Children on the margins

This study aimed at exploring educational aspirations and opportunities of orphans and vulnerable children from female headed households and to ascertain whether their living arrangement had an effect on their aspirations. In this study, the qualitative methodology was used and data analysis was guided by a theoretical framework that included theories of socialization, the concept of tradition and modernity and Bourdieu’s Cultural Capital Theory. The study reviewed that orphans and vulnerable children from female headed households had low educational aspirations with girls exhibiting lower educational aspirations than boys largely due to factors bordering on culture and the socialization of girls in their society. Orphans and vulnerable children from female headed households also experienced limited educational opportunities due to financial constraints from their care givers. While interventions have been made to support their education, orphans and vulnerable children from female headed households still experience a dim hope for their future because the interventions are often inadequate and short lived.