Rural Community In South Africa Research Articles

The Obstacles of Women Entrepreneurship on Empowerment in Rural Communities KwaZulu Natal, South Africa

This research aims to determine barriers to the expansion of women-owned businesses in rural communities of South Africa. To collect data for the research, a quantitative research approach was adopted. The research focused on 250 female business owners in the northern KZN rural regions of Umzinyakude, Uthukela, and Ugu. According to the survey, the primary barriers to developing women-owned businesses in rural communities are financial restraints, an absence of formal education, and inadequate facilities. These hurdles, however, may be overcome by women businesses being entrepreneurs in rural South African communities. Eliminating these barriers might empower women entrepreneurs and drive growth in the economy in rural communities, lowering poverty and improving rural people's living conditions. In light of these findings, the research suggests a variety of measures, including different financing methods, focused training and schooling programs, and the development of infrastructure to help women-owned businesses flourish in rural communities. Further research should investigate more issues like cultural as well as social barriers, an absence of accessibility to marketplaces and information, and legal and regulatory obstacles that prevent women from starting business entities in rural communities.

Identification and molecular characterization of Mycobacterium bovis DNA in GeneXpert® MTB/RIF ultra-positive, culture-negative sputum from a rural community in South Africa

This study investigated the presence of Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) DNA in archived human sputum samples previously collected from residents who reside adjacent to the M. bovis-endemic Hluhluwe-iMfolozi wildlife park, South Africa (SA). Sixty-eight sputum samples were GeneXpert MTB/RIF Ultra-positive for M. tuberculosis complex (MTBC) DNA but culture negative for M. tuberculosis. Amplification and Sanger sequencing of hsp65 and rpoB genes from DNA extracted from stored heat-inactivated sputum samples confirmed the presence of detectable amounts of MTBC from 20 out of the 68 sputum samples. Region of difference PCR, spoligotyping and gyrB long-read amplicon deep sequencing identified M. bovis (n = 10) and M. tuberculosis (n = 7). Notably, M. bovis spoligotypes SB0130 and SB1474 were identified in 4 samples, with SB0130 previously identified in local cattle and wildlife and SB1474 exclusively in African buffaloes in the adjacent park. M. bovis DNA in sputum, from people living near the park, underscores zoonotic transmission potential in SA. Identification of spoligotypes specifically associated with wildlife only and spoligotypes found in livestock as well as wildlife, highlights the complexity of TB epidemiology at wildlife-livestock-human interfaces. These findings support the need for integrated surveillance and control strategies to curb potential spillover and for the consideration of human M. bovis infection in SA patients with positive Ultra results.

Impact of Youth Empowerment Programmes in Low-Income Settings: A Systematic Review of the Qualitative Evidence

The impact and sustainability of youth empowerment programmes is highly contentious in a context marked by significant levels of poverty, unemployment and inequality. Youth empowerment programmes play a role in supporting low-income youth. This article presents a systematic review of six studies that were conducted between 2008 and 2013 in poor, urban, semi-rural and rural communities in South Africa. The main goal of the article is to describe how young people have been impacted by participating in youth empowerment programmes in their communities. Themes on key development indicators, results-based transformation, and sustainable youth empowerment programmes, summarise the main factors that influence how youth empowerment programmes are perceived. The systematic review of the literature results provides a basis for further research into youth empowerment programmes.

Leaving no one behind: Information (re)ˆpackaging for rural dwellers in South Africa

In most rural communities in South Africa, there is inadequate access to information due to a lack of public facilities and infrastructure, such as libraries and internet connections. This has a negative impact on the day-to-day activities of rural dwellers as it deprives them of the opportunity to access information, which is a fundamental right. This qualitative study used the Delphi technique, interviewing five experts in the Library and Information Services (LIS) fraternity in three rounds. The format in which information is accessed, as well as available information sources and resources, need (re)packaging in order to ensure free and equal access to information on a daily basis. This can be done through the provision of free Wi-Fi by rural municipalities in churches, gathering places, and royal houses to bridge the digital chasm. Provision of free Wi-Fi would give rural dwellers an opportunity to have access to online information without any hurdles as most rural dwellers are unemployed and lack money to buy data bundles for information access. With technological advancements, lot of information is shared online be it job advertisements, tertiary education applications, news, among others. The study provides a framework for addressing issues of information inaccessibility in remote rural areas. There is a need for increasing high-speed internet access for those in rural communities.

