Journal of Pedagogical Research

Volume 4, Issue 1, 2020

http://dx.doi.org/10.33902/JPR.2020058810

Research Article
Investigating psychosocial problems of orphan
children in primary schools
Solomon Kassie Alem1

Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia

The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychosocial problems of orphan children in public
primary schools. The study is based on a mixed-type research design focusing on both quantitative and
qualitative research approaches. A total of 73 participants were involved in the study. Fifty-five orphaned
students who were participated in filling the questionnaires were selected using simple random sampling
technique while six orphaned children, nine teachers and three non-governmental officials were
participated in the interview were selected through purposive sampling technique. To analyze the data
descriptive statistics, mean score and standard deviation was calculated to determine the psychosocial
problems of orphan children. One sample t-test also computed to see whether there was statistical
significance different between the expected and actual mean scores at the t-value on the psychosocial
problems of orphan children. Data collected through interview was presented and analyzed thematically.
The results revealed that orphan children were exposed to diverse psychological problems, economical,
social related problems and exhibited in problematic behaviors that tremendously affect their education
and life in general. Considering the results, it was recommended that stakeholders, teachers and
caregivers should establish a support system at different levels and play a major role to fulfill the
psychosocial needs of orphan children.

Keywords: Psychosocial problems; Orphan children; Primary school

Article History: Submitted 8 January 2020; Revised 6 March 2020; Published online 12 March 2020

1. Introduction
According to the report of UNICEF (2017) there are nearly 140 million orphan children worldwide
who have lost one or both parents. Reports from Save the Children UK (2009), within Ethiopia 5.5
million children, around 6% of the total population and 12% of the child population, are
categorized as orphans or vulnerable children (OVC); of which over 83% of OVCs are living in
rural settings and, of these, 855, 720 are children orphaned as a result of the death of one or both
parents due to HIV/AIDS (Save the Children UK, 2009). Therefore, orphan children are requiring
the support of the community to improve their future life. Ethiopia has been brutally challenged
and characterized by decades of conflict, food insecurity, extensive and abject poverty, and rapid
population growth (UNICEF, 2004). Studies conducted by Tesfaye et al (2005) and, Abebe and

Address of Corresponding Author

Solomon Kassie Alem, Bahir Dar University, College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, Department of Special Needs and Inclusive
Education, P.O.Box 79, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.

[email protected]

0000-0001-7071-0276
How to cite: Alem, S. K. (2020). Investigating psychosocial problems of orphan children in primary schools. Journal of Pedagogical
Research, 4(1), 46-56.
 S. K. Alem / Journal of Pedagogical Research, 4(1), 46-56 47

