Peer-reviewed article

Community Designed Learning Support and School Retention Among San Children in Rural Namibia

Nafenya Secilia, Virginia Moyo, Mahongo Christine, Philipus Nangolo · 6 Oct 2026

Abstract

School retention among San children requires attention to the interaction between material hardship, school climate, language and the relationships connecting families to education services. This narrative review examines selected Namibian studies, international research on hunter-gatherer children’s schooling, and African evaluations of parental and community participation. It then develops a community-designed learning support programme and a prospective mixed-methods evaluation. The synthesis indicates that documenting barriers alone does not establish which support arrangements improve sustained participation. Comparative evidence also shows that communication and parental mobilisation have context-dependent effects and cannot substitute for accessible, supportive schools. The proposed programme combines locally approved learning materials, flexible family–school communication, practical attendance support and responses to discrimination. San learners, caregivers and community representatives would share decisions over priorities, delivery and the use of cultural knowledge. A feasibility phase would precede a school-level comparative evaluation, with continued enrolment as the primary outcome and attendance, learning, belonging, implementation and cost as complementary outcomes. Transfers and unknown schooling status would be distinguished from confirmed withdrawal. No programme has been implemented for this article, and no new learner data or intervention effects are reported. The contribution is an evidence-informed framework for testing locally legitimate support while protecting children’s participation and community authority. Future research should establish feasibility and measurement quality before estimating effects across contrasting rural settings.