Educational Access and Continuity in Flood-Affected Communities Surrounding Ruti Dam, Zimbabwe: A Qualitative Case Study

Abstract

Flooding increasingly disrupts education in vulnerable rural communities, yet limited qualitative evidence explains how recurrent flooding surrounding dams affects learners’ educational access and continuity. This study explored how flooding influenced learners’ attendance, participation, academic progression and psychosocial wellbeing in communities surrounding Ruti Dam, Zimbabwe. It also examined household, infrastructural, school and community conditions influencing educational continuity and considered locally appropriate response strategies. A qualitative case-study design was employed. Fifteen participants, comprising eight learners, two parents, three teachers and two community stakeholders, were purposively selected based on their direct experience or contextual knowledge of flood-related educational disruption. Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews and analysed using Braun and Clarke’s six-phase reflexive thematic-analysis process. Four themes were developed: disruption of learning and academic progression; barriers to attendance and educational participation; psychosocial consequences for learners; and strategies for strengthening educational continuity. Participants associated flooding with school closures, reduced instructional time, damaged transport routes, household displacement, economic hardship and increased family responsibilities. Learners also described fear, reduced concentration and disrupted peer relationships. Family assistance, teacher support, peer relationships, community learning spaces and preparedness practices provided opportunities for continuity, although limited resources constrained these responses. The findings suggest that educational recovery requires more than reopening schools. It also requires safe infrastructure, academic catch-up, psychosocial support, accessible learning alternatives and coordinated institutional and community responses. The study concludes that educational continuity represents an important coping capacity within disaster-risk assessment and should be integrated into inclusive, locally informed disaster-preparedness planning.