Aase (2007), the number of children who are orphaned in Ethiopia is rising at an alarming rate and
most of this increase is explained by AIDS-related adult mortality.
The adverse effects of the AIDS epidemic are felt most severely in some of the world‟s poorest
countries in sub-Saharan Africa, where one of its consequences has been an upsurge in the number
of orphaned children (UNAIDS, 2006). For adolescents, parental sickness or loss may lead to risky
behaviors, sexual exploitation or abuse, as well as the burden of finding employment to support an
ailing parent or younger siblings. Parental HIV seropositive status affects the psychosocial
adjustment of children and makes them more prone to stigma and discrimination. Orphaned and
fostered children are more likely to be discriminated against in schooling and health care, and they
are more prone to neglect and abuse (UNICEF and UNAIDS 2006).
Stover et al (2005) indicated that children need various types of support ranging from those
things necessary for survival, such as food and health care, to those interventions that will provide
a better quality of life in the future such as education, psychosocial support and economic self-
sufficiency. Some argue that a holistic program to support children should include all necessary
elements including food, health care, education, clothes, shoes, bedding, psychosocial support and
economic self-sufficiency among the caregivers, stakeholders, school community, governmental
and non-governmental organizations. Others hold that some of these elements are not “essential”
or far exceed the situation of most children living in poor households with both parents. In recent
decades, the image of the orphan has come to embody child vulnerability in sub-Saharan Africa.
Estimates of the alarming numbers of children being orphaned by AIDS-related deaths in the
region raised international concern about an „orphan crisis‟ and the „burden‟ of their care in
already fragile family and community circumstances (Abebe and Aase 2007). Wood, Chase and
Aggleton (2006) argued that the way children respond to parental loss is very complicated and
depends on factors such as their developmental age, survival drives, sensitive caring, and the
amount of comfort and encouragement they receive from their social environment.
1.1. Background
Ethiopia counts one of the largest populations of orphan and vulnerable children in the world
(Zewdineh, 2008). The loss of a parent is a hardship for any child, but the availability of care from
other sources can have a meaningful impact upon recovery and ongoing development (Smyke et
al., 2007). Every child requires basic needs to develop and grow to a healthy and responsible adult
(UNICEF, 2016). A child requires parental love, care and protection in the early stages of
development. The immediate family and environment of a child is critical in determining how that
child develops because it is in this environment that they get nurtured, thereby experiencing love
and acceptance, a sense of belonging, safety and security as well as developing trust, respect and
confidence. In the psychological literature, studies such as Bhargava (2005) and Cluver et al. (2007)
suggest that orphans may score lower in indicators constructed to reflect social and emotional
adjustment and are more likely to report symptoms of depression, peer relationship problems and
post-traumatic stress. Orphans were negatively impacted when they perceived a lack of caring,
particularly when they received inferior treatment compared with the caregivers‟ biological
children (Ansell & Young, 2004).
In most of the African countries, close to half of the children enrolled in primary schools cannot
manage to access secondary education because of the inability of the caregivers to finance their
education at this level (UNAIDS, 2010). Orphan children and vulnerable children fall in the
category of the disadvantaged group (UNICEF, 2016). Access to food, shelter and education
remains a key challenge for orphan children. This is due to the fact that their vulnerability has
greatly been aggravated by lack of supportive socioeconomic factors such as quality health,
income, and demographic changes.
Children in orphanage resident care face many difficulties such as poverty, poor physical
health, attachment disorders, inadequate social skills, and mental health difficulties. Added to this
is the loss of one or both parents, which is difficult for the children. It makes them more vulnerable
 S. K. Alem / Journal of Pedagogical Research, 4(1), 46-56 48

to psychological problems, and the effects may not manifest until many years afterward (Atwine et
al., 2012). Orphans and vulnerable children are subjected to multiple ongoing stressful and
traumatic life events such as abuse, neglect, parental loss, sexual abuse among others (Murray et
al., 2013).
Depression is a deep sadness with long-term harmful effects on the health and development of
the individual. When parents die, children not only miss their physical presence but also many
positive things they gave them when they were alive such as love, care, and protection. In many
instances, orphans and vulnerable children have no one to share their grief with, and this can
compound their sense of helplessness. The lack of support during the grieving process and
inadequate help in adjusting to an environment without their parents may lead children to become
depressed (Masmas et al., 2012).
Many orphans who feel rejected and despair need social support. Such social support is more
than a matter of social relationships or social contact: rather it implies providing emotional and
material resources (Brannon, 2008). Therefore, the number of acquaintances a person has or the
number of people with which he/she associate will not be a good indicator of social support.
Multiple studies revealed that orphans suffer higher levels of psychosocial distress than their non-
orphans peers. In particular, maternal and double orphans are more likely to experience
behavioral and emotional difficulties, suffer abuse, and report lower rates of trusting relationships
with caregivers (Baaroy& Webb, 2008). Literature on psychosocial competence also has shown that
people with low sense of self efficacy and a higher feeling of helplessness are more likely to
become more depressed and ill. However, it was noted that self-efficacy is often found to be
situation specific, meaning a person could have high self-efficacy in one situation may not have in
another. Theories in the areas of child development suggest that the manners in which children are
reared have considerable impact on their ability to assess and solve problems (Darge,
1997).Although some children are able to adapt to loss without any special intervention it is also
true all children who lose a parent obviously suffer with differing degree and have to cope with
the loss (Humuliza, 1999).
Severely distressed children may suffer not in one way but in many ways; they may be very
lonely, suffer from the loss of their parents, worried about being separated from their siblings, they
may find themselves in a situation where they will be abused and neglected, hungry and ill. They
may also grieve for long periods over lost opportunities. Moreover, they may not have someone
who gives love and comfort or talk and listen to their needs and concerns (Humuliza, 1999). A
number of recent studies have shown that orphans are more vulnerable than non-orphans with
respect to schooling. Case et al. (2004), using cross-sectional data from 10 sub-Saharan African
countries, concluded that orphans are less likely to be enrolled in schools than non-orphans with
whom they live. This study also found that orphans who lived with distant relatives and unrelated
caregivers had lower school enrollment than those who lived with a close relative. A descriptive
study of 40 nationally representative household surveys in sub-Saharan Africa observed that
orphans were considerably less likely to attend school than non-orphans, and double orphans
were most likely of all to be disadvantaged in schooling (Monasch and Boerma, 2004).
In recognition of the psychosocial problems of orphaned children in their various settings, it is
essential to conduct a systematic investigation into the actual problems. Hence, the principal
purpose of this study was to investigate the psychosocial problems of orphaned children. At the
end this study tried to answers the following basic research questions:
 What are the psychosocial problems of orphan children?
 What are the support and intervention strategies rendered to orphan children by different
organizations?
 What are the psychosocial needs of orphan children?
 S. K. Alem / Journal of Pedagogical Research, 4(1), 46-56 49

