Migration and Child Rearing

### **Chapter 6**

## Communication in Times of Uncertainty and Loss: Refugee Parents in Interaction with Kindergartens and Schools

*Anne Marit Vesteraas Danbolt*

### **Abstract**

Most refugee parents experience uncertainty and loss transitioning to a new society. In this situation, the family is ascribed an increased value, as a social capital and a point of reference in an unstable world. At the same time, the complexity of the new society creates new hierarchical structures that place the family in a vulnerable position. Educational institutions like kindergartens and schools play a major role in the lives of families, since their practices impact the wellbeing and prospects for the future of the children. This chapter explores how newly arrived refugee parents perceive their interactions with kindergartens and schools in their new context. Data is collected by observations in a group of refugee parents over one year and by individual interviews, using interpreters. The study shows that there are good intentions on both sides, but the complexity of the situation causes misunderstandings, thus creating new instances of uncertainty. There is, however, a good potential for improved communication and better understanding in the relationship between refugee parents and kindergartens and schools.

**Keywords:** refugee parents, education policy, initial literacy, diversity, communication

### **1. Introduction**

In a globalised world, millions of families are on the move and settling in new surroundings. This migration often means major disturbances to family life as well as to the families' relationship with educational institutions like kindergartens and schools. Migration produces new hierarchical social positions, where parents must re-orient themselves and find new ways of coping with daily life. Families account for between one-fourth and one-half of the migrant population in the OECD countries [1], and forced migration due to war and conflict is part of this picture. Many refugees parents experience uncertainty and loss when transitioning to a new society. They have left behind family and friends, workplaces and social relations, in short, life as they knew it. Different societal norms and regulations may form barriers to integration and inclusion in a new community. There are thus good reasons for municipalities, local

authorities as well as teachers and managements in kindergartens and schools to take into consideration how families experience challenges when they are settling into a new local community.

The migration-driven diversification of societies in the Western world has been described as super-diversity [2]. This entails new patterns of inequality and prejudice, racism and segregation ([2], p.2), and the term is widely used across disciplines. This concept is fruitful for shedding light on communication patterns that arise in the interaction between migrant parents and representatives of educational institutions. In such interactions, the uneven distribution of power is noticeable, but may all the same be concealed in subtle ways. Settling into a community that is quite unfamiliar as regards ways of behaving, socialising, interacting and communicating with institutions that have a bearing upon their life as a family, the family is placed in a vulnerable position. In such times of uncertainty, family values, as well as the members of the family itself, are ascribed an increased value, as a point of reference in an uncertain and unfamiliar world [3]. The children in the family represent in this situation a social capital [4], increased in symbolic value, since other forms of social capital in the form of network, education, employment as well as economic capital are diminished or lost. All matters relating to the welfare of their children are therefore of the utmost importance to the refugee parents [3].

This chapter will focus on how refugee parents perceive their relationship with kindergartens and schools in a new community. The research questions guiding this research are: How do refugee parents experience their interactions with educational institutions like kindergarten and schools? What perceptions do they have regarding language and literacy when it comes to their children's education?

### **2. Immigration and education policies for refugees in Norway**

### **2.1 Settlement regulations for refugees**

Norway is among the 145 countries that have recognised the Geneva Convention of 1951. This convention protects the rights of refugees [5, 6]. Immigration to Norway has increased during the last decades, and especially after the influx of people fleeing from the war in Syria, the number of refugees increased considerably. Many refugees have also arrived from countries in Eastern Africa and have settled in Norway. The pandemic caused a sharp decrease in immigration, but since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022, nearly 40,000 refugees have sought asylum in Norway. Still, the percentage of people with refugee background is low: while about 15 percent of the Norwegian population have immigrant background, only 4,5 percent have a refugee background [7].

Refugees may come either as asylum seekers, or they may be included as resettlement refugees in a quota agreed upon with the United Nations High Commission for refugees (UNHCR). They are then brought directly to Norway from refugee camps abroad [8]. Refugees are granted a temporary residence permit for one or up to three years. Family members may also be granted a family immigration permit based on certain criteria. It is normally not possible to apply for a permanent residence permit before three years' stay in the country. Those who are granted a temporary residence permit are settled in designated municipalities, based on a request to the municipality by the Norwegian Directorate for Integration and Diversity. The municipality receives economic support from the government based on the number of refugees received

*Communication in Times of Uncertainty and Loss: Refugee Parents in Interaction… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110687*

by the municipality, and they must offer an introduction programme including these elements: Norwegian language classes, courses providing knowledge about the Norwegian society, and educational work-related activities. In this study, data was collected among refugee parents who took part in a course on parenting practices, based on the Incredible Years programme.

### **2.2 Education policy for immigrant children in primary and lower secondary schools**

Education for pupils with another language background than Norwegian or Sami (which is an indigenous language in Norway) is regulated by Section 2.8 in the Education Act. This section states:

*Pupils attending the primary and lower secondary school who have a mother tongue other than Norwegian or Sami have the right to adapted instruction in the Norwegian language until they are sufficiently proficient in Norwegian to follow the normal instruction of the school. If necessary, such pupils are also entitled to mother tongue instruction, bilingual subject teaching, or both [9].*

The Education Act, Section 2.8, also states that the municipality must map the Norwegian language skills of the pupils before it is decided to give them adapted language education. This mapping must continue while they receive adapted Norwegian instruction, to assess whether the pupils are sufficiently skilled in Norwegian to follow the regular teaching in the school. The Norwegian Directorate for Education has developed curricula for adapted instruction in Norwegian and for mother tongue instruction and a tool for mapping of language development for second language learners of Norwegian [10].

It is the municipality, as the owner of the primary and lower secondary schools within their community, who is responsible for providing teaching for pupils who are second language learners of Norwegian. However, even though the Education Act states that mother tongue instruction is among the rights of a pupil who is a second language learner of Norwegian, mother tongue instruction is rarely used in Norwegian classrooms. In fact, even though the number of pupils with immigrant background has increased, the number of pupils receiving adapted instruction in Norwegian and mother tongue instruction has decreased [11]. This development is interesting, since the core curriculum for primary and secondary education states that all pupils "shall experience that being proficient in a number of languages is a resource" [12]. The same positive attitude to different languages is also mentioned in the Framework Plan for Kindergartens, which says that the kindergarten staff should help ensure that "linguistic diversity becomes an enrichment for the entire group of children and encourage multilingual children to use their mother tongue" [13]. The documents giving the mandate for kindergartens and schools thus promote a positive view on multilingualism and diversity, while the Education Act is open for interpretations and gives few directions for implementation.

### **2.3 Initial literacy and second language learning**

International research recommends that initial literacy should be taught in a language that is familiar to the learner [14, 15]. Since reading is to make meaning of written language, the familiarity with the language is crucial. However, many learners around the world receive education in an unfamiliar language [15]. This also applies to Norway, where second language learners of Norwegian rarely receive initial literacy instruction in their mother tongue [11]. As mentioned above, only those pupils who are considered not to be able to follow the regular instruction in the classroom are granted adapted instruction and mother tongue instruction or bilingual subject teaching only when it is considered "necessary". And when granted, normally only a restricted number of hours per week are allocated.

This means that pupils with another language background than Norwegian will have a different outset for their literacy development than their peers who are first language users of the language of instruction. They have a double learning task in the way that they must learn the language of instruction and the content of the curriculum at the same time. This is a demanding role and requires much support from those around the emergent bilingual pupil.

All children, irrespective of language background, have experiences with written language before they start school [16, 17]. When it comes to second language learners, who are emergent bilinguals, the literacy practices they encounter in their homes form a basis for the continued development in school. But if the literacy instruction rests on a monolingual bias, without any attention to other languages or other literacy practices than those of the language of instruction, the experiences emergent bilinguals bring to school will not be recognised. In such a situation, the second language learners' experiences will be invisible and an unused resource. To draw on the resources of the emergent bilinguals requires a partnership between the school and the home.

Trends in research on literacy and language learning open for more flexible ways of building emergent bilinguals' literacy. There are several examples of such partnerships where the school successfully builds bridges to the home and acknowledges the complexity of the situation for migrant families [17–19]. More flexible ways of drawing on the resources multilingual pupils bring to school can be a potential for a more positive development in the language learning process and for more confident multilingual practices in the family.

Many immigrant parents want their children to maintain the language(s) of their family, while they at the same time are dedicated to their children's learning of the language of instruction. Making visible the language resources of an emergent bilingual pupil also confirms the identity of the family [17, 18]. To open up for a view on multilingualism as a resource requires competence among teachers in kindergartens and schools and is ultimately the responsibility of the municipality.

### **3. Research design**

The research design for this study was an exploratory qualitative case study [20]. Qualitative research seeks to explore and understand "the meaning individuals or groups ascribe to a social or human problem" [21], which describes well the aim of this research. Data was collected in a group of refugee parents who took part in an introduction course in a semi-rural municipality in Norway. Data consisted of observations in classes when the participants talked about their family, by semi-structured interviews individually and in pairs and by reflection notes collected in a meeting towards the end of the school year. The data was analysed by a thematic analytical approach, developing codes to look for emerging themes.

*Communication in Times of Uncertainty and Loss: Refugee Parents in Interaction… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110687*

The group consisted of six mothers and three fathers, representing six different families. Three couples came from an Arab-speaking country, two mothers came from East African countries, and one single mother came from an Asian country. All participants except two were newly arrived in Norway with less than 8 months' stay. Their education varied between six and twelve years, whilst one had professional training.

Since all the participants were newly arrived in Norway, the interviews were conducted by help from interpreters. The topics for the interviews were: Experiences from their interactions with the teachers in their children's kindergarten or school, and their hopes and expectation for their children's future, including their education. The interviews were recorded and transcribed by the author. The participants were given pseudonyms to preserve anonymity, and all recordings were deleted after the transcription.

