Impact of teachers’ inappropriate intimacy with learners on the performance of High School Learners around Man’ombe Circuit, Mopani District, Limpopo Province

Abstract

Inappropriate intimate relationships among teachers and learners in high schools are a matter of concern, in the education sector. This  matter has been around for years and has had an impact on the academic performance of the learners. The extent to which these  inappropriate intimate teacherlearner relationships impact the academic performance of learners has not been sufficiently investigated in the body of knowledge, particularly, its impact in Man’ombe Circuit. This research followed a qualitative research design, and the  target population of this study was teachers at schools in Man’ombe Circuit. The researcher utilized a purposive sampling technique and  the sample size comprised of 10 participants. The data were collected using face-to-face interviews and recordings using an audio recorder; the data were analysed using thematic content analysis and ATLAS ti. The findings showed that the impact of inappropriate  intimacy among learners and teachers is in the form of poor academic performance, shift in learners’ focus, emotional and psychological  disturbances, increase in contempt behaviour of the learners, and enhanced social anomalies. The findings also revealed that factors contributing to inappropriate, intimate relationships between teachers and high school learners are the students’ desire for better  grades, learners' background knowledge, exploitation, student’s need for financial support, and peer pressure. This study recommends  that the approaches that can be adopted towards addressing inappropriate, intimate relationships between teachers and high school learners are - policy education, increased awareness of abuse, stricter internal disciplinary measures and thorough investigation  processes.