Books

Education is an essential ingredient of the socio-economic development of any country, and educators are a vital part of any nation's educational system. If educators are sick, or absent from school, or leave the profession, the nation stands to lose. Yet the health status of our educators may go unknown. Prior to this report, there were no primary level South African national data assessing the ill-health and attrition of educators. Rumours about their ill-health and reasons for attrition abounded. It is for this reason that the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) decided to commission the HSRC-led consortium to conduct this nation-wide research assessing the health status and attrition of our educators, with a focus on HIV/AIDS and its determinants.

Higher education and work consists of two papers. The first provides an analysis of research on graduate employment in South Africa, and reflects on the state of research on graduate employment and unemployment in South Africa, while the second looks at the challenges facing the education, training and employment of South Africas scientific labour force.

South Africa has, until now, focused its HIV prevention efforts on youth and adults, and now needs to expand its focus to include children.

This report details the findings of a colloquium held in November 2003 which presented HIV/AIDS policy research conducted by the HSRC in projects across Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. The colloquium also focused on the status of orphaned and vulnerable children in Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

HIV/AIDS-related stigma has been recognised as a key problem that needs to be addressed in HIV/AIDS interventions with adults. The literature on children and HIV/AIDS is extensive, as is the literature on HIV/AIDS related stigma, but specific research on HIV/AIDS-related stigma and children is relatively sparse. This title provides a review of the available literature in this regard.

This report presents the findings of the Behavioural Risks and HIV Sero-Status Survey (BSS) for the Central Serowe Sub-district and Kweneng District in Botswana. The purpose of the survey was to determine the knowledge, attitudes, sexual behaviours, practices, prevention, care and support issues concerning HIV/AIDS among the population in the Central Serowe Sub-district and Kweneng District. Specifically, the survey quantified HIV prevalence, sexual risk behaviours and other practices among adults and children.

In 2002, the Human Sciences Research Council was commissioned by the WK Kellogg Foundation to develop and implement a five-year intervention project focusing on orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in southern Africa. In collaboration with several partner organizations, the project currently focuses on how children, families and communities in Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe are coping with the impact of HIV/AIDS. The aim of the project is to develop models of best practise so as to enhance and improve support structures for OVC in the southern African region as a whole.

The first in a series of triennial reviews, this study gives a comprehensive assessment of human resource and development trends in South Africa. Along with its companion web-based data warehouse, it is an invaluable, user-friendly resource for policy-makers, planners, managers and educators at both national and institutional levels.

Through 25 chapters authored by some of the leading researchers in the field, Human Resources Development Review 2008 provides an extensive overview of the contextual factors driving human resources development in South Africa. A key theme throughout the volume is the importance of a multi-faceted skills development strategy operating at three levels.