Why are some learners more successful than others in the completion of an ABET course? - a case study at a publishing company
Date
2008-04-21T11:03:01Z
Authors
Thurlow, John David Bermant
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Abstract
The provision of Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) in South Africa has
evolved over time to meet the needs of political agendas of the day. Presently,
ABET policy aims to redress the inequalities of education created by the
apartheid and Bantu Education systems. To this end, government has
established policies and frameworks to encourage learning in both formal and
informal environments. ABET learners usually have a very specific sociological
and historical autobiography. Their needs and responsibilities are different to
those of younger learners. So, with this andragogical consideration in mind, I
posed the question: “Why are some learners more successful than others in the
completion of an ABET course?
I conducted a case study at Belmont Publishers1. My primary research
participants were company management, the ABET facilitator and the ABET
learners. To gather data from these participants, I used qualitative research tools
that included: questionnaires; interviews; focus group interviews; group work
activities; and observations. My study focussed on the investigation of intrinsic
and extrinsic factors that impact ABET success at the Belmont site. The views of
the various research participants (the manager; the ABET facilitator and the
ABET learners) are presented as either factors that contribute to learner failure at
both intrinsic and extrinsic levels or factors that contribute to learner success at
either an intrinsic or extrinsic level.
1 Name changed for reasons of confidentiality.
From the findings that emerged from the case study of Belmont Publishers,
recommendations are made to relevant stakeholders about factors that could
potentially enhance ABET learning in South Africa. The study concludes with
suggestions of other ABET related issues which could be researched.
Description
Keywords
ABET in South Africa, ABET learner success, ABET literacy, ABET pedagogy, Andragogy, Qualitative research