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The heterogeneous nature of African society has led to increased demand for transformational leaders rooted in African values and ideology necessary for Africans to thrive in the 21st Century. This study explored the role of post-colonial school leadership (SL) models in instilling African values among learners. The original African meaning and purpose of leadership and the extent to which African school leadership systems instil African leadership values in learners were re-considered. The study adopted a qualitative research approach underpinned by interpretivism. It compared the perspectives of fifteen (15) participants purposively selected from three former British colonies namely, Botswana, Nigeria and Zimbabwe. Interviews were used to collect data that were analysed thematically and presented using verbal utterances. Findings showed that leadership in the traditional African context was characterized by humanism, collectivism and moral virtues. Leaders guided their followers to achieve their goals for the effectiveness of the communities' excellence and integrity. It was established that, in addition to school leadership training which was rampant in pre-colonial Botswana, both Zimbabwe and Botswana gave the male and the female genders a shot at leadership while Nigeria paid lip service to gender balance issues. In the three countries, the current SL systems do not have properly designed and coordinated curricular models that develop African leadership values such as "Ubuntu" and "Botho." This study underlines the need to strike a balance between Eurocentrism and Africanism in the current SL systems in Africa.

The study sought to investigate curriculum issues, teaching and learning for sustainable development in secondary schools in Zimbabwe. Education for sustainable development (ESD) aims at changing the approach to education by integrating principles, values, practices and needs in all forms of learning. Literature has documented the importance of problem solving, ecologically relevant education, project based and interactive education as the basis for sustainable development. Emphasis has also been placed upon the pedagogical and curriculum issues in support of sustainable teaching and learning in developing countries. The methodology employed included literature search, documentary analysis, questionnaires, interviews and observation. The study was based on two urban and two rural secondary schools. The results revealed that some schools followed a seriously integrated curriculum where academic work was integrated with industry based education or learning, while others followed a purely academic curriculum. Results showed that pursuing an academic curriculum led to relevant careers though unemployment was high due to the lack of skills. The high rate of employment of those pursuing integrated curriculum appeared to be a motivator. The study concluded that an integrated curriculum and education was more beneficial for sustainable development and entrepreneurship. Further research is required on the curriculum and strategies for education/industry integration for sustainable development and challenges schools face in trying to implement ESD.

In this article, I discuss the experiences of conducting ethnographic research in my village of origin in Zimbabwe. The issues I discuss in this article are the methodological approach, the deconstruction of prior assumptions, challenges in meeting respondents, positionality and grappling with multiple identities in the field, the unintended therapeutic effect of life histories, learning the art of patience in fieldwork, reciprocity, friendship and the challenge of spontaneity. This discussion is important in the debates on the challenges of conducting emic ethnographic research, reflexivity and positionality. The article therefore makes a significant contribution to the body of knowledge focusing on the dynamics of carrying out ethnographic research in one's cultural backyard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most ethnographies still pay little attention to the subsistence experiences of older adult women heading household in Africa. Drawing from nineteen months of ethnographic research in Domboshava communal lands, this article addresses this gap in knowledge by discussing the position of older women heading households in rural Zimbabwe and the impact of historical and current challenges on their subsistence activities. In this article, I argue that there is no typical African widow. I further argue that these older adult women's historical and present experiences have led to the visible reversals in the remittance flows, poor social networks, changing gender relations, ill health, the impact of HIV and AIDS, changing household structures, as well as multiple and competing responsibilities. All these factors are coalescing together to affect the older adult women's subsistence activities and their capacity to take care of themselves, their immediate and extended families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Gliomas are tumors of the supporting cells of the central nervous system. They have great heterogeneity in their clinical and pathological features as well as prognosis. There is paucity of glioma epidemiology data in Zimbabwe. We carried out a study to determine the landscape, presentation, and characteristics of brain gliomas in Zimbabwe. Materials and Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted in Zimbabwe over a 2 years period to determine descriptive epidemiological data with regards to demographic distribution, presentation, and tumor characteristics. Consecutive patients from across the country with brain gliomas were recruited in the study. Results: A total of 112 brain tumors were diagnosed histologically. Of these 43.8% (n = 49) were gliomas and hence recruited in the study. The mean age of study participants was 40.3 years (standard deviation = 23.1 years), range 3–83 years. Male to female ratio (M:F) was 1:1. The study population consisted of 14% caucasians (n = 7), 83.7% black (n = 41), and 2% (n = 1) were of mixed race. Eighty-six percent (n = 42) of participants were from urban areas. The most common presenting complaint was headache in 87.8% (n = 43). The majority (61.2%) presented with a Karnofsky score ≥70%. Astrocytomas were the most common gliomas constituting 57.1% (n = 28), followed by ependymomas and oligodendrogliomas being 8.1% (n = 4) each. There was no statistical difference in the hemisphere of the brain involved (P = 0.475). Eight percent of the population were HIV positive (n = 4). Age above 60 years has an adjusted odds ratio of 13 for presenting with high-grade tumors. Conclusion: There is a disproportionately high number of gliomas among Caucasians, urban dwellers, and those gainfully employed. The prevalence of HIV in glioma patients is less than that of the general population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the legal and social conditions of indigenous peoples in Zimbabwe including the Tshwa San and the Doma. It discusses the self-organization of indigenous people as well as government policies on land, conservation, and education.