Infrastructure Development and Sustainable Rural Livelihoods: Perceptions from Umzumbe Local Municipality, South Africa

In many rural communities in South Africa, including Umzumbe Local Municipality (ULM) in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), the delivery of high-quality infrastructure for sustainable rural livelihoods has not yet been fully realised. Despite legislative changes on infrastructure improvement, rural residents are still overwhelmed with daunting challenges that have dire consequences for human and socio-economic development. This study sought to explore the existing infrastructure at ULM for the attainment of sustainable livelihoods. It examines the prominent contributing factors that obstruct infrastructural development for the attainment of optimal sustainable development. Data drawn from interviews were gathered for this explanatory qualitative case study from a targeted sample of 12 participants while 30 participants participated in the focus group. Secondary data was, however, collected from relevant literature and official documents and analysed thematically. Findings revealed that rural areas, such as the ULM are still enduring unsatisfactory infrastructural access, quality and reliability. The existing efforts to advance infrastructure improvement are seemingly unproductive as a result of several shortcomings including inept public management.

An Inclusive Framework for Collaboration between Midwives and Traditional Birth Attendants and Optimising Maternal and Child Healthcare in Restricted Rural Communities in South Africa: Policy Considerations

Collaboration between midwives and traditional birth attendants for maternal and child healthcare is a challenge in rural South African communities due to the absence of a guiding framework. To address this, this study sought to develop and validate an inclusive framework informed by the Donabedian structure–process–outcome (SPO) framework for collaboration between these healthcare professionals. Method: Key stakeholders were invited to participate in a co-creation workshop to develop the framework. Twenty (20) participants were purposively sampled based on their maternal and child healthcare expertise. A consensus design using the nominal group technique was followed. Results: Participants identified the components needed in the framework, encompassing (i) objectives, (ii) structures, (iii) processes, and (iv) outcomes. Conclusion: This paper will contribute to the development of an inclusive healthcare framework, providing insights for stakeholders, policymakers, and practitioners seeking to improve maternal and child healthcare outcomes in resource-constrained, rural settings. Ultimately, the proposed framework will create a sustainable and culturally sensitive model that optimises the strengths of midwives and TBAs and fosters improved healthcare delivery to rural South African communities.

Knowledge and attitudes of midwives towards collaboration with traditional birth attendants for maternal and neonatal healthcare services in rural communities in South Africa

ObjectivesWe assessed the knowledge and attitude of registered midwives towards collaborating with traditional birth attendants for maternal and neonatal healthcare services in rural communities. DesignA descriptive cross-sectional survey was followed in this study. ParticipantsRegistered midwives in selected clinics in the City of Tshwane Municipality. Participants were recruited by stratified random sampling. Data was collected at the Thirty-four primary healthcare facilities in Gauteng province, South Africa. Measurement and resultsA self-assessment questionnaire was administered to 304 registered midwives. Two-hundred and sixty respondents returned the questionnaire representing a response rate of 86.6 % which was statistically significant. The majority of Midwives in South Africa displayed a low level of knowledge (mean = 41.8, SD=1.7) on the role and practices of traditional birth attendants). Only 30.8 % (n = 80) of midwives knew of the roles of traditional birth attendants for maternal and neonatal healthcare (MNH) services. With respect to knowledge, there was significant associated with the Professional category (p < 0.015). In terms of attitude, registered midwives displayed negative attitudes towards collaborating with traditional birth attendants (mean = 46.8, SD=2.1). Approximately half (54.2 %, n = 140) of midwives were amenable towards collaborating in the provision of antenatal care, and 70.4 % (n = 183) of midwives agreed to collaborate with traditional birth attendants for extended roles such as accompanying women to health facilities. Association of demographic data and level of attitude showed there was significant relationship (p < 0.05) between registered midwives’ level of education and their attitude towards collaboration. Key conclusionsMidwives demonstrated positive attitude towards collaborating with traditional birth attendants at the antenatal care level only. Midwives were not amenable to collaboration at the level of intrapartum and postpartum care. Implications for practiceBased on our results, collaboration should be at antenatal care level to allow for early detection, treatment, and prevention of antenatal complications thus reducing maternal mortality and morbidity.