2. Research Method
2.1. Research design
Convergent parallel mixed method design was employed to investigate the psychosocial
problems of orphan children in five public primary schools in Injibara town. Convergent parallel
mixed method design is a form of mixed methods design in which the researcher converges or
merges quantitative and qualitative data in order to provide a comprehensive analysis of the
research problem. In this design, the investigator typically collects both forms of data at roughly
the same time and then integrates the information in the interpretation of the overall results.
Contradictions or incongruent findings are explained or further probed in this design (Creswell,
2014). The researcher employed a descriptive survey design for the quantitative research method
and a phenomenological study design for the qualitative research method.
2.2. Study area
The study area which was chosen to conduct the study is Injibara town and which is found in
Awi Administrative Zone, in the Amhara regional state in Ethiopia. Five primary schools namely
Kossober, Bahunk, Injibara, Bata and Anedent primary schools have been selected purposefully.
The schools have been selected purposefully because of the following reasons; the researcher can
easily contact with orphan children and other participants, the presence of adequate number of
orphaned students in the schools and the schools have long years of experience in teaching
orphaned children.
2.3. Participants
There were around 205 orphaned students in these five selected public primary schools in
Injibara town. Fifty five orphaned students were participated in filling the questionnaires were
selected by simple random sampling technique and questionnaires were administered to these
selected research participants. Furthermore, six orphaned children, nine teachers and three non-
governmental officials were participated in the interview selected through purposive sampling
technique. A total of 73 participants were involved in the study (see Table 1).
Table 1.
Demographic characteristic of respondents
Participants Characteristics Frequency Percentage
Orphan Children Sex Male 27 44.27
Female 34 55.73
Age 12-15 32 52.46
15-18 29 46.54
Grade 1-4 20 32.78
5-8 41 67.22
Parents you loss Father 9 14.75
Mother 10 16.39
Both 42 68.85
Teachers Sex Male 5 55.6
Female 4 44.4
Age 20-40 3 33.3
Above 41 6 66.7
Experience Above
5-15 41 years 3 33.3
Above 16 6 66.7
Educational level Diploma - -
Degree 9 100

Degree

Master
 S. K. Alem / Journal of Pedagogical Research, 4(1), 46-56 50

Table 1 continued
Participants Characteristics Frequency Percentage
Non-governmental Sex Male 3 100
Officials Female - -
Age Female
20-40 3 100
5-15 3 100
Experience Above
5-15 16 - -
Above 41
Diploma - -
Above
Degree16 3 100
Educational level
Master - -
Educational level