### **3.1 Limitations of the study**

This study is an observation and interview study of refugee parents, where the main purpose was to bring forth the voices of the parents. The school management and the teachers have not been involved in the study. This means that statements about the schools' teaching practices come solely from the parents, and the intentions behind the choices the schools have made will remain unknown to the researcher. This must be taken into consideration when interpreting the data. Furthermore, the number of participants is low, so findings from this study cannot be generalised to the wider population. However, this study may give a deeper understanding of how refugee parents experience their interactions with institutions that are of vital importance for their children's well-being and future in the new country.

Another limitation is that all communication between the researcher and the participants has been conducted with interpreters as mediators. This means that nuances and even important information in the participants' statements may have been lost. However, to capture the perceptions from newly arrived refugee parents who have not yet learnt the Norwegian language, the use of interpreters is indisputably necessary. The interpreters were experienced and knew the Norwegian school system well, which was an asset given the topic of this study.

Last, but not least, it is a limitation to the study that the researcher was an ethnic Norwegian and as such a representative of the new society. Even though the researcher came from the outside and had no links to the parenting programme nor to the kindergartens and schools in the municipality, this fact may have led to restraints in criticism or misplaced praise. The longitudinal design of the study, with frequent meetings over one year, was intended to counteract this tendency and build trust between the partners, but it must nevertheless be considered in interpreting the responses from the parents.

### **3.2 Ethics approval and consent**

Newly arrived refugee parents, not yet proficient in the majority language, must be considered a vulnerable group ([21], p. 95). Their situation must therefore be taken into account when doing research of this kind that will involve talking about private matters like family and children. This topic could also increase the parents' sense of loss and cause difficult feelings. Ethics approval was obtained from the Norwegian Centre for Research Data (NSD), including approval of interview guides and information letters. The interpreters read the information letter to the participants in a

meeting, and the researcher was available to answer questions. It was made clear that participation in the research was voluntary and that the parents could withdraw from the study at any time, without any repercussions for themselves. The participants signed the consent form in the first meeting. No one wanted to withdraw during the period of data collection or afterwards. On the contrary, it seemed that they appreciated having the opportunity to talk about their children and to vent issues regarding their children's schooling.

### **4. Results and discussion**

Three themes emerged from the coding of the data: Communication in a mode of friendliness and trust; the complexity of the language policy; the value of education.

### **4.1 Communication in a mode of friendliness and trust**

The parents all expressed appreciation of their children's teachers, some more explicitly that others. Several of the families came from refugee camps in Lebanon, where the children were assigned to classes in the afternoon, after the resident children had left. This experience of a non-inclusive practice seemed to have left its mark on one of the parents, who saw the Norwegian school system in a stark contrast: "It is first of all a good and nice system, and I am so grateful there is no discrimination nor racist attitudes. My children can attend school in the morning and not in the afternoon, like in Lebanon". Given the huge pressure on the education system in Syria's neighbouring countries, the comparison may seem quite unfair; however, the experience of inclusion of their children in the mainstream classroom obviously meant a lot. The parents also mentioned that the teachers did not allow bullying, and that instances of unacceptable behaviour were sanctioned quickly. were sanctioned quickly. The teachers were described as "humane" and friendly towards the children.

The parents conveyed appreciation of this friendliness and positive interest from the teachers. Some of the teachers obviously tried to draw on the linguistic diversity in the classroom. One of the mothers described her daughter's teacher in this way: "For example Sylvia (pseudonym), who is the teacher in my daughter's class, I love her so much. She has learnt a lot of words, like 'good morning' and 'good day' and such things, she has learnt these words in all the languages of the children". The parents also mentioned teachers in their own language classes for adults who showed interest and a positive attitude towards their mother tongues.

Schools are required to have individual meetings with the parents of each pupil twice a year. These meetings focus on the child's individual progress in all areas, as well as the child's social adaptation to other pupils and to the school as a whole. The parents told that in these meetings, an interpreter was always present and available for them. The parents appreciated this practice. One couple mentioned, however, that in meetings with the whole class (parents' meeting), which are not mandatory, there were no interpreters available. When asked what he felt about being in such a situation, one father said: "It was like being inside a black bag". This lack of opportunity to talk with the other parents made him feel left out of the group.

Through the parents' descriptions, the teachers put much emphasis on friendly relations with the pupils and the parents. In the mandatory individual meeting with the parents twice a year, the school provides interpretation for the parents. But this

does not take place in social arrangements and meetings that are not mandatory, which indicates that there are limits to the inclusiveness. The friendliness and inclusive attitude seem to be a widespread but individual practice that was not yet fully institutionalised.

### **4.2 The complexity of the language policy**

The parents were asked whether their children received any mother tongue instruction, cf. 2.2 above. One of the mothers responded that there was an Arabic teacher in the school and that there were four pupils in his class, but her daughter was not among those who were assigned to his class. She said that she had asked why her daughter was not included, but she did not receive an answer, or at least not an answer that she could make sense of. Her interpretation of the situation was that her daughter first should focus on learning Norwegian, and then, she could have classes in Arabic. This misconception was corrected by the interpreter, who asked if he could explain to this mother. He told her that the case was that her daughter was considered too proficient in Norwegian to receive mother tongue instruction. This was obviously new information to the mother, so the communication from the school seemed not to have fulfilled its purpose.

A report from another mother demonstrated that the mother tongue instruction was not always given under conducive circumstances. Her son received some help in the mother tongue from an interpreter who explained the teaching to him in class. He was placed at the back of the classroom, probably to avoid disturbances. Her son had told her that the class teacher sometimes said "Please don't disturb" to the interpreter, since the help was given in the same classroom. The mother was obviously frustrated by this practice. "How can my boy learn if the teacher says, 'Please don't disturb'? And he is the weakest, and he is placed in the back of the classroom!" The mother also wondered why her son was put at the back of the classroom the whole day, while the interpreter was there with him only for a few hours. She had tried to ask the school about it but did not receive an answer that made this practice clear to her.

Since the provision of mother tongue instruction was relatively scarce, some of the parents tried to teach their children themselves. One of the mothers described how she tried to support her child at home: "I try to be the teacher myself, but it is hard. I have to learn Norwegian myself". It is time-consuming to learn a new language, and the parents' capacity is naturally stretched, when they try to do two quite difficult tasks at the same time.

The school seemed to strive for an inclusive practice and had allocated mother tongue instruction to some of the newly arrived second language learners. However, when it came to the realisation of this practice, there were obviously pitfalls. For instance, it was not clear whether the pupils actually met a qualified mother tongue teacher, and the use of the word "interpreter" indicates that the school might have opted for mother tongue support rather than mother tongue instruction or bilingual subject teaching. In this regard, the limitations of this study must be taken into account. It is also a fact that many schools struggle to find qualified mother tongue teachers. However, it seems quite clear that communicating the specific rights of pupils with another language than Norwegian and Sami, laid down in the language policy, seemed to be a challenge. Considering the somewhat complicated regulations and the rather unclear indicators of what is "sufficiently proficient", it is not surprising that the school seemed to have a difficult task in explaining these features of the language policy to newly arrived refugee parents.

### **4.3 The value of education**

The parents were overall very proud of their children's progress in learning to speak the new language. They expressed no concern when it came to their children's progress in learning spoken Norwegian. However, when it came to basic literacy skills, like reading and writing, some of them expressed worries, like this mother, speaking about her 7-year old son: "He can speak Norwegian, but he struggles with reading and writing". When they were asked whether they had been given any advice as to how they could support their children's literacy development, one mother said that the teacher had asked them if they had audio books or a laptop or a computer. This made her feel uncomfortable, since she herself had very little experience with digital tools. In the meetings, the parents told that they had been strongly encouraged to visit the library and borrow books to read to their children. One mother confirmed that there were books in many languages in the school library, and her daughter had borrowed a book with Arabic letters. The book turned out to be written in Farsi, a language they did not know, and the mother laughed at the mix-up. But she clearly expressed her willingness to read to her daughter, if only the school could provide her with books an Arabic.

The parents put strong emphasis on the value of education in more general terms. One of the fathers explained in this way how he encouraged his children to work hard in school: "You must read, you must learn, you must just go on and work hard, we expect that you are doing your best". And he continued: "We tell them that being able to read and write is equal to seeing". In the final meeting in the group, the parents were asked to express their hopes for their children, and one of them wrote: "I want my children to have a good education and find a job, but first and foremost I want them to have a good and happy life in a peaceful society".

By the parents' accounts, there is an awareness among teachers in kindergartens and schools of the value of other languages than Norwegian. The encouragement the parents receive to visit the library and read books to their children points towards an interest in the language resources in the family. The school had also acquired books in many languages in the library, to be available for the newly arrived pupils. In the conversations about the children's education, there was a clear concurrence of values between the parents and the school.

### **5. Conclusion**

Refugee parents meet many challenges when transitioning to a new society. The transition is mostly involuntary and includes many experiences of loss. They have nevertheless proved great strength in enduring difficult circumstances and mastered the transition. In their new community, they want the best possible future for the children and show positive attitudes towards their children's teachers. However, they meet many expectations and regulations related to kindergartens and schools, which implies adjusting to new social complexities [2].

Findings in this study show that parents expressed trust in the teachers in the kindergartens and schools and experienced a warm and friendly attitude in their communication with the teachers. They encouraged their children's education and wanted to support the school. The concurrence of values as regards education can have a great potential in building a strong relationship between the home and the school.

However, there are challenges to the relationship. The communication gaps in explaining the language policy as well as the lack of a systematic support to the

### *Communication in Times of Uncertainty and Loss: Refugee Parents in Interaction… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110687*

children's multilingual development put strain on the family. The parents felt that it was hard for them to really contribute, since they were unfamiliar with the language of instruction, and some of them did not have much education themselves. But there are bright spots also to this picture. Some of the teachers practice an openness to the linguistic diversity in the class, and the schools have multilingual books in the library and encourage pupils and parents to borrow books. By the parents' report, the school seems to be interested in the parents' literacy practices, though this is probably not communicated in the best possible way to the parents.