The article presents an overview of the socioeconomic conflict faced by indigenous peoples living in Zimbabwe. Topics discussed include the main challenges faced by indigenous peoples related to the recognition and implementation of their collective rights to lands, territories and resources, access to justice, lack of consultation and consent and the gross violations of their fundamental human rights.

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This paper examines the nature of state-civil society relations in Zimbabwe during the life of the Government of National Unity (GNU). The coalition government between Zimbabwe's three main political parties had been in place since September 2008 and came to an end with the conclusion of the 31st of July 2013 Harmonized Elections. Formation of the coalition government was necessitated by among other factors contested election results, record breaking hyper inflation and restricted civil liberties. Prior to the GNU and progressively over the years the state had introduced a number of laws meant to enable and disable civil society's operations in Zimbabwe. Consequently the relationship between the government and civil society was characterized by a lot of mistrust as the ZANU PF government viewed civil society organizations as a threat to its existence while the civil society saw the government as constraining its space. Therefore the thesis of this paper is that the relationship between the state and civil society organizations in Zimbabwe did not change even in the face of a new political regime as represented by the GNU. A consequence of this was the existence of a very constrained relationship between government and civil society organizations in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This ethnographic study in Dzivaresekwa district, Harare, Zimbabwe, examines the issue of sexuality among the elderly and their challenges in accessing information, education, and communication (IEC) campaigns in the face of HIV and AIDS. The research depended heavily on collecting life histories through key informant interviews. The theory of structuration (as proposed by Anthony Giddens) was adopted as a framework to analyse the findings. The findings reveal that although the sample of elderly people in Dzivaresekwa district were sexually active, HIV/ AIDS-related interventions in the form of IEC campaigns mainly focus on the age group of 14-49-year-olds, and otherwise consider the elderly only as a group indirectly affected by the epidemic and less at risk of HIV infection. This is mainly a result of society's presumption that people withdraw from sexual life with advanced age. Thus, the elderly are incorrectly regarded as sexually inactive and not susceptible to contracting sexually transmitted infections. A fuller understanding of the sexuality of the elderly is important to increase the usefulness HIV/AIDS efforts, while IEC campaigns that target them are still needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Respiratory diseases have in the recent past become a health concern globally. More than 523 million cases of coronavirus disease (COVID19), a recent respiratory diseases have been reported, leaving more than 6 million deaths worldwide since the start of the pandemic. In Zimbabwe, respiratory infections have largely been managed using traditional (herbal) medicines, due to their low cost and ease of accessibility. This review highlights the plants' toxicological and pharmacological evaluation studies explored. It seeks to document plants that have been traditionally used in Zimbabwe to treat respiratory ailments within and beyond the past four decades. Extensive literature review based on published papers and abstracts retrieved from the online bibliographic databases, books, book chapters, scientific reports and theses available at Universities in Zimbabwe, were used in this study. From the study, there were at least 58 plant families comprising 160 medicinal plants widely distributed throughout the country. The Fabaceae family had the highest number of medicinal plant species, with a total of 21 species. A total of 12 respiratory ailments were reportedly treatable using the identified plants. From a total of 160 plants, colds were reportedly treatable with 56, pneumonia 53, coughs 34, chest pain and related conditions 29, asthma 25, tuberculosis and spots in lungs 22, unspecified respiratory conditions 20, influenza 13, bronchial problems 12, dyspnoea 7, sore throat and infections 5 and sinus clearing 1 plant. The study identified potential medicinal plants that can be utilised in future to manage respiratory infections. [Display omitted] • One-hundred and sixty plants are used in managing respiratory diseases in Zimbabwe. • Most of the 58 plant families are widely distributed throughout Zimbabwe. • Plants had antiviral, antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. • Approximately 59% of the plants revealed have been profiled for toxicity. • A total of 56 potential plants require further toxicological and clinical research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]