Table 1 depicted the general background information of the participants. Regarding to their
sex more than half of orphan students 34(55.73%) were females and the rest 27(44.27%) of the
respondents were males and more than half of orphan children age inclined between 12-15 years
32(52.46%) and others between 29(46.54 %) 15-18 years. The majority of orphan children 42(68.85
%) were lost both of their parents, nine orphan children lost 9(14.75%) lost their father the
remaining ten of the respondents 10(16.39%) were lost their mothers.
2.4. Instruments
2.4.1. Questionnaire
The questionnaires primarily developed by the researcher based on the extensive literature
review in the area. Questionnaires were designed to obtain information to respond to the basic
objectives of the study. Before the major data collection a pilot study was conducted in two
primary schools. The main objective of the pilot test was to improve the items which needed
modifications. A pilot study was conducted on 30 orphan children at Lideta and Kessa primary
schools. These two primary schools were not included in the actual study. The pilot test results
confirmed that Chrombach alpha coefficient values of 0.712 (10, items), 0.831 (6, items), 0.729 (8,
items), 0.810 (4, items) and 0.752(4, items). All the five subscales had Chrombach alpha coefficient
values .70 and above. Hence, all the 32 items in the five subscales were finally used as data
collection tool for this study.
2.4.2. Interview
Interview is one of the commonly used instruments for collecting data. In this study, semi-
structured interview was employed to gather essential information from the participants. To
obtain valid and reliable data for the study, various methods of approaches such as triangulation,
member checking and expert review were employed. Terms abound in the qualitative literature
that address validity, such as trustworthiness, authenticity, and credibility (Creswell & Miller,
2000). In order to increase the validity of the findings, the researcher deliberately seeking
evidence from extensive variety of sources and comparing findings from the different sources.
The researcher used semi structured interview guide to collect the data. The interview sessions
lasted between fifty minute and one hour with each interviewee.
2.5. Data Analysis
To carry out the analysis of quantitative data SPSS was used and the collected quantitative data
were entered into the software. The descriptive statics frequency, mean score, standard
deviations were calculated to determine the psychosocial problems of orphan children. One
sample t-test also computed to see whether there was statistical significance different between the
expected and actual mean scores at the t-value on the psychosocial problems of orphan children.
Data collected through semi- structured interview analyzed thematically. Thematic analysis
provides the opportunity to code and categories data into themes. For example, how issues
 S. K. Alem / Journal of Pedagogical Research, 4(1), 46-56 51

influence the perceptions of participants. In the case of thematic analysis, processed data can be
displayed and classified according to its similarities and differences (Miles and Huberman 1994).
Data analysis involved gathering information, determining themes and allocating information
into the already preset themes. Hence, the preset category technique has been applied to organize
the data according to its set of information and eventually, qualitative report has been
accomplished (Creswell, 2003).
3. Results
3.1. Quantitative results
The descriptive statistics (see Table 2) showed that the mean score of the respondents on the
psychological problems; the actual mean score was (M=10.44 with SD=8.032) was greater than
the expected mean score (M=7). In addition, one sample t-test analysis also yielded that there was
statistical significance difference between the two mean scores at the value of (t=3.347 at df= 54,
p=0.001) two tailed. The result revealed that orphan children were exposed to diverse
psychological problems that tremendously affect their education and life in general. This
indicates that the orphan children are seeking the support of others to reconstruct their
psychological health.
Table 2.
Results of one sample t-test analysis on psychosocial problems of orphan children
Sub categories of Expected Actual Standard
No df t Sig
psychosocial variables Mean Mean Deviation
Psychological problems 55 7 10.44 8.032 54 3.347 0.001
Problematic Behaviors 55 3 5.87 2.520 54 8.892 .000
Social Related Problems 55 4 5.30 2.722 54 3.715 .000
Economic Problems 55 2 4.34 3.573 54 5.125 .000
Violating rights of orphan
55 3 5.30 3.030 54 5.917 .000
children
Statistically significant at p≤0.05