Communication with refugee parents can be difficult for many reasons [17]. These difficulties can be mitigated by good preparation of the kindergarten and school staff, including capacity building, and to establish educational partnerships with parents.

In communication with refugee parents, it is important to be aware of the special circumstances surrounding their life in the new country. The underlying imbalance of power requires a sensitive approach in the interactions. Good intentions are important, but not sufficient in securing full understanding of the educational offer to second language learners of Norwegian, given the complexities of the language policy. Empowering the parents by acknowledging their resources and finding ways of how they can support their children will build their partnership with the educational institutions and give better prospects for their hopes and dreams for their children in a new society.

### **Conflict of interest**

The author declares no conflict of interest.

### **Author details**

Anne Marit Vesteraas Danbolt Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Elverum, Norway

\*Address all correspondence to: anne.danbolt@inn.no

© 2023 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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### **Chapter 7**

## Mitigating the Unmet Psychosocial Support Needs of Left-behind Learners in Child-Headed Households: Exploring 'Educare' Support at a Zimbabwean School

*Ricanos Jaure and Alfred Henry Makura*

### **Abstract**

Following parental labor migration, the family unit is disrupted contributing to the formation of a unique form of child-headed households (CHH) among the left-behind children (LBC). Parental migration creates a gap in terms of children support, care, and protection leading to unmet psychosocial support needs among the LBCs in child-headed households. This research chapter sought to explore the fusion of education and care (Educare) in schools as a holistic system of support for the left-behind at a school where LBC expend most of their time. This elevates and transforms the school from just being centers for education excellency but also centers for care and learner well-being. The chapter draws from qualitative data in which twelve left-behind learners and ten education and community informants participated in a focus group discussion. Findings revealed that the school has great potential to support learners in adverse living and learning situations through the curriculum, extra-curriculum clubs, peer groups, and school personnel (teachers in loco parentis). However, the same school environment was found to be associated with negative typecasting of LBC's that sometimes affects the support system. This chapter recommends building the support base for LBC within school through sensitizations, capacitation, and taping support from community resources.

**Keywords:** Educare, left-behind learners, psychosocial, learning, child-headed households, Zimbabwe

### **1. Introduction**

"Schools are not just place where we learn facts and numbers but also place where we learn how to live" Dewey (1899).

The vision shared by John Dewey in the nineteenth and twentiethth centuries about the school is still relevant today, more so, when world order and, in particular, parenting practices are under threat from global trends and most recently the

COVID- 19 pandemic. Globalization and the economic crises have triggered labor migration trends in Africa and part of the developing world [1, 2]. Adults, who are also parents in the developing world, take the option to migrate to local and international destinations seeking employment opportunities. This process has significantly transformed, destabilized, and reconfigured the traditional parenting and family structure [3]. Following parental labor migration, the key tenets that define parenting such as co-residence, care, and guidance are sometimes delegated or neglected, thus exposing the left-behind learners to unmet psychosocial needs. The parent is made to perform parenting duties from a distance, which limits them in terms of carrying out the expected interaction, care, and guidance responsibilities [4]. In some cases, the migrating parents were also incapacitated in terms of providing for the needs of LBC's due to challenges associated with the then prevailing COVID-19 restrictions. It is in view of these complications that this book chapter sought to explore the potential of the school in supplanting parental roles and become not only a center of education but also care and learner well-being (Educare).

This research paper acknowledges extensive research on left-behind children and child-headed households [3–5]. There is, however, limited scholarly attention when the two components are combined. The combination of LBC and CHH settings could be described as an abysmal combination as regards the psychosocial functioning and educational outcomes. This book chapter sought to expose the potential of the school as a stopgap measure to address the unmet psychosocial needs of the LBC's. The utilitarian definition and understanding of the school as a center for life lessons and pillar for care for learners is used. A more holistic understanding of education is used in which performance is not only measured by performance in traditional subjects such as Mathematics, languages, or Sciences but life lessons. Schools become centers for both education and care (Educare) in which issues to do with learner well-being are prioritized.

### **2. Background**

Parental labor migration has been part of the history of many of the developing world countries, and in Africa, traced back to the days of colonization. This has been accepted as a means for survival and millions of adults migrate largely from rural to urban areas in search of job and life opportunities. Driven by globalization, social and economic challenges migration trends in Zimbabwe, for instance, have taken an international flare [3, 6]. The search for life opportunities is no longer limited by geographical and national boundaries, but parents move to where opportunities are. Parents in Zimbabwe have found settlement in countries such as Australia, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Qatar, and China for employment. In Africa, South Africa hosts the bulk of the labor migrants, (up to 3.5 million) while others have moved to countries such as Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia, Namibia, and among others [6].

The migration of a parent or parents is often met with lots of joy and anticipation [1]. In Zimbabwe, this is usually driven by the hope for a better life provided by the migrating parent. Lots of sacrifices are made by the family in the attempt to meet the migration cost for the parent. In some cases, some families disposed of their family houses to pay for the air tickets and the visa requirements. The hope is that all that is sold to finance the migration processes will be replaced when the parent settles, especially in the global north. The settling of the parent in the global north marks the onset of "survival circuits" characterized by remittances that keep the left-behind children surviving the economic challenges associated with the global south [2].

### *Mitigating the Unmet Psychosocial Support Needs of Left-behind Learners in Child-Headed… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111450*

The remittances are not only significant for the family but they also contribute to the economy of the global north countries such as Zimbabwe [2].

Out of the more than 15 million people in Zimbabwe close to 7.7 million are children [7]. The children constitute close to half the population of Zimbabwe meaning they are important in terms of future planning. They need the proper upbringing so that they would be able to take up leading roles in the future. The UNHCR defines a child as someone immature below the age of 18. The immaturity may imply that the child is unable to feed and care for himself/herself. Thus, when the adult parent is not present in the life of the children there is indeed a chance that the children would be adversely affected in terms of their psychosocial functioning.

While the community makes attempts to address the plight of vulnerable children in CHH, the kind of support is described as not cohesive and comprehensive [8]. Support that is ad hoc fails to meet the psychosocial support needs of the left-behind learners. This understanding makes institutions such as the school significant. This study proposes to utilize the school as a center in the bulk, which support for children in adverse living and learning conditions could be coordinated. Outcomes, such as well-being and learner conduct, would be imparted to learners through both the curriculum and co-curriculum in school setups.

### **3. Left-behind learners in child headed household settings**

As parents migrate for labor, several restricting factors to do with immigration and the destination country sometimes makes it difficult for parents to migrate with their children [9]. Traditionally, when parents migrate, children were left in the care of the spouse or the extended family such as maternal or paternal grandparents were asked to assist. However, the breakdown of the extended family network and the prevalence of single parenting made this option difficult to make. Conflict over remittances between the migrating parents and the extended family is cited as one of the major factors leading to children being left in CHH [3]. Conflict usually arises because of remittances; some of the extended family members would feel they receive inadequate remittances, while the migrating parents would feel they are giving more. The result is some children considered "old enough" are left behind in their home country in child only families when parents migrate [10]. It is against this background that in Zimbabwe, there is a new growing population of children in CHH not because they are orphans but because the parents have migrated for labor. Left-behind learners (LBC) refers to children who are left behind for a period exceeding 6 months when parents migrate either to the cities or outside the country for work [11]. Following the breakdown of extended family networks and prominence of the nucleus family, many migrating parents end up leaving children in CHH.

In the developing world, children are more likely to be left in CHH because of single parenthood [12]. The number of female-headed households, in particular, is said to have increased dramatically driven by factors such as divorce and death of spouse [12]. This outcome eliminates the possibility of leaving the children with the other spouse when migrating. Females have also joined the bandwagon of labor migrants from Zimbabwe, and when they are single, they sometimes leave children in child only families. Zimbabwe, for example, has up to 40.6% female-headed households [13]. The feminization of labor particularly in the care field has triggered a massive exodus of women contributing to children being left behind in CHH. This to some extent contributes to the creation of this unique form of CHH [14].

Certain factors are considered by the migrating parents [5] before leaving their children in CHH. Such factors are primarily social and economic (gender, age, accommodation, and security, etc.). Jaure and Makura [1] assert that the gender of the LBC's is a critical factor that the migrating parent takes into consideration. In a study at a school in Zimbabwe and South Africa, Jaure, [1] for instance, observed that boys are more likely to be left in CHH when compared to girls. The possible reason is that they feel boys are less vulnerable as compared to girls [5, 12]. The reason may also be motivated by the general perception that regards sexual abuse as graver as compared to other forms of abuse. The idea that girls more than boys are known victims of abuse, justify this line of thinking.

The age and level of maturity of the LBC's is a factor [5] for consideration in determining the negative effects associated with parental migration. In a study conducted among LBC's in Zimbabwe, most of the LBC's are relatively mature, above the age of 15, at adolescence stage [10]. Nevertheless, the adolescence stage of development has noted developmental challenges that become compounded by lack of parental guidance. A study, in China, also affirms that the age and gender of the LBC were key predictors of negative psychological effects such as anxiety and depression [13]. Left behind girls tend to be affected by parental migration more than boys because in accordance to African culture, they are made to shoulder the household duties [7–24]. In that regard, girls are said to be affected more by parental migration as compared to boys.

### **4. Unmet psychosocial support needs**

As parents migrate, LBC find themselves experiencing unmet psychosocial support needs that in turn affect their learning outcomes. The LBC attending school becomes left-behind learners in the context of a school. Left-behind learners find themselves with unparalleled psychosocial challenges attributable to lack of parental supervision, set boundaries, love, guidance, and support [16]. This elucidates the significance of the adult parent in the home. Literature to date associates such learners with social and emotional challenges at home and at school making them a vulnerable group [1]. Findings drawn from several studies on LBC indicate that such children are associated with challenges such as hyperactivity, emotional, and peer problems [5, 17, 18]. This implies that the children fail to function properly and fail to relate with peers and siblings due to parental absence.

