Protective factors promoting participatory rights for early childhood children in residential care facilities in Harare, Zimbabwe

Abstract

This qualitative study explored protective factors in implementing participatory rights for six-to-seven-year-old children living in seven residential care facilities in Harare, Zimbabwe. The study consisted of seven semi- structured interviews using open-ended questions with seven directors. The residential care facilities were purposefully sampled based on the style they adopted, namely five homes adopted the household unit and two the dormitory style. Through thematic data analysis, four themes were identified that promoted protective factors for implementing participatory rights of children in the early years of development residing at the homes, namely: the use of an open-door policy, the household unit style, foster care intervention programmes, and the availability of mass media. Based on the findings several recommendations are made on how to further protect the participatory rights of the children. Although the study was conducted in Zimbabwe, it has global value because there are residential care facilities in all countries.