In this category similar procedures were applied to test the behavioral problems showed by
orphan students in five selected primary schools in Injibara town. The result obtained from the
respondents indicated that the actual mean score (M=5.87 with SD =2.520) was higher than the
expected mean (M=3). Additionally, one-sample t-test analysis also computed and showed that
there was statistically significant difference between the two mean scores at the value of (t=8.892
at df= 54, p=.000). This result suggested that the problematic behaviors were observed on
orphaned children in the study area sever than the expected. Hence, the occurrence of
problematic behaviors in the class room affects the education and life of orphan children. This
shows that the orphan children are requiring the support of others to restructure their
problematic behaviors into acceptable type of behavior.
The descriptive statistics result revealed that the mean score of the respondents on social
related problems the mean score was (M=5.30 with SD=2.722) which is greater than the expected
mean score (M=4). Furthermore, one sample t-test analysis was tested (t=3.715 at df= 54, p< 0.05).
This result indicated that there was statistical significant difference between the two mean scores.
The result obviously showed that social related problems were the serious challenges for the
orphaned children in the selected primary schools in Injibara town. Thus, socially related
problems that orphan children faced inside the school and outside the school affects their
education and later life. This implies that orphan children are looking for the support of the
school community and others to resolve their social related problems and consider them as part
of the society.
To determine the economic problems of orphan children the descriptive statistics was
computed. The result obtained from the participants showed that the actual mean score was
 S. K. Alem / Journal of Pedagogical Research, 4(1), 46-56 52

(M=4.34 with SD= 3.573) is higher than the expected mean score (M=2). Moreover, one sample t-
test was tested and it indicated that there were statistically significant difference between the two
the mean score (t=5.125 at df= 54, p=.000). Thus, the findings of the study evidently showed that
economical problems were very unending problems for orphaned children in primary schools in
Injibara town. Hence, the education of orphan children in primary schools in Injibara town
strongly affected due to economical problems they faced. This indicates that orphan children are
requiring the support of the school community and other stakeholders to participate for financial
support.
The same procedures were applied to examine violated rights of orphan children in selected
primary schools in Injibara town. The descriptive statistics result indicated that the actual mean
score was (M=5.30 wish SD =3.030) and the expected mean score was (M=3). Similarly, one
sample t-test was tested and it indicated that there were statistically significant difference
between the two mean score (t=5.917 at df= 54, p=.000). Therefore, the result clearly indicated
that orphaned children were not utilized their basic rights in the school and outside the school
environment. Consequently, rights of orphan children to have free access to education, to get
basic necessities and to protected from any types of exploitations violated by the school
community and others. Thus, orphan children in primary schools in Injibara town need the
support of the school community, stake holders and other community members to respect their
rights and to be part of the real realization.
3.2. Qualitative results
Qualitative analysis results were presented five themes: Psychological problems, Problematic
Behaviors, Social Related problems, Economic Problems and Violating Rights of Orphan Children.
3.2.1. Psychological Problems
Orphaned students were asked during the interview sessions about the psychological problems
they faced after loss of their parents; all of the interviewed orphan children stated that their
parental illness and death caused them to bottomless sadness and pain in their life. They were
also explained that loss of parents generates a lot of anxieties, fears, loneliness, emotional shock
and produce long lasting effects on their life. All (n=6, 100%) of the interviewed orphaned
children responded that they suffered in one or more emotional experiences following the death
of their parents such as felt pain, discomfort in body or mind and exposed to extremely
distressing experiences that cause their overall development. In line with this idea orphan child 1
stated his feelings in the following ways;
“I dislike myself after I lost my parents, I prefer to die rather than to live, and I have poor appetite,
poor sleeping and my future life is unrecognized. I have no any clear dream and destination; I don‟t
know why I‟m here.”
Likewise to the above idea, all the interviewed teachers also reported that orphaned children
faced many psychological challenges because of being orphan hood after the death of their
parents. They also indicated that orphan children tried to solve many of their own problems, but
sometimes they became swamped by facing too many psychological problems at the same time.
They also reaffirmed that most of the orphan children complained of a headache in the
classroom, lacked interest to attend their education effectively, most of them disliked themselves
and felt discomfort in the classroom.
3.2.2. Problematic Behaviors
Almost all of the teachers reported that orphan children showed very problematic behaviors in
the school such as cried excessively, spoken very little or loud, usually missed the school, had
disobedient behaviors, aggressive towards people and withdrawal of themselves from any types
of school activities. They were also explained that most of the time orphan children suffered by
ruthless depression feelings, showed self destructive behaviors and fought with other children.
 S. K. Alem / Journal of Pedagogical Research, 4(1), 46-56 53

