in secondary schools in the Palala circuit as poverty, teenage pregnancy, bullying, low self-esteem, and parental unemployment. The strategies to eradicate these social issues are in place and need the input and active participation of all stakeholders, especially government, community members, teachers, parents, and the learners themselves.

The Department of Basic Education in South Africa acknowledges that 99% of primary school-aged children attend school, but attendance at secondary school level is not yet universal. Low levels of secondary school attendance contribute to poverty and unemployment. We investigated the socio-demographic elements associated with school attendance among secondary school-aged learners in South Africa. We adopted a quantitative research approach and a cross-sectional design. The positivist research paradigm was applied, and the 2019 General Household Survey data (nationally representative survey) were used. The family socialisation theory and household production framework were embraced as the theoretical framework in this study. Descriptive analysis and cross-tabulations were conducted, and a Chi-square test was performed to measure the association between school attendance and learners’ characteristics. Furthermore, logistic regression was conducted to explore the factors associated with school attendance. Study findings agree with the assertions of the family socialisation theory and household production framework. We found that the overall school attendance level was 93.5% and older learners had significantly lower levels of school attendance. High levels of educational qualification of household heads inspired higher school attendance as the odds of school attendance for learners quadrupled when household heads attained secondary education relative to those with unschooled heads (OR = 4.1; p < 0.001). Being a Coloured learner, being part of a large household, being an orphan, and living in a low-income household were associated with reduced levels of school attendance. We recommend targeting and supporting learners who are over-aged for their grades, Coloured, and with poor or educationally low family backgrounds via conditional cash transfers to improve school attendance in the South African population.

Health-risk behaviours such as tobacco smoking and alcohol are now identified among adolescents in most of the secondary schools of South Africa. The study investigated the prevalence of smoking and alcohol use as health risk behaviours among secondary school learners in Thembisile Hani municipality of Mpumalanga province in South Africa. A quantitative descriptive research design was used for the study. A simple random sampling was employed in the selection of schools and proportional stratified sampling was used to select learners from each school according to grades. Closed-ended questionnaires were used to collect data from learners in their schools. Data were analysed using SPSS version 26.0. Out of 385 learners, 64.4% have drank alcohol whilst 64.7% have smoked cigarette in the school premises. The socio-economic status of many learners such as the employment and income of the family was found to be one of the factors exposing them to alcohol and tobacco use. There was high prevalence of alcohol use and smoking among learners in secondary schools. Excessive use of alcohol and smoking could affect the health of learners in their late life and therefore community collaboration to curb the problem is crucial.

Developing countries are experiencing serious problems of substance abuse. The substances include tobacco, substance abuse, marijuana and glue sniffing. Developments such as improved socio-economic status, increased movement of people and improved communication technology, also influence the substance abuse trade and leads to an increase in substance abuse. Individuals, families and communities all suffer as a result of substance abuse since this form of abuse exhausts people’s physical, intellectual, and economic resources (Mhlongo 2005). The fact is that substance abuse seriously threatens learners’ holistic development. Substance abuse not only affects the learner, but also the family, the school and the rest of the community. In recent years, substance abuse among school learners in South Africa has increased, particularly in townships. Indeed, substance abuse is so serious in the townships that the police have decided to make random searches for illegal substance possession at specific notorious hotspot. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n13p361

This paper, based on a visual study of six urban schools in South Africa, primarily concerns relations between the researcher and those being researched. It opens with an argument for learner participation in research, then describes the study and justifies the methods used. Some methodological aspects are considered, for having primary and secondary school learners in a culturally and linguistically complex context take photographs of their school environment. These are accompanied by a discussion of how they were addressed in the study, sometimes with only partial success.

Climate change poses a major threat to the future of today’s youth. Globally, young people are at the forefront of climate change activism. Their ability to engage, however, depends on the level of knowledge of climate change and concern about the topic. We sought to examine levels of knowledge and concerns about climate change among youth in South Africa, and their experiences of heat exposure. Ten questions on climate change knowledge, concerns and experiences were nested within a cross-sectional survey conducted in a cluster randomised trial among 924 secondary school learners in 14 public schools in low-income Western Cape areas. Learners’ mean age was 15.8 years and they were predominately female. While 72.0% of respondents knew that climate change leads to higher temperatures, only 59.7% agreed that human activity is responsible for climate change, and 58.0% believed that climate change affects human health. Two thirds (68.7%) said that climate change is a serious issue and 65.9% indicated action is needed for prevention. Few learners indicated climate change events had affected them, although many reported difficulties concentrating during hot weather (72.9%). Female learners had lower knowledge levels than male learners, but more frequent heat-related symptoms. Learners scoring high on knowledge questions expressed the most concern about climate change and had the highest heat impacts. Many youth seem unaware that climate change threatens their future. Heat-related symptoms are common, likely undermining educational performance, especially as temperatures escalate. More is needed to mainstream climate change into South African school curricula.

We live in a technology-driven world, where information communication technology (ICT) is increasingly affordable, obtainable and accessible to all technology users, especially to school learners. Information communication technologies (ICTs) include a wide range of devices such as mobile phones, internet access, tablets and desktops. More and more school learners are exposed to ICT devices at school, at home and among friends. Besides being used for social purposes, these devices greatly assist school learners with education. However, a number of disadvantages in the form of risks and threats also prevail if learners do not protect themselves and their personal information. ICT or online risks are a cause for growing concern, and awareness and education are urgently required to ensure that school learners understand the risks and threats and how to avoid them. A number of countries have already started to focus on online safety, but South Africa is numbered among those that are falling behind. This paper investigates the current online safety situation of high school learners in South Africa. A number of short- and long-term initiatives are proposed for incorporating online safety into the school environment in an effort to improve online safety among school learners in South Africa.

This research reports on a study into the cybersecurity awareness initiatives for school learners in South Africa and the UK, which are supported by government, industry and academia. Furthermore, this article provides an overview of similarities and differences between initiatives across countries, and posits as to the reasons why they may exist. The research concludes by presenting recommendations for both countries to improve school cybersecurity initiatives.

Background: Globally, millions are infected with HIV/AIDS, and more than half of them are adolescents aged between 12-25 years. Inadequate knowledge, negative attitudes, and risky practices are major barriers to HIV/AIDS prevention. This study seeks to establish the knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding HIV/AIDS among high school learners in South Africa. Methods: Data were collected from a randomly selected sample of 422 learners from two high schools using pre-tested questionnaires. Data were analysed using SPSS version 16. Results: Participants had good HIV/AIDS knowledge, attitudes, and practice levels, however, misconceptions about transmission, negative attitudes, and risky behaviour or practices were also found. Knowledge was associated with age, social status, and sources of information. Attitudes were associated with gender, age, race, social status and sources of information. Practices were associated with age, race, social class, and sources of information (p = < 0.05). Conclusion: Sex education (life orientation) in school and HIV/AIDS awareness programs in communities need to be intensified in order to rectify misconceptions, negative and discriminatory attitudes, unsafe and risky practices, as schools and healthcare workers were found to be the main source of HIV/AIDS information.