The lack of support systems contributes toward psychological problems that affect mental health including depression, poor psychological well-being, and health problems [19]. This is further elucidated by comparative analysis on the LBC compared to children living with their parents. The comparisons reveal that LBC's fare badly in terms of mental health as compared to those children who reside with their parents [20].

LBC's have also been associated with negative outside behaviors that are attributed to the absence of their parents. Separating internalizing from externalizing effects of parental migration is complicated because they are interdependent [10]. It is usually the inside effects such as loneliness, depression, and anxiety that lead to negative outside behaviors, for example, conduct challenges. The social and emotional maladjustments significantly affect their outward behavior. The outside behaviors noted in several studies on LBC include violent, aggressive behavior, drunkenness, and risky sexual behaviors [21–23]. Such behavior and conduct problems become significant learning problems that affect educational outcomes. In Zimbabwe, the LBCs are

*Mitigating the Unmet Psychosocial Support Needs of Left-behind Learners in Child-Headed… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111450*

associated with wild parties commonly known as *Vuzu* parties in which they abuse drugs, alcohol, and experiment with sex [10]. Children with both parents as migrants were noted as having lower scores for psychological well-being and higher scores for emotional symptoms and literacy problems when they are compared to conventional families [14]. This implies that parental care is an important factor that can influence well-being. The absence of the parent can trigger unmet psychosocial support needs that manifest through internalizing- and externalizing behaviors.

### **5. The unique form of CHH**

LBC in child-headed households are a recent development that partly owes their development to the demise of the extended family system [1–4, 6–13, 15–24]. This unique form of CHH has with its similarities and differences with the traditional CHH. Similarities and differences are noted in the composition and effects on children. A close analysis of the similarities and differences is significant in the process of trying to expose the unmet psychosocial support needs of the LBC's.

The traditional definition of a child-headed household carries with it connotations of orphans, poverty, or misery [8]. Discourse on CHH refers to children whose parents would have died, and the children live and fend for themselves [24]. Fending for themselves in this case implies that they provide their own meals, with no adult to care for them. The immediate family and the alternate carers who are usually drawn from the extended family are not available to provide care [8]. A qualitative study, conducted in Zimbabwe by Maushe and Mugumbate, [8] reveals that children who live and care for themselves have challenges with basic provisions such as food education, and clothing. There is also no adult to guide, love, and supervise the children. This, in turn, explains the poverty that the children are often associated with. Because of parental death the children left in child only homes become destitute and experience challenges in terms of school fees payment and are deprived of basic amenities [8].

Parental migration has redefined the child-headed household family setup. Firstly, the parents or parents are very much alive but because of labor migration, they reside separately from their children [10]. The parent can elect to continue playing a significant parental role in the lives of their left-behind children. In that regard, the parent is unable to perform parental duties full-time. When parents migrate, there is so much anticipation on the part of the left-behind children and other relatives. The idea that the parent would have migrated to better economies is the major reason for hope. The children sometimes become the envy of the community as the parent can provide the basics and luxuries. The migrating parents are said to make up for their absence by providing even more than what the children require. The migrating parent can also continue to interact with the LBC's through internet or mobile communication tools. This to some extent retains a level of intimacy between the LBC and the migrating parent.

Owing to parental labor migration, parenting is transformed from being a fulltime responsibility to being done remotely or part-time. Research indicates that in countries such as Zimbabwe and South Africa, labor migration is also responsible for the creation of this unique form of child-headed household [10].

LBCs represent parenting reconstituted and reconfigured. The traditional model of parenting and family model is represented by cohabitation and proximity [16]. The family resides under the same roof and shares meals. In the family setup, there are set

responsibilities for the parents and for children. However, when parents migrate, the parental roles are sometimes performed at a distance. The parent could still provide for the children through remittances. The parent can also share love over the phone or other social media platforms. In some cases, the eldest child would assume some of the parenting roles for younger siblings [10].

### **6. Traversing the COVID-19 pandemic complications/challenges**

Circumstances following the declaration of non-governmental pandemic have unsettled and disrupted order among this growing population of left-behind learners in Zimbabwe. The negative impacts are even more pronounced among those left behind in child-headed households (CHH). Such children are made to do without parental social and emotional support, parental guidance, parental love, and monitoring over prolonged periods of time. These ensuing environments are perceived to disadvantage them in terms of their psychosocial functioning and educational proficiency [14]. The plight of such learners is further compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic that to some extent, have crippled the traditional sources of their support, that is. return visits and remittances. Cross-border mobility became limited and made it difficult for the parent to make return visits [4]. This further prolonged the period of separation between the migrating parent and the LBC's.

A survey conducted in South Africa during the national lockdown induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, reveals that two out of five adults lost their source of income and ran out of money to buy food [25]. South Africa is of interest in this study because they house the bulk of the labor migrants from Zimbabwe [6]. When the migrating parent is incapacitated, it would also follow that remittances would be limited. Thus, children left behind in their homes are equally affected by what happens in the host country. The COVID-19-induced lockdowns affected the well-being of LBC's.

This makes it prudent to explore other schemes of support that would improve the psychosocial functioning and prevent or modify conduct problems among leftbehind learners. The goal is to ensure that left-behind learners and other learners in adverse living and learning conditions learn how to 'live.' In this case, 'live' entails coping and striving for improved well-being in the face of challenges associated with parental absence due to migration. The goal is to promote the acquisition of requisite social and emotional competencies (of LBC) for improved well-being and improved learning outcomes.

### **6.1 Methodology**

This study followed a qualitative route and had the following objective (i) explore schemes of psychosocial support for LBC's in the context of the school. Focus group discussions were held with purposively selected participants drawn from one secondary school in the Midlands province of Zimbabwe. The participants were seven left-behind learners (n = 7) and eight education and community informants (n = 8). Separate sessions were held for learners and adults (n = 7 + 8). The education informants were teachers, the school head, a senior teacher, and a school psychological services representative. The community contingent comprised a representative of the police community and liaison office and a representative of local nongovernmental organizations. To contextualize the envisaged support,

*Mitigating the Unmet Psychosocial Support Needs of Left-behind Learners in Child-Headed… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111450*

participants were asked to outline psychosocial challenges at school and at home. Thereafter, participants were asked to identify support systems within the school that could be utilized in building psychosocial support or mechanisms for the LBC's. Permission for the study followed an ethical clearance from the Central University of Technology (FRIC 21.18/2), permission was also granted by the Zimbabwe Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. Written consent forms were completed by the adult participants. Participants' names were coded to protect their privacy. The discussions were recorded on a digital recorder by the main researcher and later transcribed verbatim. This was to ensure an accurate record of the proceedings. Data analysis followed the thematic approach (Thematic analysis) in which codes and themes were used. The collected information was coded and categorized after it was transcribed. Coding entailed systematically analyzing the transcribed data and disaggregating it into similar constituent parts (code clustering of data sets). After coding, data were organized or categorized into themes. Each theme entailed a unique aspect, which we elaborate in the results section. The analyses were used to arrive at conclusions, notwithstanding the goal of the study and the study's research objectives [26].

### **7. Results**

Findings from this study revealed the different school-based avenues that have potential to be optimized for the support of left-behind learners affected by parental migration. Participants in the focus group discussion saw the essence of psychosocial support for left-behind learners in view of the unmet psychosocial support needs attributed to lack of parental support, monitoring, and discipline hand. By inference, this envisaged support is considered relevant in the face of threats posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants saw potential support as being housed in the curriculum, extra curriculum, school leadership, school culture, and in teacher-learner relationships.

Teacher participants acknowledged the significant role that is shouldered by the school in support of learners in adverse learning conditions. Teacher participant TR3 "We are teaching students from diverse backgrounds, some are orphans, some have parents in the diaspora and some are in poverty meaning to say now more than ever, as teachers we need to be innovative. The school is their hope, and the community expects the school to step in and make a difference." The school, in this case, is made up of diverse learners with diverse challenges. What stakeholders in the school expect is the transformation of the institute through innovations so that the diverse learners are accommodated and supported.

Participant TR1, who is an experienced teacher remarked, "So much is expected from the school in today's world, the teacher must play different roles depending on circumstances. Sometimes you are the father, mother, teacher, or even aunt, learners come to class with many different problems, and as a teacher, they look up to you for solutions." This implies that the teacher sometimes must play caring, teaching, and advisory roles among the learners. In playing the different roles the school as an institution goes through a transformation. The teacher is expected to be innovative and come up with solutions that would facilitate teaching and learning. Such an understanding of the teacher's role is significant in exploring the utilitarian role of the school in the support of learners. The key roles expected of parents, such as guidance and protection, are assumed by the teacher.

### **7.1 Curriculum-based support**

Participants revealed the critical role that the curriculum play in the support schemes of learners disadvantaged by adverse living conditions such as left-behind learners. The school curriculum in Zimbabwe has undergone several changes possibly to be apt to the transformation of society. More recently (2021) the Zimbabwe Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education launched the updated national curriculum. Participants also saw great potential in the support of left-behind learners within updated school curriculum. This was particularly pronounced in the guidance and counseling (G&C) course, and generally in crosscutting themes in all the learning areas. In this regard, a school head participant (SH) shared, "the new curriculum gives hope to disadvantaged learners because of its emphasis on guidance and counseling. True, left-behind learners need guidance and protection. If not, some end up abusing drugs and alcohol. We have several cases of learner dropouts because of pregnancy among these children of diaspora parents. This, G&C course, gives a fighting chance for left-behind learners because of its emphasis on life skills. Learners acquire decision-making skills, problem-solving skills among other skills." In other words, the school becomes a place where learners learn how to live according to Dewey [27].

Teacher participant TR2 also shared, "Indeed the G&C course is an important component of the curriculum, the only problem is that teachers fail to take it seriously and so learners fail to benefit much from its teaching. My suggestion is the Ministry need to train at least one full-time teacher." The learning area would teach and tackle real-life challenges and promote well-being among the learners.

