Examining teachers' understanding of child-friendly school environments concept: implications for child safety in Zimbabwean schools

Abstract

Hostile school environments are a cause of concern and a perennial international educational problem. The Child-Friendly Schools (CFS) is an international UNICEF curriculum intervention meant to safeguard learners against hostile school environments. The study sought to examine teachers’ understanding of child-friendly school environments concept and assess implications for child safety in Zimbabwean schools. The research questions focused on exploring teachers’ understanding of the origins and principles of the CFS concept, teacher accessibility of CFS related policy documents, and to establish the implications of teachers’ understanding of the CFS environments concept on child safety in schools. Located in the pragmatist research paradigm, the study employed a mixed methods research approach and followed a concurrent triangulation design. Holsti’s (1970) role theory formed the theoretical framework of this study. The study involved 163 teacher respondents who attended to semi-structured questionnaires, 7 Guidance and Counselling teachers, and 7 school heads who participated in in-depth face to face interviews. Both respondents and participants were from the selected seven urban government secondary schools in the Mutare district of Manicaland province in Zimbabwe. Quantitative and qualitative data were independently analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis respectively and results were merged at the interpretation stage. Major findings revealed that teachers had poor and inadequate understanding of the CFS environments concept. Teachers bemoaned of limited access to local CFS related policy instruments available in the schools. It also emerged that child safety in Zimbabwean schools is compromised by teachers’ poor understanding and appreciation of the CFS environments concept. It is therefore recommended that regular CFS training workshops for in-service teachers should be conducted. Teacher education should expose trainee teachers to the mandate and propositions of CFS environments concept. The strategy is likely to enable teachers acquire relevant knowledge, adequate understanding and relevant skills as required by the demands of the CFS environments concept to ensure child safety in Zimbabwean schools.

Keywords: School environments; Concept; Children’s rights; Child safety; Teacher; Zimbabwe.