Teachers’ experiences of working with newly initiated Basotho boy learners underwent indigenous male circumcision: A case of rural high schools in Free State Province, South Africa

Abstract

It is essential to understand that parental involvement can protect children’s schooling from sociocultural practices that interfere with their education. This study explores teachers’ experiences of newly initiated young Basotho boy learners after attending Indigenous Male Circumcision (IMC) at rural high schools. A qualitative case study approach was employed in this study. Nine participants (n=9) were purposively selected, including four males and five female teachers from two rural high schools in Thabo Mofutsanyana District, Free State Province. All the participants were from the Basotho culture and spoke Sesotho as their home language. Semi-structured interviews were conducted during data collection. Narrative techniques were employed to analyze data. The results revealed that teachers experienced the following when newly initiated Basotho boy learners returned from the IMC. They highlighted that they were aware that some attended initiation schools and others missed their year-end examinations. Some were motivated to education completion when they returned. Many learners changed behaviours and attitudes and were involved in substance abuse. The findings revealed that socioeconomic status could influence them to discontinue school attendance after undergoing IMC. This study recommends that indigenous male circumcision should recruit initiates above eighteen years of age and be strictly regulated by the South African government.