"Cross-cutting issues within the updated curriculum can also help in resolving behavior problems among learners negatively affected by labor migration" (TR1). Cross-cutting themes in most of the learning areas in the syllabus include teaching on human rights, sexuality, Ubuntu, good citizenship, and social responsibility. Such themes when inculcated among learners would go a long way in assisting with coping strategies when challenges arise. Ubuntu is a guiding principle and an African philosophy that lays emphasis on humanity to others ('I am because you are'). The word Ubuntu comes from Xhosa and Zulu languages of Southern Africa. This social justice philosophy emphasizes love, generosity, collectivism, sharing of resources for the common good, and respect for one another. It is essentially a guiding principle in the realms of societal leadership, governance, and leadership. Fundamentally, it is premised on the notions of kindness, compassion, and individuality. The curriculum becomes a tool for capacitation, empowerment, and inculcation of Ubuntu principles. Learners, who are educated on human rights and sexuality, are more likely to protect themselves from issues such as abuse. The Ubuntu philosophy can also foster collaboration, respect, and social responsibility among the learners. It is through such courses that LBC's are empowered to deal with their unmet psychosocial support needs.

### **7.2 Teachers in the support schemes**

The teachers, who deliver the curriculum, were also revealed as a special group that could be utilized in the psychosocial support schemes of left-behind learners. Teacher support was suggested to be through lesson delivery, initiating a conducive learning environment, and through fostering positive relationships with learners.

### *Mitigating the Unmet Psychosocial Support Needs of Left-behind Learners in Child-Headed… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111450*

Teachers have capacity to introduce classroom management philosophies that foster positive behavior among learners. Participants brought to perspective the concept of loco parentis. According to SH, "teachers at college level are trained on the concept of loco parentis. This means that they are the local parent and can step into the shoes of the parent." This view suggests that the teacher is sometimes expected to play parental roles that may include emotional and physical support for learners going through challenges. Teachers in this regard take a leading role in educating the whole child as they do not concentrate not only on academic issues but also on the socioemotional development of the learner.

### **7.3 Positive school environment**

Participants shared that when the school environment is positive, it may occupy the young minds of learners thereby minimizing on negative behaviors. In that regard, the school leadership plays a major role in cultivating a positive school environment. School psychological services representative (SPS1) shared, "…every school has its tone, the school administrators are supposed to develop the correct school tone so that learners from diverse backgrounds would be comfortable at the school."

To achieve that end, participants, for example, TR1, TR2, SPS1, and SH1 identified key virtues that need to be nurtured in creating a positive school environment, for example, empathy, respect, working together, and discipline. In such a school environment, learners negatively affected by parental migration could easily get support. When the correct school environment is nurtured at school and develops to be a school culture, the support base for learners negatively affected by parental migration widens. "When the school has developed the correct environment, everyone has potential to support those who are down" (SPS1). The school would have a wide support base with the learners and teachers equipped with virtues such as empathy and respect.

However, participants noted that when the school environment is not positive the left-behind learners end up being negatively affected in terms of their psychosocial functioning. According to participant SPS1, "the problem at most schools is that leftbehind learners are negatively type casted and vilified by teachers, school administrators, and even by their peers, they are labeled troublemakers, truant, and spoilt." This labeling sometimes affects the learners socially and emotionally.

### **8. Discussion**

In the face of challenges associated with parental migration and compounded with the COVID-19 pandemic, the school was revealed as a potential source of support for left-behind learners. The school as an institution has capacity to define what needs to be learned and, in this regard, can teach well-being and coping strategies for learners affected by parental migration. This would be part of what Dewey (1938) described as teaching on life. Appropriate support schemes would facilitate improved psychosocial functioning among learners negatively affected by parental migration.

The school was also revealed as having potential to step into the shoes of the migrating parents. The concept of loco parentis shows that the teacher can step in and provide emotional and social support for learners. Social relationships are an important factor that influences well-being. This concept resembles the responsive classroom approach in which the teacher facilitates a joyful learning environment in which learners thrive both socially and academically. Such an environment would ensure that the learners thrive socially and academically. The goal is for the school to move from concentrating only on academic subjects but to also facilitate learner well-being.

When learners are equipped with social, emotional, and academic learning skills, the whole learner is educated [28, 29]. It is important that appropriate capacity development programs be in place to professionally develop the teachers for such roles. Negative typecasting of the LBC's negatively impacts on the learners' well-being. The disruptions associated with left-behind learners among other social challenges warrant the need to adopt the concept of educating the whole learner. A socially deprived learner would not thrive academically. Thus, the goals of teaching and learning would not be met. This makes it impossible to separate learner well-being with education.

### **8.1 Educare in schools**

A school is often defined as an institution for the acquisition of knowledge in a formal way under teachers [10]. However, over the years the defining features of the school have been transformed beyond this limit as the expectations of society from it widened. More so, many began to see potential in the school that goes beyond just teaching and learning. According to Dewey [29] it is at a school that we "learn how to live," implying that the school is for the greater good for society. This view regards the school as a dynamic institution that also facilitates the adaptation process among learners. The school is transformed to become a center for both education and care for learners (Educare). Learners are capacitated through the school to cope with their changing circumstances. Educare describes a holistic approach in which education and care are equally important and inseparable [25]. Care is defined as a process of responding to needs, and according to Noddings [28] "needs do not stop at the entrance of a classroom door." The child, who comes to school with unmet needs, would still be deficient when he/she enters the classroom. It is the onus of the teacher to totally ignore such needs or to try and facilitate measures to mitigate. Addressing the psychosocial needs of the learners would also enable the teacher to pursue his/her own teaching objectives. The school environment should be supportive and be ready to take over support when need arises.

For learners left in CHH, the school would provide the much-needed care. The school steps into the roles of the absent parent and provide guidance and supervision for the LBC. The school steps in to provide socially and politically desirable skills, knowledge attributes, and skills among learners [27]. John White in response to his own question on what schools are said schools should be institutions that promote human happiness and well-being [27]. By implication, when life, happiness, and well-being are under threat, the school is expected to step in. The societal expectations of the school are not fixed as change in society is not constant. New threats and challenges to happiness, well-being, and life continue to emerge, and the school is expected to be apt to the changes and challenges. The school is also defined as a self-determining institution. That is to say: it has capacity to "define what needs to be learned and unlearned, and in what ways" [27]. Thus, the school has potential to facilitate the acquisition of skills and outcomes that it wants among its learners. This potential and capacity of the school are what this study believe is essential when support for left-behind learners is envisaged. Different avenues were scouted within

the school culture, curriculum, extra-curriculum, school leadership, and classroom management for well-being support for learners affected by parental absence due to migration.

### **9. Conclusions**

The COVID-19 pandemic yielded far-reaching ramifications on left-behind learners who were already made vulnerable by parental migration. The lack of parental protection and support exposes left-behind learners to vulnerable conditions. This, in turn, affects the educational outcomes of the left-behind learners. This, therefore, calls to the return to the philosophy of Dewey in which education goes beyond words and figures but should equip the learner with life skills. It also calls on society to embrace Ubuntu in relating the LBC. This study revealed support in the school being housed within the curriculum, the teachers, and the school environment. It is of importance that the school environment be positive and enabling for learners to thrive. When the environment is positive, and enabling support would be available to everyone. Conversely, when the environment is not conducive and characterized with negative typecasting and labeling of left-behind learners, negative outcomes would be expected. It becomes the key responsibility of the school leadership to nurture a conducive learning environment through continuous engagements. In the face of adversity, the school has potential to be a center for hope.

A widened understanding of the school is vital and relevant in view of the threats posed by globalization, parental migration, and compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper calls for going back memory lane and adopt Dewey's lenses. The school becomes a place where there is hope, as learners learn life lessons. This transformation is significant considering that most children spend three-quarters of their waking time at school. The teaching staff needs to be capacitated through professional development to effectively play their loco parentis roles in the school realm. The teacher becomes a specialist for both education and care (Educare). Such approaches will surely mitigate the unmet psychosocial needs of left-behind learners in child-headed households in contemporary times.

### **Acknowledgements**

The researchers acknowledge financial support from the Central University of Technology, which funded the research from which this paper was conceived.

### **Conflict of interest**

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

*Parenting in Modern Societies*

### **Author details**

Ricanos Jaure\* and Alfred Henry Makura Central University of Technology, Free State, South Africa

\*Address all correspondence to: jaurericanos2019@gmail.com

© 2023 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

*Mitigating the Unmet Psychosocial Support Needs of Left-behind Learners in Child-Headed… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111450*

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### **Chapter 8**

## The Effectiveness of Foster Care Arrangements for Unaccompanied Migrant Children in Zimbabwe: A Case of Children under Foster Care in Dulibadzimu, Beitbrigde

*Mulwayini Mundau and Maxwell Chikowe*

### **Abstract**

The chapter examines the effectiveness of foster care arrangements for unaccompanied migrant children in Zimbabwe, with a specific focus on children in foster care in Dulibadzimu, Beitbridge. Through a qualitative research approach and an interpretive paradigm, the chapter highlights the formal and informal foster care arrangements for unaccompanied and separated migrant children that are existing as a place of safety, temporal home, community care, and as well an alternative shelter for the border town between Zimbabwe and South Africa. Furthermore, the chapter highlights the successes and possible challenges in dealing with this vulnerable group that is a product of economic migration between the two countries.

**Keywords:** children, foster care, migrant children, unaccompanied, Zimbabwe

### **1. Introduction**

The phenomenon of unaccompanied and separated migrant children is global, alarming, and escalating. Children on the move are widely confronted with multiple vulnerabilities and nations across the globe have a legal duty to provide social support and care. According to the UNHCR [1], 89, 3 million people around the world have been forced from their homes, and among these, 27, 1 million are refugees with over half of them being unaccompanied and separated children under the age of 18. Additionally, in 2019 there were also millions of children across the globe living outside their nuclear family environment [2].