Examining The Fundamental Role of School Gardening Programme and Its Impact on Malnutrition in South African Rural Communities

The notion of malnutrition remains the world’s most serious health problem and the single biggest contributor to child mortality. Although food gardens are not specifically mentioned, they have the potential to provide support for malnourished and sick people including children and adults and potentially provide nutritional diversity to support complementary feeding. This study aims to examine the role of the school gardening Programme and its impact on malnutrition in South African rural communities. Data reveals that many children in the rural communities of South Africa suffer from malnutrition and they are experiencing several health consequences. Moreover, this is common among the children at most primary and secondary schools. Therefore, the lack of economic resources, and absence of information regarding nutrition, and inadequate breastfeeding increase the chances and number of malnourished children in rural communities. This is a conceptual or abstract paper whereby the authors relied merely on secondary data and government documents in writing and achieving the set goals and objectives. The study concludes that school gardening programs have the potential to play a fundamental role in addressing malnutrition in South African rural communities. By providing learners with access to fresh produce, nutrition education, and promoting environmental sustainability, these programs can have a positive impact on the health and well-being of students and their communities.

Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods Diversification: Insights and Policy Implications for Rural Communities in South Africa

This paper aims to analyze the effects of biodiversity conservation on sustainable livelihood diversification of rural communities in South Africa. Global evidence demonstrated a nuanced connection between biodiversity conservation and sustainable livelihood diversification. Biodiversity conservation is flourishing, and its industry has grown to a point where it accounts for a big part of South Africa's Gross Domestic Product. However, it remains a concern that the poverty levels in rural communities continue to rise, and there is no improvement brought by biodiversity conservation towards sustainable livelihood diversification. This is a theoretical paper that adopted the qualitative research method. The data for the paper was compiled through a desktop study wherein newspapers, scholarly journal articles, and government documents related to the effects of biodiversity conservation on sustainable livelihood diversification of rural communities in South Africa. Therefore, Document analysis was appropriate and selected to analyze the data. The paper found that balancing biodiversity conservation and sustainable livelihood diversification remains challenging in South Africa. This makes it difficult for rural communities to have sustainable livelihood diversification. This paper concludes that biodiversity conservation needs to do more justice to ensuring sustainable livelihood diversification for rural communities in the country. Therefore, it recommends the government delegate candidates or departments to continuously monitor and ensure that nature reserves practicing biodiversity conservation give back to nearby rural communities. Biodiversity conservation policies and legislations in line with the development of rural communities should be reviewed, adjusted, and ensured that they have operated accordingly.

The role of early childhood development and education (ECDE) in supporting learning and well-being in rural early childhood and primary schools in South Africa

ABSTRACT This paper examines how early childhood and primary schools can be constructed as enabling spaces to improve the learning and well-being of children aged six to nine who live in multidimensionally poor, low-resourced rural communities in South Africa. Quality early childhood development and education (ECDE) can be the catalyst to break the cycle of poverty for many young children in rural areas. A systematic review was conducted based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses flowchart. A comprehensive search strategy using electronic databases and hand searches systematically whittled down an initial database of 30,080 articles to 16 articles for this study. A thematic analysis identified enablers and constraints for supporting children’s learning and well-being across three themes: (1) infrastructure, educational resources and child agency (2) initial teacher education (ITE) and (3) socioeconomic status. The findings and discussion highlight child agency as an enabler to learning and well-being and the structural and pedagogical challenges of implementing ITE curricula specific to rural educational contexts.

In-Field Rainwater Harvesting Tillage in Semi-Arid Ecosystems: I Maize-Bean Intercrop Performance and Productivity.

The purpose of this study was to monitor and compare the growth and productivity of maize/beans sole and inter-cropping systems under conventional (CON) and in-field rainwater harvesting (IRWH) tillage practices. During the typical drought conditions of the 2018/19 growing season, seven homestead gardens of smallholder farmers (four in Paradys and three in Morago villages) in the Thaba Nchu rural communities of South Africa were selected for on-farm demonstration trials. Two tillage systems CON and IRWH as the main plot and three cropping systems as sub-treatment (sole maize and beans and intercropping) were used to measure crop growth and productivity parameters. The results showed that IRWH tillage had significantly higher above-ground dry matter for both sole maize (29%) and intercropped maize (27%) compared to CON treatments. The grain yield under both tillage systems showed that IRWH-Sole >> IRWH-Ic >> CON-Sole >> CON-Ic, with values ranging from 878.2 kg ha-1 to 618 kg ha-1 (p ≤ 0.05). The low harvest index values (0.21-0.38) could have been due to the effect of the drought during the growing season. The results of precipitation use efficiency (PUE) showed that the IRWH tillage was more effective at converting rainwater into maize biomass and grain yield compared to CON tillage. However, the different cropping systems did not show a consistent trend in PUE. During the growing season, the PUE for AGDM varied for different tillage and cropping system treatments in Morago and Paradys. For maize, it ranged between 10.01-6.07 and 9.93-7.67 kg ha-1, while for beans, it ranged between 7.36-3.95 and 7.07-3.89 kg ha-1 mm-1. The PUE for grain yield showed similar trends with the significantly highest values of PUE under IRWH tillage systems for the Morago sites, but there were no significant differences at the Paradys site in both tillage and cropping systems. There is a critical need, therefore, to devise alternative techniques to promote an increase in smallholders' productivity based on an improved ability to capture and use resources more efficiently.

