A Phenomenological study of orphaned learners' experiences with regard to psychosocial support provisioning in Endola circuit -Namibia

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate the orphaned learners’ experiences with regard to psychosocial support provided at school and home in the Endola circuit- Namibia. The sample consisted of six orphaned learners aged between 12 to 16 years, of both genders. This sample was selected using purposive sampling. Tape recorded narrative accounts of all six orphaned learners were obtained through faceto- face in-depth interviews. A Social worker accompanied the researcher during the data collection period to counsel orphaned learners before and after each interview.The data was analyzed using the following five steps: Bracketing and phenomenological reduction, Delineating units of meaning, Clustering of units of meaning to form themes and Summarizing each interview, validating it and wherenecessary modifying it and Extracting general and unique themes from all the interviews and making a summary.