In relation to Zimbabwe, the prevailing unfavorable socioeconomic circumstances have further made migration of children across national borders a serious challenge. In this regard, it was noted that Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVCs) in Zimbabwe have constituted a large number of children on the move [3]. The case with Beitbridge involves an increasing number of migrant children without company and living outside the family environment. And such children are confronted with

multiple vulnerabilities such as sexual and economic exploitation, and trafficking, so their situation requires special attention.

The escalating vulnerabilities for separated children without company raise questions on the effectiveness of the relevant alternative care option which suits their scenarios. This yawning gap in social protection demands an appreciation from social workers and all practitioners in the helping professions. In order to have a better appreciation of foster care, it is necessary to have an exploration of the effectiveness of foster care in the protection of unaccompanied and separated migrant children. The provision of care and support to OVCs has long been a global mandate also for Zimbabwe and therefore are high expectations that such children should be looked after within a family environment and foster care exists as the more recommended care priority option under the six tier system. And also, the international United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children stand strongly on the placement of children without company into foster care.

In line with the preambles of the UNCRC and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC), the constitution in Zimbabwe echoes that children should grow up in a family environment. It is the responsibility of the state to make sure that such entitlements are fulfilled and Zimbabwe has a long history of providing care and support to such children under a cherished tradition of Ubuntu. The strong tradition regards a child as everyone's child although such children belong to their nuclear families. The common adage such as "it takes the whole village to raise a child", presents the strong commitment of Zimbabwean villages to providing care and support to OVCs under various community structures. Foster care, therefore, stands as the predominant form of care in Africa and also in Zimbabwe, however much of such arrangements were informal.

Zimbabwe is confronted with the challenge of separated children without company in migration. These children are prone to facing unprecedented challenges in the face of the migration process. In particular, Beitbridge as a border district town has also received a large number of children transiting through the border. In relation to children on the move, according to International Organization for Migration (IOM) [4], foster care, or family-based care, is widely regarded as the best form of care for unaccompanied migrant children, as fewer children go missing from foster care compared to reception centers or institutions. Additionally, in relation to fostering vulnerable child migrants, IOM [4] notes that it is imperative to consider their special vulnerabilities and needs that are based on their triple characteristics of being children, being in migration, and without company of adults who know them well (their family or legal guardians).

### **2. The circumstances of unaccompanied and separated migrant children in Beitbridge**

The context of Beitbridge, being a border town makes it ideal for fostering services to shelter children who are separated through migration between Zimbabwe and South Africa whilst family tracings and reunifications will be awaited. Beitbridge is also a receiving district of unaccompanied minors coming up from high-sending districts such as Chipinge, Chimanimani, Chiredzi, Gwanda Bulawayo, and Mutasa. Apart from the above, the district is widely known for attractive commercial

### *The Effectiveness of Foster Care Arrangements for Unaccompanied Migrant Children… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111674*

activities, the illicit activities include rampant smuggling of contraband such as cigarettes and alcohol to South Africa and the importation of groceries, building materials, and many other supplies into Zimbabwe [5]. Such activities also attract high volumes of children looking for working opportunities. Concurrently the unfolding activities also make Beitbridge a risky place for children as it is highly characterized by high rates of prostitution, crime rates, and drug and substance abuse [3]. Additionally, IOM [5] noted both regular and irregular cross-border movements between Zimbabwe and South Africa for employment, trade, and commerce, seeking health services, family reunions, or illicit activities, which include trafficking in persons, smuggling of goods, and other illicit activities.

It is also imperative to state that Beitbridge is a major transit route for migrants from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who pass through Zambia or Mozambique and then Zimbabwe with the destination intention of South Africa. According to IOM [5], some migrants move from the Horn of Africa, including Ethiopia, Somalia, and Tanzania, moving from Zambia or Malawi and passing through the same Beitbridge district in Zimbabwe. It was estimated that 30–40% of the travelers traveling to South Africa, traverse through this route and hence it is estimated that nearly 6000 travelers use this route on a peak day when the Beitbridge border post is fully operational [5]. The nature of Beitbridge being both a transit, receiving, and destination district for unaccompanied and separated minors makes it a town of migrant children who have attempted to cross the border and failed and also for those who have been deported from South Africa. Such children are found stranded, and resultantly find shelter in foster care centers. This makes it more of an area of focus in relation to child protection and therefore, justifies the importance of foster care arrangements for unaccompanied and separated migrated children.

### **3. Fostering services and legislation**

Fostering unaccompanied and separated migrant children is both a legal and moral responsibility. It is an essential form of alternative care option for OVCs across the globe. The UNCRC and the UN Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children stand strongly on the placement of children without company into foster care homes. In line with the preambles of the UNCRC and the ACRWC, the constitution in Zimbabwe places a premium on children to grow up in a family environment [6]. In such scenarios, the foster care option is the recommended immediate safety net for children with unclear immediate family status.

In this regard, Zimbabwe's Orphan Care policy (1999), introduced a six-tier system and considers foster care as a fourth priority in the protection of children outside the family environment, with biological family being the first priority followed by extended family then community care, foster care, adoption and institutionalization as the sixth option and a last resort which should be avoided. These environments should be given consideration in their priority order. Despite the significant investments and efforts for years to increase the demand and promote foster care as an ideal form of alternative care, it is associated with low uptake and institutionalization has maintained a grip over foster care for over 20 years after the adoption of the six-tier system in 1999. The study agrees with the definition of the six-tier system as defined by the National Orphan Care policy (1999). The six-tier care environments should be

adopted in their priority order, with the first being the best and the sixth being the last resort and to be avoided.

### **4. Theoretical framework: fostering and children in need assessment framework**

The Children in Need Assessment Framework is an established systematic approach to the process of gathering information about children who may be in need and their families [7]. The assessment framework captures the three main pillars such as family and environmental factors, parental capacity, and children's developmental needs. The needs are looked at as interrelated parts that depend on each other and are critically essential for child development [7]. This framework was developed from the functionalist theory which regards the family as an equally essential system. This framework recognizes that individual needs are unique and therefore interventions should be individually tailored rather than having a universal care plan for OVCs. And also vulnerabilities varies across different age group and circumstance, and also much of them stretch through adult life. Sabates-Wheeler [8], rightly argued that vulnerabilities facing children differ from those of adults and there are child-specific vulnerabilities derived from asymmetrical power relations and inequalities in relation to resources, responsibilities, opportunities, voice, rights, and constraints. In the same view, these scholars further indicated that there are child-intensified vulnerabilities, which refer to vulnerabilities that may affect whole populations, such as migration, famine, or undernutrition, but have effects that are more damaging for children than adults.

In relation to the fostering of unaccompanied and separated migrant children, this model gives a view of how foster care arrangements effectively respond to the safeguarding and protection needs of these children. This assessment model is also essential to social work professionals working with families to inform their decision-making and foster parents in identifying the individual needs of each child. According to Turney et al. [7], studies indicate that good assessment is grounded in a thorough understanding of the child and family's situation, needs, and strengths, and to gain this knowledge, practitioners need to work directly with the child and their family. However, it needs to be supported by appropriate practice and research-based knowledge and tools to support practice [7]. The authors further state that keeping the child or young person 'in view' is fundamental to good assessment, and failure to do so can have severe consequences, as analyses of serious case reviews have consistently demonstrated. This provides essential guidelines in identifying the effectiveness of foster care in the protection of these children such that the effectiveness can be judged in relation to this framework.

Using this Children in Need Assessment Framework in the case of Beitbridge is likely to highlight multiple vulnerabilities that these children are likely to encounter. These may include among others, sexual and economic exploitation, and trafficking. Such proceeding circumstances have posed serious problems and exacerbated risky situations for such minors. The escalating vulnerabilities for these children question the effectiveness of the relevant alternative care option which suits their scenarios. This yawning gap in social protection demands appreciation from social workers. In order to have a better appreciation of foster care, it is necessary to have an exploration of the foster care arrangements in Beitbridge and appreciate their effectiveness in safeguarding and protecting this vulnerable group of children.

*The Effectiveness of Foster Care Arrangements for Unaccompanied Migrant Children… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111674*

### **5. Methodology**

In an endeavor to examine the effectiveness of foster care arrangements for unaccompanied children in the Beitbridge District of Zimbabwe, a qualitative research approach and an interpretivist paradigm were adopted. In this study, an indepth interview guide and a Focus group discussion guide, and a semi-structured Key informant interview guide were used. The adopted research approach and paradigm gave the researchers the freedom to conveniently establish the sample size which they could effectively handle in the context of constrained time and financial resources. The researchers were convinced that 6 Focus group discussions with children, 25 participants for in-depth interviews with foster care parents and caregivers that were purposively drawn from various foster care homes, and 6 key informants would constitute a significant population for the study. Key informants for this study were members of the District Child Protection Committee that were drawn from the Department of Social Welfare (Renamed Department of Social Development) Child Protection Society, Family Support Trust, International Committee of the Red Cross, International Organization for Migration, and the Immigration department.

### **6. Results**

This section of the chapter presents the research findings and the discussion thereof. These are centered on the foster care arrangements in Beitbridge, services available for unaccompanied and separated migrant children under foster and the effectiveness of foster care in the protection of unaccompanied and separated migrant children.

### **6.1 Foster care arrangements in Beitbridge**

This study had a specific objective of identifying foster care arrangements for unaccompanied migrant children in Dulibadzimu, Beitbridge. This study noted that there are formal and informal foster care arrangements for unaccompanied and separated migrant children in Beitbridge. Some of the foster care arrangements are formal and recognized by the Department of Social Development (DSD) while others are informal and unrecognized.

