Moyo, Ngoni2016-09-142016-09-142010http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11837/466The purpose of the study was to investigate the efficacy of interventions by multi-sectoral organisations in enhancing educational opportunities for school-going orphaned children in Gwanda District in Zimbabwe. The thrust of the study was to interrogate whether these interventions addressed holistically the needs and rights of the orphans who were registered under the organisations. Using the child rights-based and human needs theoretical frameworks as a dual lens, the investigation adopted the mixed–model type of mixed methods research premised on the post-positivist paradigm. The design adopted was an across-stage mixed-model design. Data were collected from the representatives of the sample of organisations which represented the four categories of multi-sectoral organisations, namely, community-based organisations (CBOs), faith-based organisations (FBOs), Government (GOVT) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as well as from school-going orphans and school authorities drawn from schools which fell under each of these categories of multi-sectoral organisations. The total sample of participants comprised 4 organisation representatives, one representative for each of the four categories of multi-sectoral organisations, 426 school-going orphans and 26 school authorities. The data collection instruments were self-administered questionnaires and researcher-administered questionnaires (structured interviews). Measured on the nature and scope variable, the study found that the educational support programmes which were available to school-going orphans were superficial and constricted in scope. It was found that the educational support interventions implemented by the multi-sectoral organisations were restricted to a narrow range of school-related programmes whereas the orphans had many other unmet school needs and multiple other needs which emanated from their living conditions at home. The study found that only two of the categories of multi-sectoral organisations (CBOs and FBOs) were implementing psychosocial support programmes. It was established that all the orphans under GOVT and the NGOs were not availed with psychosocial support interventions and thus had missed out on the educational opportunities which were inherent in the psychosocial support programmes availed to their counterparts. Rated on the nature and scope variable, the conclusion was that, psychosocial support interventions were limited and fragmented in the coverage of both organisations and orphans and thus were deemed not efficacious in enhancing educational opportunities for the school-going orphaned children in Gwanda District. The study established that, measured against the determinants of ‘timeliness’, ‘adequacy’, ‘usefulness’ and ‘extent to which the identified educational support programmes were beneficial’, the educational support programmes which were implemented by the multi-sectoral organisations met the needs of orphans to some extent. The rating indicated that the educational support programmes had a low level of efficacy in enhancing educational opportunities for school-going orphaned children in Gwanda District in Zimbabwe. Furthermore, drawing from the research findings on the three variables, namely, ‘usefulness’, ‘adequacy’ and ‘extent to which the psychosocial support interventions were beneficial’, the study concluded that the psychosocial support interventions that were implemented by the two categories of multi-sectoral organisations (CBOs and FBOs) met orphans’ psychosocial needs to some extent. The study found that, because the school fees/levies intervention had a greatly increased effect on attendance, retention and completion trends, overall, the educational support interventions which were implemented by the multi-sectoral organisations had a greatly increased effect in enhancing school participation trends for the school-going orphaned children in Gwanda District in Zimbabwe. However, the conclusion drawn was that the increase in school participation trends entailed increased access to school and retention in school, which, however, did not result in a match in increased educational opportunities per se. The overall conclusion to the study is that the educational support interventions that are implemented by the multi-sectoral organisations have a low level of efficacy in enhancing educational opportunities for the school-going orphaned children in Gwanda District. Psychosocial support interventions are non-existent for the majority of the orphans who are registered under the multi-sectoral organisations in Gwanda District. Where these are available, the conclusion is that they are not efficacious in enhancing educational opportunities for the orphans. The study concludes that the interventions which are implemented by the multi-sectoral organisations do not address holistically the needs and rights of the orphans. Among the recommendations made is that the participation rights of children should be respected by stakeholders who are providing them with social protection and that in this regard, the orphans should be involved in the planning, monitoring and evaluation of interventions that aim at enhancing educational opportunities for them. It is also recommended that a study be done on social protection in the education sector, country-wide, to establish the extent of the response to the orphan crisis, as well as the impact of the response on educational opportunities for school-going orphans.eninvestigation; efficacy; interventions; enhancing; multi-sectoral organisations; educational opportunities; school-going orphaned childrenOrphans -- Education -- ZimbabweNon-governmental organizations -- ZimbabweOrphans -- Care -- ZimbabweSchools -- Zimbabwe -- EvaluationThesis