ISSN 2039-2117 (online) ISSN 2039-9340 (print) Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences www.richtmann.org Vol 12 No 3 May 2021 106 . Research Article © 2021 Chikuvadze et al.. This is an open access article licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) Received: 11 February 2021 / Accepted: 20 April 2021 / Published: 17 May 2021 Exploring Challenges Faced by Rural Zimbabwean School-Going Single Mothers in Nurturing Children: A Literature Perspective Pinias Chikuvadze 1 Lydia K. Magutsa 2 Judith Musengi 3 Getrude Gonzo 4 1 Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science & Technology Development, Harare, Zimbabwe; Corresponding Author 2 Institute of Sustainable Project Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation, Gweru, Zimbabwe 3 Hwange High School, Hwange, Zimbabwe 4 Open University, Harare, Zimbabwe DOI: https://doi.org/10.36941/mjss-2021-0022 Abstract In sub-Saharan African countries, school-going single mothers are a rapidly growing new form of family. However, this pervasive phenomenon and its influence on child development have caught miniature thought. It is in this context that this paper sought to gain insights from a literature perspective on challenges confronted by rural Zimbabwean school-going single mothers in child nurturing. This is a documentary review of information considered relevant to the issue under investigation. In this context, the literature method was used in generating, data from purposively sampled sources. Against this background, the analysis revealed that school-going single mothers encounter numerous challenges, such as the difficulty to maintain discipline and authority in their ‘new’ family setting, social ostracism through school-going single mothers, and their children's experience of adverse stances in social, emotional and economic obstacles. Thus, single mothers in these rural societies take on all the chores, child upkeep and in most cases are susceptible to social separation, which forms a situation, which does not bring up children’s social and cognitive development. In this context, it can therefore be concluded that these detected challenges influence how school-going single mothers in the rural Zimbabwe context nurture their children. It is against this background that we recommend that school-going single mothers are encouraged to find means of exercising positive parenting that ensures that their children are well-groomed and provided for. Keywords: Gender, rural context, school-going single-mothers, socialisation, social ostracism Introduction Globally, it’s acknowledged that there has been a statistical upsurge in the transformation from the traditional form of two paternities to a single one in the household arrangement (Kang’ethe & Mafa,