### *6.1.1 Informal foster care*

The study established that there are informal foster care arrangements for unaccompanied and separated migrant children in Beitbridge. In this type of foster community care, DSD is the main actor involved in the placement of child under foster care. Informal foster care identified in this study included kinship and community care whereby migrant children identified without an immediate family status are looked after by relatives, churchmates, and local community leaders traced and identified in Beitbridge, whilst waiting for a permanent solution. The findings capture informal foster care as also pre-stage to formal foster care, as such formal care initially starts as informal arrangements of foster care. In the process, most of the foster parents indicated that they registered after they felt the joy of bonding and blending with migrant children as theirs. From the findings, the cases of unaccompanied and separated children have involved children placed in foster care after

attempting to cross the border and failed. One of the foster care parents from the in-depth interviews said,

*"I'm staying with 2 children, the children were received from South Africa, and volunteered to look after them, and these children are also our church mates".*

The arrangement identified also involved unaccompanied and separated migrant children being looked after by community volunteers such as Community Case Care workers, local leaders such as councilors, and also Church leaders. The arrangements are widely popular as foster care in Dulibadzimu. One of the caregivers from the in-depth interviews said,

*"I volunteered to look after a child after I felt that there is a need, the child was roaming around my house and I felt pity as the child indicated that she couldn't find her parents in South Africa, she decided to come back".*

This indicated that migrant children before placement under foster care were identified whilst stranded and roaming on the streets. In addition, many of the children under informal foster care were registered as having biological families in South Africa and untraceable relatives in Zimbabwe. This indicates that children from unstable families are at risk of separation from caregivers and migrate unaccompanied across the national border. The vulnerabilities to which unaccompanied and separated migrant children are exposed motivate the community volunteers to take such children and look after them. This was also echoed by one of the in-depth interview participants, who said,

*"I picked the child when he was roaming in the streets and I felt so pity, he looked stranded and reported that he does not know the whereabouts of his parents, he was dumped by omalaicha (transporters) at the border, I decided to look after the child".*

From the extract, it can be noted that the motivation behind fostering unaccompanied and separated migrant children in informal care is rooted in some values of love, peace, and caring, in a society in which some caregivers have a positive desire for the betterment of children's lives. Another caregiver from the in-depth interviews confirmed that,

*"Sometimes, a child can be identified as unaccompanied and placed under foster through community and then the case will be reported after the child has been placed under foster care."*

The findings indicate that some caregivers are also motivated towards fostering non-relatives children as long they share some cultural values and language. Venda people prefer fostering a child speaking Venda, the same also applies to Shona and Ndebele people in Beitbridge. The issue of totem and religious beliefs are also behind the motivation to foster unaccompanied and separated children. Additionally, the study further noted that the nature of Beitbridge being a multi-cultural and also multi-lingual border town makes it a resource for fostering migrant children as they emerge from diverse cultural backgrounds with different languages. The town comprised people speaking different languages such as Venda, Shona, Ndebele, English,

### *The Effectiveness of Foster Care Arrangements for Unaccompanied Migrant Children… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111674*

Migrant children placed under informal foster care arrangements also experience love and care from unregistered caregivers. The findings noted that some children have lost bonding connection with their biological parents abroad and tend to develop strong bonds and healthy relationships with their foster caregivers such that they feel that they prefer staying with caregivers their entire life. One of the children that participated in the focus group discussions reported that,

*"I see my foster parent as my real mother as she picked me when I had nowhere to go. I attempted crossing over to South Africa and failed and mom took me to stay with her, this is my real mother, with regard to my biological mother in South Africa, I do not even know her number"*

Apart from the above, the findings also indicated that some children under informal foster care are subjected to unsafe environments and risky situations such as forced labor. Children raised issues such as forced labor, sexual exploitation, and emotional and physical abuse. This was also echoed by a key informant from DSD, "cases of females minors sexually abused under foster care have been reported and also the informal foster care arrangement are at most not known and undocumented by DSD. This suggests that informal foster care arrangements in Beitbridge also expose children to risky situations and unsafe environments characterized by multiple forms of abuse despite being a resource to shelter unaccompanied and separated migrant children.

### *6.1.2 Formal foster care*

The study findings also show that formal foster care is widely recognized by law and less adopted by the community. It is mostly considered an option after family tracings would have failed or in cases whereby the child is unwilling to be reunified with extended family or under community care. The findings from this study also noted that in Dulibadzimu, Beitbridge, formal foster care is a legal duty for social workers under the Department of Social Development and it is also a specific process with seven main stages. The first stage involves the identification and assessment of unaccompanied migrant child in need of foster care by a social worker, the child can be identified inside border area, or in South Africa by the immigration department or police and then referred to DSD for further assistance. Secondly, the child is placed in a place of safety at Beitbridge reception center (popularly known as IOM Centre) where they are not supposed to stay for more than 7 days without a court order. The third stage then involves the identification of a registered foster parent, a parent can be identified from the DSD register of foster care parents. Afterward assessments of foster the parent will follow as the next stage, looking at the suitability of the environment to the needs of the child. And then they will be an application of court order for placement of a child under foster care, prepared by a social worker writing to the high court. They will be an implementation of a court order through the placement of the child under foster care, this placement comes with an expiry date but can be extended in the event that it expired without a permanent in place. And finally case follow-ups by social work and they should be at least three within a year period.

In the study, it was also noted that the assessments in formal foster care capture critical issues relating to safeguarding and protection of the child such as the needs of the child and also parental capacity of the foster parent. It also captures the child's

### *Parenting in Modern Societies*

developmental needs and capacity to adapt to the environment. This is in agreement with the Children in Need Theoretical Framework which also informed this study that, assessments should look at three main factors such as domains of the children's developmental needs, parenting capacity, and family and environmental factors.

Children under formal foster care are largely known, and recognized by DSD. One of the in-depth interview participants said,

*"For me to be a foster parent, I started by going to the Department of Social Development, police services took my fingerprints and the social worker did my home assessments, that's when I qualified to be a foster parent. At first, I first I used to take children without the Department's knowledge and sometimes, the Department would bring children until I had the desire to register."*

This was echoed by another interviewee who said that *"the Probation officer is the one who gave us children for fostering, and at most I can be given a child together with a court order or I sign an affidavit form"* This suggests that foster care involves the registration of a foster parent by the Department of social development and followed by the placement of a child under a foster parent through a court order. From the above probation officer carry out the duties. This agrees with the Children's Act [56.01] which characterizes foster care as involving situations where children are placed by a competent authority, through a court order.

The findings also show that Foster parents received training and support from the government and partners, in order for them to provide quality care to migrant children. The forms of support they received targeted foster parents and also children there are fostering, this included home visits, foster care packages, and access to free health and education services. In this regard, one in-depth interview participant reported that,

*"from our training, we learned that formal foster care involves registration of foster parent through the department of social development and placement of a child under foster care by a probation officer through a court order"*

Such arrangements identified are in line with the provisions in the country's Children's Act [Chapter 5:06] [9], which states that foster parents should be selected, qualified, approved, and supervised for providing such care. However, one of the foster parents indicated that the training content does not equip them with relevant knowledge of how they should respond to multiple challenges faced in fostering unaccompanied and separated migrant children such as administering corporal punishment and discipline to the child. This was also echoed by all the key informants indicating that such training often does not cover critical issues on how to administer corporal punishment for such children.

### **6.2 Findings on circumstances of unaccompanied and separated migrant children under foster care**

The findings of the study show that children in informal foster and formal foster require special attention. Participants in this study expressed that children under informal foster care were reported to be more vulnerable than children in formal foster care arrangements. In addition, the circumstances of unaccompanied and separated migrant children living under both types of foster care are not similar, as

### *The Effectiveness of Foster Care Arrangements for Unaccompanied Migrant Children… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111674*

children under informal foster care were reported to be a high chance of illegal adoption, sexual exploitation, and forced labor. Whilst children under formal foster care are reported to be under better circumstances as their living arrangements are closely monitored by state agencies and partners. In contrast, it was also noted that children under informal foster care have funny and friendlier relationships with their caregivers as compared to children under formal care where many of the participants from the in-depth interviews expressed that *"you even fear to laugh or discipline the child, everything is very formal*". Notwithstanding that 90% of the key informants indicated that children under formal foster care have better access to child protective services than those under informal foster care.

### **6.3 Services available for unaccompanied and separated migrant children in foster**

The study noted there are specific services available to unaccompanied and separated migrant Children under foster care such as psychosocial support, mental health support, foster care packages, free educational and free health service.

### *6.3.1 Foster care settling packages*

The findings from the study noted that foster care settling packages are part of the once-off package available for children being placed and the package consists of \$75 USD, which caters to hygiene and dignity kits for the child. One in-depth interview participant said, *"there are organizations that support foster families with \$75, and such an amount compliments the support needed for the child."*

It was also noted that the foster care settling packages were reported to be essential in supporting the reintegration of unaccompanied and separated migrant children into the community. In relation to the number of foster parents accessing such packages, the findings noted 60% of the foster care parents indicated that they have not yet received the packages but they just heard about them. The other 40% of the foster parents who received the packages raised complaints that such packages are given only once off packages and cannot effectively respond to the basic needs of children alone, but rather they will be a need to complement such services. The majority of the participant confirmed that foster care settling packages complement the effort of foster families in looking after fostered children.

### *6.3.2 Free educational support*

The findings also show that children under foster care lose many years of schooling whilst in migration. From this study, it was noted that children who have dropped out of school constitute a large number of children under foster care with a total of six children enrolled in primary schools and then three secondary-going children. The foster care arrangement for unaccompanied and separated migrant children under foster care allows such children to be enrolled back in school. There are educational support services to support in circumstances where the foster parent cannot afford school fees. From these services the findings noted that such children are entitled to free education which covers school fees and uniforms through Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) and public assistance programs, it was indicated that children under foster care are a first priority to such services. One of the in-depth interviewees reported that "*The government meets educationally related expenses such as school fees and uniforms, but there is low uptake of such services due to children's* 

*unwillingness to return back to school".* This extract indicates that children under foster care have access to specific services such as free education and this is consistent with what was identified by Chibwana [6] that the children go to public schools and they rely on either BEAM or school fees paid by the government. Such services are stipulated in the social welfare assistance Act and are largely relevant.

