4. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - Faculties submissions
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Item Teacher pedagogies for literacy acquisition amongst EFAL learners in Grade 3 in two schools in the Western Cape(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-08) Dooms, Anastasia Chloe; Martin, CameronThe issue of literacy and language development is still a pressing concern within South African education. Many South African learners that are required to attend school and learn in their first/second additional language (FAL) as opposed to their home language (HL) are disadvantaged and comparatively excluded compared to their peers that learn in their HL. In the foundation phase, literacy acquisition is seen as a building block to education and therefore teachers need to ensure that learners have acquired adequate oral vocabulary and phonological awareness in English to enable a strong literacy foundation for their transition from their HL to English (EFAL). This study analysed the pedagogical practices used by four Grade 3 educators from two non-English schools in the Western Cape during their EFAL lessons. The research intended to identify the pedagogical approaches used by these educators to assist learners in learning and adequately acquiring their FAL to the level of proficiency needed for English as the language of instruction from Grade 4 onwards. A qualitative approach was used and incorporated the use of two EFAL lesson observations (per educator), lesson plan analyses, and semi-structured interviews. The main findings were analysed through the lens of Pedagogical Link-Making (PLM) (Scott et al., 2011). PLM as an evaluation tool was used to guide and thereafter analyse the observations and the post-observation interviews. This was used to establish the effective pedagogies used by Grade 3 educators to establish meaning amongst their learners. The findings gave insight into promising pedagogical actions that should be incorporated into teaching and learning EFAL to facilitate meaning making amongst learners and ensure adequate language and literacy acquisition. The inclusive education field will benefit from further research being conducted into PLM, with particular interest in language and literacy development. This may aid the field of education to find new ways for educators to adapt their pedagogical practices to foster inclusion within their classroom and hinder the exclusionary practices faced by EFAL learners due to learning barriers imposed by language.Item Exploring a culture of reading: A case study in an under-resourced South African primary school(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-09) Biesman-Simons, Claire; Dixon, KerrynSouth Africa faces an undeniable literacy crisis. Since 2000, there have been increasing calls for the creation of a culture of reading to address this crisis. This has been on the part of the South African government, academia and civil society. However, this has occurred without clear consensus on the term’s meaning and with little explanation of how a poorly-defined concept with its origins in the Global North would achieve this outcome. How this term has achieved such national prominence and the ways it affects school practices motivated this research. The first phase of the study investigated how the term “culture of reading” functions in national government education discourse, and its impact on the country’s reading landscape. This was followed by an ethnographic-style case study exploring the factors that shaped a culture of reading at a no-fee primary school, situated on the Cape Flats in Cape Town. Drawing on a review of more than 400 South African, African and global texts that reference “culture of reading”, this study provides a definition of a culture of reading that is appropriate for the African context, and central to the analysis of this study. To investigate how the term “culture of reading” functions in government discourse, I performed a textual analysis of a corpus of 58 publicly available texts produced by the South African government from 2000 to 2019. The analysis reveals an uncritical faith in a culture of reading as fundamental to improved reading levels despite there being no clarity on the term’s meaning or evidence of tangible outcomes in learners’ reading achievement. Bourdieu’s notion of doxa is drawn on to demonstrate how the government’s consistent return to an ill-defined Global Northern ideal is indicative of a misunderstanding of what reading is and can achieve, and of a need to further grapple with the complexities of South Africa’s reading landscape. Approaching reading from a socio-cultural perspective, the ethnographic-style case study investigates how habitus, capital and field (Bourdieu, 1990b) interact to shape school reading practices, and how the resulting culture of reading is reflected in one school’s reading practices. The case study shows the contextual realities and conditions in the field that affect the promotion of a culture of reading. Data was generated from interviews with 51 participants, classroom and schoolwide observations, photo elicitation, and document reviews which were subjected to a thematic analysis. Findings indicate that despite the evident value that staff and most learners attribute to reading and their positive dispositions towards reading (i.e. their habitus), the school’s culture of reading is undermined by external and internal forces. This is most notably with regard to inappropriate curriculum demands, a multilingual learner body restricted