ABSTRACT In Lesotho, when children or adults talk about the importance of schooling, they frequently use the term ho iphelisa. This is usually translated as ‘to survive’, reflecting the uncertainties that people in this small country have confronted over recent decades: rapidly diminishing employment opportunities, extremely high HIV prevalence and environmental crises. Based on nine months of ethnographic fieldwork in two rural primary schools and their neighbouring communities, we examine how the idea of survival motivates engagement with education. We find that ‘survival’ permeates the school curriculum and the discourse of children, parents and teachers, and encompasses three distinct but related dimensions: economic, moral and physical. We also highlight how these aspects of survival are both individual and collective, and operate across different temporalities. Through this, we contribute to understanding the complexities of educational aspiration and motivation in contexts of uncertainty.

中文翻译：

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“我上学生存”：在莱索托农村面临身体，道德和经济的不确定性

摘要在莱索托，当儿童或成人谈论上学的重要性时，他们经常使用“ ho iphelisa”一词。这通常被翻译为“生存”，反映出这个小国人民近几十年来所面临的不确定性：迅速减少的就业机会，极高的艾滋病毒流行率和环境危机。基于在两所农村小学及其附近社区中进行的九个月的人种志田野调查，我们研究了生存的观念如何激发人们参与教育。我们发现，“生存”渗透到学校课程以及儿童，父母和教师的话语中，并包含三个截然不同但相关的维度：经济，道德和身体。我们还将重点介绍生存的这些方面是个人还是集体，并在不同的时间范围内运作。通过这种方式，我们有助于在不确定的情况下理解教育愿望和动机的复杂性。