‘Every teacher is a researcher!’: Creating indigenous epistemologies and practices for HIV prevention through values-based action research

Abstract

Since gender is an undisputed driver of HIV infection, teachers concerned with HIV prevention education should ideally encourage critical awareness of and culturally sensitive practices around gender inequalities. Many interventions and programmes have been developed for teachers to enable them to do this, however most have met with limited success. This article proceeds from the viewpoint that for HIV-prevention interventions to be sustainable and effective, teachers should be actively engaged in their design, implementation and evaluation. It outlines how teachers in an HIV prevention programme utilised an action research design to explore their own gender constructs as a necessary first step to the creation of more gender-sensitive school climates and teaching practices. This values-based self-enquiry moved the teachers to action on two levels: first, to adopt a more gendersensitive approach in their own personal and professional lives and second, to take action to challenge gender inequalities within their particular educational contexts. Evidence is presented to justify the claim that action research of this genre helps teachers to generate indigenous epistemologies and practices that not only are effective in creating sustainable and empowering learning environments for HIV prevention education, but also for teaching and learning in general.

Keywords: HIV and AIDS prevention, gender education, action research, self-reflection, critical awareness, values-based self-enquiry