Abstract:
Young left-handed children in primary school struggle to overcome the annoyance and
frustration of living in a right-handed world. World over, resources and ideas specifically
give best procedures to right-handed learners across the school curriculum, thereby
marginalising left-handers. The study sought to explore the experiences of left-handed
learners in selected Zimbabwean primary schools, strategies used to teach left-handers,
teacher-learner interactions and their effect on the learners. A phenomenological study was
conducted with twenty-six (26) participants purposively selected through data saturation
from three (3) primary schools in Masvingo urban (teachers =6; learners = 20). Data were
collected through focus group discussions, individual interviews and observations.
Triangulation of data collection methods strengthened the methodology. An interpretative
phenomenological analysis (IPA),was used to analyse the data. Findings showed that lefthanded
learners had varied experiences ranging from sad emotions due to perceptions of
marginalisation and negative labels up to happy emotions of success and positive selfefficacy.
Overall, teacher-learner interactions negatively and positively affected left-handed
children’s learning and development. The study recommends that teachers, learners and
parents should collaborate in order to alleviate challenges experienced by left-handers in
Zimbabwe’s primary schools for positive development.