Exploring the Role of Race in Social Cohesion in Two Rural Communities of South Africa

Globally, race and social cohesion in urban areas have received significant research focus. However, it may appear that scholars have not paid adequate attention to the role of race as a facilitator or barrier to social cohesion in rural areas. Thus, the aim of the study was to explore the role of race as a facilitator of, or barrier to, social cohesion in two South African rural communities, namely, Lambert’s Bay, Western Cape, and Philippolis, Free State Province. The study uses some of the tenets of critical race theory to interrogate the issues of race in South African rural communities. A qualitative research design was utilised to gather in-depth knowledge of the participants’ views. Nineteen participants participated in the face-to-face interviews conducted with the stakeholders and parents of both communities under study. The data was analysed thematically and five themes were identified, presented and discussed in the results: (1) Experiences of other racialised groups, (2) Experiences of immigrants, (3) Race as a factor influencing cohesion, (4) Experiences of racial discrimination, and (5) Fear of marginalisation and exclusion. Additionally, the findings highlighted physical separation and segregation between races as barriers to race relations in the communities. The study highlights that segregated communities limit interracial interactions, and rather foster intolerance, which in turn fuels racism. As a result, these factors have negative consequences on social cohesion in South African communities. Keywords: Race, Social cohesion, Rural community, Critical theory, South Africa

Prevalence of Human Norovirus GII.4 Sydney 2012 [P31] between 2019 and 2021 among Young Children from Rural Communities in South Africa.

Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) accounts for considerable morbidity and mortality in the paediatric population worldwide, especially in low-income countries. Human norovirus (HNoV), particularly GII.4 strains, are important agents of AGE. This study aimed to detect and characterise HNoV in children with and without AGE. Between 2019 and 2021, 300 stool samples (200 AGE and 100 without AGE) were collected from children below 5 years of age referred to the healthcare facilities of the rural communities of Vhembe District, South Africa. After detection using real-time RT-PCR, HNoV positive samples were subjected to RT-PCR and Sanger sequencing. Partial nucleotide sequences (capsid/RdRp) were aligned using the Muscle tool, and phylogenetic analysis was performed using MEGA 11. The nucleotides' percent identity among HNoV strains was compared using ClustalW software. A significant difference in HNoV prevalence between AGE children (37%; 74/200) and non-AGE (14%; 14/100) was confirmed (p < 0.0001). Genogroup II (GII) HNoV was predominant in AGE children (80%; 59/74), whereas most non-AGE children were infected by the GI norovirus genogroup (64%; 9/14). GII.4 Sydney 2012 [P31] strains were dominant (59%; 19/32) during the study period. A phylogenetic analysis revealed a close relationship between the HNoV strains identified in this study and those circulating worldwide; however, ClustalW showed less than 50% nucleotide similarity between strains from this study and those from previously reported norovirus studies in the same region. Our findings indicate significant changes over time in the circulation of HNoV strains, as well as the association between high HNoV prevalence and AGE symptoms within the study area. The monitoring of HuNoV epidemiology, along with stringent preventive measures to mitigate the viral spread and the burden of AGE, are warranted.

