Poverty, Gender and Primary Education: Experiences of Learners in Elandskop, KwaZulu Natal

This article discusses the interconnectedness of poverty and gender and learning at primary school level in KwaZulu Natal Province of South Africa. A qualitative study was conducted in two schools in the poverty stricken Elandskop area where data were collected using in-depth face-to-face interviews from purposely selected participants comprising of learners, educators and the headmasters. The aim was to analyse how male and female learners experience poverty, gender role socialisation and the effect on children’ bio-psychosocial health of both sexes. While the findings of the study revealed that poverty and gender socialisation of boys and girls have bio-psychosocial negative influences on them, the gender dimension of poverty had the most negative influence on girls. It was found that primary school learners grapple with coping mechanisms when confronted with poverty coupled with limited family and professional support. Gendered family roles and oppressive religious beliefs have been found to have influence on early marriages and teenage pregnancies resulting in school dropouts. The findings of the study imply that school social work is vehemently lacking yet necessary in schools in the area to assist educators in addressing the psychosocial ill-health of learners which educators are less equipped to professionally handle. The study recommends appropriate bio-psychosocial interventions early in the lives of learners to curtail lifelong developmental predicaments.