The participants also reported that orphan children most of the time; they were in constant
confusion, failed to accomplish school assignments in time, learning was tremendously difficult
for them and seemed to be in their own world. Hence, these problematic behaviors exhibited by
orphan children adversely affect their lifelong holistic development such as cognitive
development, socio-emotional development and learning.
3.2.3. Social Related problems
All (n= 6, 100%) of the orphaned children stated that they were abandoned and marginalized by
the school community. They also mentioned that most of the orphan children grew up with their
grandparents and other relatives. Participants of the study also indicated that there were also
various social related problems that orphan children faced beyond their immediate experience of
loss of their parents. Orphan children were also recognized that sometimes they were fought
with teachers, students, siblings and other children because of the ill treatment they faced in the
school and outside the school. One interviewed orphan child 3 described her ideas in the
following ways:
“We orphan children are exposes to the different social problems that make worse our identity and
personality. In principle we orphan children are part of the community, but on one hold close us as
part of the community. Sometimes we orphan children becomes sensitively jealous by other children
when their parents give them protections, love and affection for their children.”
Likewise the above idea, all participant teachers and non-governmental officials reported that
orphan children were maltreated and discriminated by the school community. As a result of this,
most of the time orphan children had no funs in their life and lacked interest to play with other
children. The participants also stated orphan children were not considered as part of the society
by the school community and other community members.
3.2.4. Economic Problems
All the participant teachers and non-governmental officials stated that orphan children were
exposed to serious economical problems. They also confirmed that orphan children worried
about their clothing, school expenses, school uniforms and food. The teachers also mentioned
that monthly they contributed very small amount of money from their salary to share the
economic burden of orphan children to fulfill their school utilities. Among the interviewed
teacher participants‟ Teacher 8 expressed his ideas in the following ways:
“We teachers know that the deeply rooted economic challenges of orphan children in our school. To
be part of the solution; we teachers donate very few amount of money from our salary monthly. We
know that our monthly contribution of money doesn‟t add any significant change on the life of
orphan children; simply to be part of the challenges of orphan children.”
All (n=3,100%) of non-governmental officials reaffirmed that their organizations attempted to
fulfill the needs of orphan students such as food, clothing, school uniform and school fees in
order to reduce their economic problems. But, the participants also confirmed that the financial
support rendered by the non-governmental organizations to orphan children was not adequate
to satisfy all basic necessities required by orphan children.
3.2.5. Violating Rights of Orphan Children
All (n=12, 100%)of the interviewed teachers and non-governmental officials confirmed that all
children have the right to have free access to education and to be protected from all forms of
hostility, child labor, physical abuse, verbal abuse, sexual abuse and being abducted. They also
reported that no one responsible to fulfill the needs of orphan children and sheltered them from
any kind of exploitations. Similarly, all the participants stated that orphan children were not
attending their schooling regularly. They also stated the possible reasons for poor engagement of
orphan children in their education such as poor health, lack of breakfast before to school, lack of
 S. K. Alem / Journal of Pedagogical Research, 4(1), 46-56 54

energy due to continuous hunger, too much physical work for money, demotivated by their life
and others. Therefore, the responses of the participants implied that orphan children were
deprived their rights such as free access to education, sheltered from any kind of exploitations
and to have basic necessities such as cloth, to get balanced diet and house.

