A wholistic mentorship program to meet the spiritual needs of students at Bulawayo Adventist High School, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Mentorship is fundamental when confronting students’ social and emotional challenges. Rising cases of child pregnancies, abortion, alcohol and substance abuse, in addition to reports of sexual orgies and increasing sexual vulnerability of students pose a challenge to the church and community regarding how to curb these alarming trends in Zimbabwean schools. The absence of spiritual mentors is evident. As a result, some students, failing to cope or deal with the guilt and shame brought by their behaviour, have contemplated committing suicide or dropping out of school altogether. This study represents a program development design research which introduces the study with the situational analysis of the area of study. Chapter two presented biblical and theological foundations for a High School mentoring program and chapter 3 reviewed relevant literature on the subject. Chapter four is mixed method research design. In-depth personal interviews and focus group interviews were conducted and a questionnaire administered to students to validate the qualitative research. Chapter five is a description of the program developed to address the challenges, based upon the theological, theoretical and field researches conducted and how it was implemented and evaluated. Chapter six is a summary, conclusion and recommendations. The mentorship program resulted in much-improved school connectedness among students. Students who participated in the program as compared to those who did not were found to have increased self-awareness were more prepared to deal with social challenges as well as increased self-esteem. Teachers, too, were better able to relate to the students as a result of their participation in the program. The program presents a model that could be replicated in other similar schools with similar results. It details specific steps that could be taken to implement the program and how to evaluate the program.