A group art therapy intervention model to address mental health stigma in a rural community in South Africa

Mental health stigma is one of the main reasons why individuals do not seek mental health treatment, and it can lead to discrimination and alienation. Group art therapy is a successful and economical intervention option to address mental health stigma, specifically in rural areas like Phuthaditjhaba in South Africa. This article refers to a research study where a short-duration art therapy intervention was implemented with female students in Phuthaditjhaba, a densely populated and isolated rural area in South Africa. Using a reflective action research cycle the study found that a group art therapy intervention informs the group members of mental health stigma, its repercussions, how to prevent it, and how to heal from experienced stigma. Traditional healing objects and traditions were included in the intervention, making it an inclusive and less-threatening option for different cultures. A group art therapy intervention model is presented to serve as a possible process guide for art therapists who would like to address mental health stigma in group therapy. The participants have experienced mental health stigma in Phuthaditjhaba. Their visual stories of change capture the internal changes that took place for them as a result of the intervention. They are now more aware of what stigma is, it’s repercussions, how to prevent it and how to heal from experienced stigma. Group art therapy is a suitable therapeutic paradigm for addressing mental health stigma in rural areas of South Africa.

CAUSE OF OUR POVERTY: INTELLECTUAL FATIGUE OR RESOURCE CONSTRAINT

The dimensions of poverty are most egregious from a rural South African perspective. This study takes a deeper insight into the major causes of poverty 28 years after the expiry of the apartheid rule. It carefully examines if the cause of poverty may be largely attributed to intellectual fatigue or resource constraint, whilst shedding light on other instigators to poverty. To give precision to this paper, it is streamlined to three poverty stricken rural communities in South Africa. The nature of this study warrants the input of several stakeholders who are main drivers of poverty alleviation initiatives alongside their beneficiaries. Thus, the article adopted a Multiple Case study in order to obtain emic perspectives. Document analysis was also imperative as it served as a means of triangulation. Inferences from the study participants alongside views of commentators thus suggest that communities understudy are on an ineluctable path to failure, that which will continuously entrap these rural communities in poverty. Undoubtedly, the major cause of poverty in the communities of Gunjaneni, Lusikisiki Mcobothini and Mgobodzi is arguably not due to resource constraint, but partly due to the absence of intellectual acumen among key developmental stakeholders. The paper also argues that electoral victory attained through majoritarianism, and not that by the degree of competence or resourcefulness of candidate is often at the expense of the poor.

Closeness in father-adolescent daughter relationships: a South African study

ABSTRACT Research indicates that close father-child relationships contribute to the well-being of adolescents. However, most studies on closeness have been conducted in the northern hemisphere on adult relationships of White, middle-class population groups. The aim of this study, therefore, was to explore constructions of father-child closeness in a different setting. Informed by social constructionism, an exploratory-descriptive research design was used to investigate constructions of closeness and father-daughter closeness in 15 family units (n = 45) consisting of adolescent daughters, fathers, and mothers living in low-income, rural communities in South Africa. Individual interviews were conducted with each participant and thematic analysis was used to analyse the resultant data. Three overarching themes and six subthemes were identified. Our findings show that the participants associated father-daughter closeness with daughters’ comfortability to share personal information with fathers. However, most of the daughters in this study did not feel comfortable to do so. We identified the maintenance of traditional notions of fathers as authority figures, as well as fathers resorting to authoritarian behaviours when faced with adolescents exhibiting risky behaviour in adverse socio-economic environments, as two factors that created distance between fathers and daughters.

The determinants of crop productivity and its effect on food and nutrition security in rural communities of South Africa.

High crop productivity has the potential to improve the food and nutrition security status of not only smallholder farmers but also households in general. However, smallholder farmers operate in a dynamic environment whereby their crop production is affected by various factors that hinder it from lessening food insecurity and malnutrition in rural areas. The study investigated the determinants of crop productivity and its effect on household food and nutrition security status in South Africa. This study employed a quantitative research method. A total of 1520 households were selected using the multi-stage stratified random sampling technique. Out of the total sample size of 1520, 386 were crop producers, 176 producers were from Mpumalanga province, and 210 producers were from the Limpopo province. Most of the smallholder farmers do not have access to the irrigation system, mechanization, and agricultural inputs. The Household Food Insecurity Access Scale showed that most smallholder farmers were food insecure, with 78% of the farmers in each province found to be food insecure. The results from Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) showed that in the overall sampled population, 50% of smallholder farmers had highly diverse diets. Only 50% of the smallholder farmers had high dietary diversity in each province. Irrigation systems and involvement in crop production had a positive influence on the crop productivity of smallholder farmers. The results from the Conditional Mixed Process (CMP) model showed that ownership of livestock, harvest, and disability in the family negatively impacted smallholder farmers' food security status while household size had a positive effect on the food security of smallholder farmers. The results also showed that social grants, agricultural assistance, and harvest had a negative impact on the nutrition status of smallholder farmers. While household size had a positive impact on the nutrition status of smallholder farmers. Factors such as irrigation systems and involvement in crop production influenced crop productivity. Household size influenced the nutritional status of smallholder farmers while harvest size affected the food security status. There is a need to encourage more households to get involved in farming. Government and nongovernmental organizations need to support smallholder farmers with agricultural productive resources like irrigation systems to improve their crop productivity.

