Educational marginalisation of adolescent girls in child-headed families in Eswatini: an ecological perspective

This study explored the educational marginalisation of adolescent girls living in child-headed families (CHFs) in Eswatini. Guided by Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory, the study examined how interconnected social, institutional, and cultural factors shape girls’ educational experiences. A qualitative exploratory multi-case study design was adopted within an interpretivist paradigm. Data were collected through focus group discussions with 12 adolescent girls from six secondary schools across five Chiefdoms, and semi-structured interviews with four Regional Education Officers. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis supported by NVivo 12. The findings revealed that educational exclusion is produced through interrelated ecological pressures, including caregiving burdens, school-based stigma, weak home–school coordination, procedural exclusion from support systems, limited psychosocial services, and patriarchal gender norms. The study concludes that educational marginalisation among girls in CHFs is structurally mediated rather than individually determined. It recommends coordinated, gender-responsive, and trauma-informed interventions integrating educational, psychosocial, and community-based support systems.