AN EXPLORATION OF LIVED INDUCTION EXPERIENCES OF JUNIOR EX-MARIST BROTHERS IN MALAWI

Abstract

There have been a good number of research studies associated with the attrition and retention of the junior staff in institutions, companies or organizations globally. These studies, in a way, allude to the fact that attritions of junior staff are a universal phenomenon in all professions, or institutions where there is no provisions of induction and mentoring policies. The study was guided by Alencon's Adams (2010) Theory of Induction, Michael Zey's (1984) Mutual Benefit Model theory, and Yob & Crawford's (2012) framework with the following research objectives: what opportunities the junior Brothers encounter in Malawi, why they encounter challenges and how these challenges can be mitigated to enhance retention of the junior Marist Brothers. The study adopted the qualitative methodology design where in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and standardized open-ended interviews with a structured survey questionnaires for data collection were involved. The sample size was 5 Ex-Marist Brothers in total who were interviewed on one-on-one basis for at least 45 minutes using the audio or video recorder. The collected data of this survey was analyzed by using thematic method. The findings revealed that the junior Marist Brothers in Malawi quit due to various challenges, including extreme poverty of parents and relations, breaching the vow of chastity, demands of the vow of obedience, lack of induction and mentoring policies, lack of regular spiritual direction and mentorship policies, overloading the junior brothers with multiple responsibilities, irregularities in personal and community prayers, and deficiencies in Community Life.