The global healthy ageing agenda: The impact of education, gender, childhood conditions and social engagement in rural South Africa

This paper examines factors associated with the likelihood of healthy ageing and the propensity to utilise health care resources for a rural community in South Africa and the associated policy implications. Our results suggest education exerts a positive influence, and its marginal impact is more prominent for females than males. Further, we show that better childhood health is associated with increased likelihood of ageing well. We also demonstrate an inverse relationship between health care utilisation and healthy ageing. The results presented here suggest that strategic policy investments across life courses in education and child-health fosters not only broader development goals but also enhances healthy ageing trajectories and improve the health and wellbeing of individuals across life stages. This study contributes to informing on the UN’s healthy ageing global strategic agenda in the context of a poor rural region.

Parental Stress in Raising a Child with Developmental Disabilities in a Rural Community in South Africa.

Although acceptable levels of parental stress are experienced by all parents who raise children, this stress is substantially higher among parents who raise children with developmental disabilities. Sociodemographic determinants further exacerbate parental stress among parents in rural communities, which are disadvantaged in many ways. This study aimed to quantify parental stress among mothers and female caregivers of children with developmental disorders and investigate factors associated with such stress in rural Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. A cross-sectional quantitative survey was used, in which the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF) and a sociodemographic questionnaire was administered to mothers and caregivers who were raising children aged 1 to 12 years old who were living with developmental disabilities. The PSI-SF scores were used, where a total score of ≤84 percentile was categorised as normal/no parenting stress, 85-89 percentile was categorised as high parental stress, and scores of ≥90 were classified as clinically significant. The sample of 335 participants consisted of 270 (80.6%) mothers and 65 (19.4%) caregivers. Their ages ranged from 19 to 65 years, with a mean of 33.9 (±7.8) years. The children were mostly diagnosed with delayed developmental milestones, communication difficulties, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, autism, ADHD, cognitive impairment, sensory impairments, and learning difficulties. The majority (52.2%) of the participants reported very high-clinically significant stress levels (≥85%ile). The four factors that independently and significantly predicted high parental stress were the advanced age of mothers and caregivers (p = 0.002, OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.34-3.95), caring for a child with multiple diagnoses (p = 0.013, OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.16-3.50), non-school enrolment of the child (p = 0.017, OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.13-3.46), and frequent hospital visits (p = 0.025, OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.09-3.44). At the subscale level, child non-enrolment in a school was found to independently predict parent distress (PD) and parent-child dysfunctional interaction (P-CDI). Frequent hospital visits were statistically and significantly associated with the difficult child (DC) and P-CDI subscales. The study established high parental stress in mothers and caregivers raising children with developmental disabilities. Lack of access to school was an independent factor that consistently increased parental stress. There is a need for support and directed intervention programs aimed at supporting mothers and caregivers of children with developmental disabilities, which will enhance their parenting abilities.

Rural Support Experience of Student-Teachers in South Africa: The Need for Supportive Infrastructures and Language Teaching

Rural communities in South Africa have various inadequacies and a lack of social support systems for the people and their inhabitants. Experiences and observations showed that the majority of the student-teachers in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa undergo their teaching practice activities in one or two rural locations, which led to many of them having to suffer from a lack of support and social amenities in their place of teaching practice. This study explores student-teachers experiences, ranging from the challenges and opportunities available for them during the program. Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) approach was used to underpin the study. The study falls within the transformative paradigm, and participatory research was used to design the study. Convenient sampling was used to select ten student-teachers posted to rural locations for their teaching practice within the Eastern Cape province. Reflection was used to elicit data from the participants, and the data were analysed thematically. The study found that inadequate resources and social amenities, and language barriers are challenges encountered by the student-teachers. The study also found that the provision of supportive infrastructures and the intensification of Language teaching is imminent among rural learners. Hence, the study concludes with recommendations for the provision of supportive infrastructures and the intensification of language teaching as solutions to assist student teachers in rural teaching practice.