to learning in English, the impact of a community fraught with violence, as well as a dysfunctional culture of teaching and learning that has resulted in a divided staff body and poor discipline. Bourdieu’s attention to how no field exists in isolation is demonstrated by educators’ battles to promote reading in an education field that does not account sufficiently for social, cultural and economic contextual realities. Data generated in the Grade 5 classroom evidenced that agentive educators, equipped with the necessary cultural capital, can construct a sub-field that supports a culture of reading in spite of these constraints. However, this is precarious, and findings from the Grade 1 classroom demonstrated how overlapping fields and a dysfunctional culture of teaching and learning constrained an experienced educator, impacting on her wellbeing. The study highlights that there are many ways in which schools and educators can navigate and overcome institutional constraints that threaten South African learners’ reading development. The research highlights the need for closer alignment between government’s expectations of schools and their contextual realities, with educators’ professional and emotional wellbeing needing to be prioritised. Recommendations for research include further investigation into learners’ home and community language and literacy practices and how these practices can be built on at school.Item Afterschool remedial education service to address low literacy and numeracy levels in the Tshwane South District(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Machipi, Noko; Venter, RobertA majority of grade four and five learners in South Africa do not have basic reading skills and perform poorly in mathematics. This is a complex challenge as the source of poor performance can be attributed to a combination of several factors which resulted in increasing enrolments in private schools and private tutoring services. The purpose of this research was to determine through quantitative methods, the viability of a remedial centre that addresses poor levels of literacy and numeracy in the Tshwane South District. Application of prior knowledge included resource-based view and the lean start-up approach as applicable management theories; analysis of stakeholders impacting viability of the proposed business venture; exploring challenges in implementing remedial education; exploring options for remedial interventions; and assessing the impact of digital technology in remedial education. The study revealed there is an interest in an afterschool supplementary service in Centurion. This interest is for learners requiring remedial, catch-up, maintaining grades or going beyond grade levels. This requires high quality service at affordable price, with an online option and a method with proven track record. Notwithstanding, real progress may take time with sustainable improvement in leaner academic outcomes and confidence. Therefore, a Kumon franchise is proposed to offer this service as it best meets customer needs through proven methods and curriculum, online service and confidence building service. The break-even point is at approximately 70 learners however the business aims to acquire 110 learners in year one. The target market has eight schools within a 7km radius in a district absorbing 10% to 13% new learners migrating into Gauteng annually. This represents a high growth potential business that scalable to a private remedial school later. The start-up funding requirement is R1,36 million comprising of 37% shareholder’s contribution and 63% loans from banks payable within 5 years. Therefore, this is therefore a viable business venture.Item The transformation of primary and secondary education by the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Gama, Lindiwe SetsabileDigital technologies have taken over the education sector in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Education 4.0 necessitates the upskilling of educational professionals and learners. It also requires the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to uniformly equip all schools with digital infrastructure to prepare learners for the technology-driven work environment. The DBE must make an effort to bridge the digital divide of learners in rural, urban and remote areas as part of the National Development Plan 2030. This is necessitated by the evolving job market. Literacy and numeracy levels have been declining in South Africa despite 4IR technologies that Generation Z learn to use quickly. The interventions by the DBE and the learning styles of Generation Z require educational professionals to adjust and adapt teaching methods. Unlimited access to digital information and applications promote a customised teaching and learning environment. This study aims to investigate how digital technologies are being used by educational professionals (educators) that teach official South African languages (except for sign language) and Mathematics were sampled to solicit their views on how digital technologies can be used to increase numeracy and literacy rates. Twenty- six educators (26) conveniently sampled participated in the study. According to the 2015 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the 2016 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS). The results indicate that there is a relationship between literacy, numeracy and the digital skills of education professionals and learners. Adequate funding for the Department of Basic Education is essential for uniform digital transformation in South Africa