Malaria education in the Foundation Phase Life Skills curriculum

Abstract

Malaria is a major health dilemma with over 90% deaths occurring in Africa, south of the Sahara (WHO, 2003). Malaria has become endemic in South Africa, especially in the northeastern areas of three provinces, namely KwazuluNatal (KZN), Limpopo and Mpumalanga. The vulnerability of the infection is high during the summer rainy season between the months of September and May (Morris et al., 2013). ). An important case for consideration is the impact of malaria on the health of learners within these endemic areas. The study explored the possibility of promoting awareness of malaria education through the Life Skills curriculum in the Foundation Phase. The study applied Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) (Bandura, 1977) and the theory of Situated Cognition (Brown, Collins & Duguid, 1989) in an attempt to explain the link between curriculum and malaria health education. The study uses two qualitative customs of inquiry, namely narrative inquiry and case study approaches. The research sites were two primary schools in the Hamakuya area of the Vhembe district that were purposefully selected. The participants were 21 learners in the Foundation Phase from the abovementioned two schools, ten parents and seven Foundation Phase teachers. Data were collected by means of semistructured interviews and documents analysis. The data were analysed through thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The study results revealed that teachers did not demonstrate holistic knowledge to embrace the entirety of the content they need to teach the children in the Foundation Phase about malaria. The study highlights that malaria incorporation into the Life Skills curriculum in the Foundation Phase may become may successfully bridge the malaria knowledge gap. The need for a health curriculum that integrates curriculum elements (such as planning, enacting and assessing learning outcomes) was revealed. This is necessary to entrench Foundation Phase learners with desired learning outcomes.