4. Discussion and Conclusion

The findings of the study revealed that orphan children were exposed to diverse psychological
problems such as experience a lot of anxieties, feel pain, fears, loneliness, emotional shock,
discomfort in body or mind, expose to extremely distressing experiences and produce long
lasting effects on their later development. The findings of the study are consistent with the
pervious study of (Humuliza, 1999) stated that death of parents makes children vulnerable and
predisposes them to physical and psychological risks over which they have no control. The
feeling of helplessness is very costly in terms of psychological well-being and may be reflected in
lack of concern, involvement and vitality and school activities. Emotionally, it is indicated by
sadness and depression.
The research findings of the study also showed that orphaned children exhibited very
problematic behaviors such as crying excessively, speak very little or loud, usually miss the
school, having disobedient behaviors, aggressive towards people and withdrawal of themselves
from any types of school activities. Various research findings stated that orphan children are
vulnerable to problematic behaviors. The findings of the study are with the earlier studies
reporting emotional distress and behavioral symptoms in orphans (Cluver& Gardner, 2007; Li et
al., 2008).The findings of the study also indicated that orphan children were abandoned and
marginalized by the school community and other societies in any kind of activities. In line with
this research finding, Prasad (1994) stated that orphan children are the most susceptible group in
any population and needs of the greatest social care. In line with these research findings the
study of Foster (2002) also pointed out children mourning behavior tends to fluctuate, making it
difficult for adoptive parents and teachers to recognize symptoms and to provide appropriate
support.
The findings of the study confirmed that orphan children worried about their clothing, school
expenses, school uniforms and food. Orphan children were highly exposed to serious economical
problems. In favor the findings of the studies (Cohen, 1999) confirmed that children are often
pulled out of school to care for an ailing family member, or because meager household income is
now spent on the sick. School fees, notebooks, and pencils become unaffordable and children
begin to struggle to provide care and replace lost adult labor and income.
The findings of the study evidently showed that orphan children were not sheltered from all
types of hostility, child labor, physical abuse, verbal abuse, sexual abuse and abduction. The
results of the study are consistent with the previous research findings (UNICEF, 2007), which
suggest that many orphaned children find themselves in danger of sexual exploitation and
various forms of abuse when parents are no longer there to care for and looked after them (Poku,
2005). This indicated that orphan children were deprived their rights to have free access to
education and to be protected from all forms of hostility, child labor, physical abuse, verbal
abuse, sexual abuse and abduction. Correspondingly, the International Convention on the Rights
of the Child (CRC), adopted in 1989, establishes a broad legal and ethical framework to guide the
international community in supporting the psychosocial well-being of all children during times
of stability, as well as to safeguard all children from any kind of exploitations such as violence,
physical abuse, sexual abuse and child labor.
As conclusion, orphaned students in public primary schools in Injibara town were exposed to
diverse types of psychological problems such as lots of anxieties, constant worries about their
life, fears, a strong feeling of grievance, loneliness, emotional shock and extremely stressful
experiences that cause their overall development. Orphan children also showed very problematic
types of behaviors in the classrooms and outside the classrooms that adversely affect their
 S. K. Alem / Journal of Pedagogical Research, 4(1), 46-56 55

learning for instance, cried terribly, became aggressive towards other people; had disobedient
types of behaviors and usually missed their school. In addition to this, orphan children were no
considered as one segments of the society. They were highly marginalized and unnoticed by the
school community and other community members. Unending financial problems were also
experienced by orphan children such as cloths, school expenses, school uniforms and food.
Orphan children were not sheltered from any types of hostility, child labor, physical abuse,
verbal abuse, sexual abuse and abduction.
To Sum up, all the above psychosocial problems are collectively affecting the overall well
being of orphan children. Orphaned children are facing difficulty to get all the necessary
supports they need from the society and the stakeholders. In general, orphan children have
reduced school engagement, poor health, poor nutrition, lower participation in school activities
and their rights to be protected from any kinds of exploitations deprived by the society. Hence,
orphan children in Injibara primary schools are seeking the psychosocial support from the society
and non- governmental organizations to fulfill their basic necessities.
5. Recommendations
By considering the major findings of the study; the researcher drawn the following
recommendations.
 Parents, stakeholders, teachers and guardians should establish a support system at different
levels and play a significant role to fulfill the psychosocial needs of orphan children.
 The political leaders should have readiness and commitment to allocate rational budget to
orphan children and put into practice the national and international policy documents. The
policy makers should revisit the legal legislations and regulations documents to protect the
rights of orphan children.
 Governmental and non-governmental organizations should work in collaborations to
implement policy frameworks and to establish orphanage centers to provide appropriate
services to orphan children.
 Schools should work on improving orphan children welfare system by providing guidance
and counseling services, protecting the rights of children and reducing discriminations.

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