### *6.3.3 Free health services*

From interviews with foster parents, it was noted that children under foster care are entitled to free health services through Assisted Medical Treatment Orders (AMTO). One of the foster care parents in the in-depth interviews said, "*With regards to health services, once a child gets sick, that is not an issue, we simply apply for the AMTO at the Department of Social Development, we are likely to be assisted for free"* In line with the foster parent's assertion, one child in the focus group discussions echoed that, *on one occasion, I got sick, I went to the hospital with my foster mother and she confirmed that social welfare is responsible for payment of such a service.*

The extracts indicate that foster families also depend on free services provided by the government to access health. On the other side, foster parents also highlighted accessing health services is a challenge for unaccompanied and separated migrant children under foster care as AMTO was said not to cover the essential medication and pills, at most the medication that can be accessed through AMTO is often unavailable in local clinics.

The findings also show that some foster families have the financial capacity to afford health services for unaccompanied and separated migrant children under foster care. From this study, it was also noted that there are foster families which afford health bills for children under foster care at their own cost. One of the interviewees said, "*I consider the child I have as mine and I have the capacity to meet the required bills just like what I do with my biological children under my parental care".* This indicates variations in the parental capacities of foster parents. Indicating that foster care parents have different parental capacity, some depends on state resources whilst some compliments were state services cannot reach.

The findings therefore suggest that foster homes have different capacities and offer different quality of life to children depending on the household income, some households depend on public assistance whilst some can sustain within their means to look after the child under foster care. This feeds well with what was noted by Chibwana [6] that, some foster families procure private medical facilities therefore they would not need the AMTOs it is well within their means to take care of the health needs of the fostered child. Henceforth foster care's responses to basic child protection needs vary from household to household, some families can afford to provide for the child whilst some families depends on public assistance.

### *6.3.4 Public assistance*

The study further noted that families fostering children also have a first priority in public programs and also the Drought Relief Programmes (DRP). Such provisions were identified as complimentary as fostering unaccompanied and separated migrant children is still a voluntary act than a well-paid activity. In support of this one of the in-depth interviews, participants said, "*Sometimes we are given rice and a bag of mealies through the drought relief program, we are not left behind, the Department of social development has promised us to receive a portion."*

### *The Effectiveness of Foster Care Arrangements for Unaccompanied Migrant Children… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111674*

From the findings, it can be noted that nutritional provision comes from both foster care households and also government and its partners. The quality of nutrition in foster homes varies from household to household depending on the household's capabilities. The findings of 80% of the children indicated that they do not access balanced nutrition whilst under foster care and at most they eat twice a day, whilst the other 20% indicated that they access food at any given time under foster care. The nutritional support provided does not fully suit children, particularly those under the age of 10 who demands special meals such as porridge and other supplementary meals recommended for children.

### **6.4 Foster care arrangements for unaccompanied children from the Children in Need Assessment Framework's lens**

At the heart of the triple focused Children in Need Assessment Framework's principles of family and environmental factors, parental capacity and children's developmental needs is the safeguarding and promotion of the child's welfare. The framework provides a holistic and interrelated view of the parts that are critical to a child's development. In relation to the study at hand, this framework was of critical relevance in bringing out what exactly to focus on when exploring these foster care arrangements for unaccompanied and migrant children's welfare needs.

It is imperative to highlight that the framework promotes the use of relationships with other assessment processes and tools in the assessment of the child's needs. In this regard, the study relied on various sources to obtain a clear understanding of the inter-relationship between a child's needs, parents' capacities, and the impact of family and environmental factors according to the United Kingdom's Department of Health [10]. For the purposes of this study, information was sourced from foster parents, caregivers as well as key informants that also included key government departments like the DSD.

In line with this framework, the dire need situation of these children has been made clear. The various forms of care that children are exposed to are likely to affect them either positively or negatively. The study's findings show that there are two common forms of care in Beitbridge and these are informal and formal care systems. Within the context of the Children in Need Assessment Framework, the informal care system is likely to expose children's various developmental needs, parental capacity as well as family and environmental factors.

Furthermore, the framework provides the linkages between the child welfare providers. In this regard, there are collaborative efforts between the foster care homes and the DSD (Public Assistance program), Ministry of Health (providing AMTOs), Ministry of Education (BEAM program), and other private organizations that are committed to the provision of child welfare services. However, the findings point to the shortage of resources and failure to attend to special needs like for those below the age of 10 years. There is therefore a need to broaden the levels of collaboration in order to cater to all the children's needs.

The study is therefore of great significance in highlighting the multidimensional needs for children's development. It is, therefore, critical for the Zimbabwean government to address the emergency of informal care systems for unaccompanied and migrant children in Beitbridge and all other districts with the same challenges. In addition, the study also highlights the inadequacy of services provided to these children. It is therefore imperative for the country to ensure the provision of all the

basic needs that contribute to a child's holistic development in collaboration with all critical stakeholders in the child welfare sector.

### **7. Conclusion**

In summation, there are formal and informal foster care arrangements for unaccompanied and separated migrant children. The arrangement in Beitbridge involved children placed under foster care as a temporal arrangement whilst waiting for family tracing outside Beitbridge and in some scenarios involved children being fostered by extended families, local leaders, and churchmates. From the arrangement, it was established that foster parents prefer to foster children with whom they share similar totem, church, and languages. This is well in line with existing literature that, most of the urbanites who foster children are not bound by the traditional beliefs which are inhibitive to the concept of foster care [6]. Foster care arrangements differ extensively in the quality of care they offer to children. The foster care arrangements depend on government-sponsored services and also on their own resources to look after the children there are fostering. From the services it was noted that foster families that depend on state provisions are compromised on the quality of care they offer to unaccompanied and separated migrant children, whilst foster families that depend on their own provide better quality care to fostered children. The study also finds out that services around foster care arrangements are fragmented, less coordinated, and undocumented, this tends to make foster care unaccountable and compromise the quality of care for children in foster care.

### **Acknowledgements**

The researchers would like to express their heartfelt acknowledgments to the Ministry of Social Development in the Beitbridge District, all the child welfare organizations, and the individual participants that volunteered to participate in this study.

### **Conflict of interest**

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

*The Effectiveness of Foster Care Arrangements for Unaccompanied Migrant Children… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111674*

### **Author details**

Mulwayini Mundau1 \* and Maxwell Chikowe2

1 Department of Sociology and Social Work, National University of Lesotho, Maseru, Lesotho

2 Department of Social Work, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe

\*Address all correspondence to: lmundau@gmail.com

© 2023 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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[2] United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). State of the World's Children: Excluded and Invisible. New York, USA. 2019. Available from: https:// www.unicef.org/sowc06/pdfs/sowc06\_ fullreport.pdf

[3] Save The Children. Protecting Children on the Move: A Guide to Programming for Children Affected by Migration and Displacement. 2018. Available from: https://resourcecentre. savethechildren.net/node/13638/pdf/ children\_on\_the\_move\_programme\_ guide.pdf

[4] International Organization for Migration (IOM). Handbook on Unaccompanied and Separated Children. 2017. Available from: https://www.iom. int/sites/default/files/HANDBOOK-WEB-2017-0322.pdf

[5] International Organization for Migration (IOM). Population Mobility Mapping Zimbabwe | Beitbridge. 2020. Available from: https://displacement.iom.int/system/ tdf/reports/POPULATION%20 MOBILITY%20MAPPING.%20 ZIMBAWE%20%20BEITBRIDGE. pdf?file=1&type=node&id=10300

[6] Chibwana MWT. Foster care ontologies: A qualitative study in Zimbabwe. Journal of African Studies and Development. 2019;**11**(6):118-131

[7] Turney D, Platt D, Selwyn J, Farmer E. Social Work Assessment of Children in Need: What do we know?

Messages from Research. Research Brief. School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol. 2011

[8] Sabates-Wheeler R. Migration and Social Protection: A Concept Paper. Development Research Centre on Migration, Globalisation and Poverty Arts C-226, University of Sussex. Brighton BN1 9SJ. 2010

[9] Children's Act [Chapter 5:06] of 1997. From: https://www.justice.gov/sites/ default/files/eoir/legacy/2013/11/08/ childrens\_act.pdf

[10] Department of Health, UK. Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families Guidance Notes and Glossary for: Referral and Initial Information Record, Initial Assessment Record and Core Assessment RecordsThe Stationery Office Ltd. 2000. Available from: https:// bettercarenetwork.org/sites/default/ files/Framework%20for%20the%20 Assessment%20of%20Children%20 in%20Need%20and%20Their%20 Families%20-%20Guidance%20 Notes%20and%20Glossary.pdf

## *Edited by Teresa Silva*

This book debates the high impact modern societies have on the way we raise children. Although problems such as family dysfunction, work–family imbalance, and migration due to war, violence, and poverty are not new, their consequences for children's well-being and mental health are aggravated by the lack of effective social support networks affecting many children and families living in contemporaneous urban areas. The proverb "It takes a village to raise a child" is as valid now as it was in the early history of less complex communities. However, extended families and the social environment of villages have been substituted by a system of welfare and childcare institutions that, in many cases, fail to provide the appropriate care, education, and support the children need. Job-demanding competitive societies, where career achievement and wealth become the definition of success, force parents to the duality of choosing between family and career and depending on others to parent their children. Likewise, social inequality compels many parents to work in neverending shifts that add to the hours they spend commuting to their workplaces. Sometimes, parents are forced to migrate, leaving their children behind. Children learn to survive in the absence of their parents and to deal with small or inexistent parental emotional investment. The parent-child relationship and attachment necessities are impacted in ways that will affect children for the rest of their lives. Alternatively, migrant children accompanying their parents to a new host country may feel the shock of a normative society with cultural values different from the ones they left behind. Parenting behaviour and style may then be considered inappropriate, challenging parents' ability to educate and pass their values to the offspring. This book is an academic reflection on these controversies.

## *Katherine K.M. Stavropoulos, Education and Human Development Series Editor*

Published in London, UK © 2023 IntechOpen

© NeoLeo / iStock

Parenting in Modern Societies

IntechOpen Series

Education and Human Development, Volume 7

Parenting in

Modern Societies

*Edited by Teresa Silva*