Abstract
Learners in South Africa lag behind in literacy and numeracy skills relative to their peers in other countries. This is ascribed to a lack of quality education in the preschool and Foundation Phases of schooling, and conditions related to poverty. The Basic Concepts Mediated Learning Programme (BCMLP) aims to promote the conceptual development of young children through training teachers to be mediators in a metacognitive educational programme. The BCMLP was implemented in the Foundation Phase (Grade R to Grade 3) in two schools in impoverished areas of the Northern Cape over three years (2008-2010). Baseline testing found that children at both schools experienced significant delays in their conceptual and scholastic development. After being trained as mediators, teachers implemented this approach with groups, eventually integrating it into the curriculum. There was variable continuity of implementation at the two schools, with one school only implementing the programme for the first year. The conceptual development and scholastic functioning of learners were monitored pre-intervention to post-intervention. Results found that implementation of the programme was consistent with considerable improvements in conceptual and scholastic functioning. Further, improvements were more pronounced, where the programme was implemented continually for three years. The researcher concluded that the programme made a positive impact on participating learners’ knowledge and understanding of basic conceptual systems and scholastic functioning. Keywords: basic concepts; concept teaching; conceptual development; mediated learning; metacognitive programme
Highlights
The massification of education in South Africa since the advent of democracy has led to increased access to education, bringing many more learners into the system
Research has indicated that South African students continue to lag behind in the development of literacy and numeracy skills (Meier, 2011; The Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ), 2010)
By means of obtaining baseline data of children’s abilities in basic concepts and general scholastic areas at Eureka and Lowryville schools, respectively, and by administering subsequent annual assessments for the duration of the project, the project leader was able to explore the following questions: 1) do children in the Foundation Phase with significant developmental delays at the start of schooling make advances in conceptual reasoning and school achievement through an appropriate metacognitive programme and related teacher-mediated classroom activities?; and 2) have learners who have participated in the programme from Grades 1-3 (Eureka) benefitted more than those who have participated for only one or two years (Lowryville)?
Summary
The massification of education in South Africa since the advent of democracy has led to increased access to education, bringing many more learners into the system. By means of obtaining baseline data of children’s abilities in basic concepts and general scholastic areas at Eureka and Lowryville schools, respectively, and by administering subsequent annual assessments for the duration of the project, the project leader was able to explore the following questions: 1) do children in the Foundation Phase with significant developmental delays at the start of schooling make advances in conceptual reasoning and school achievement through an appropriate metacognitive programme and related teacher-mediated classroom activities?; and 2) have learners who have participated in the programme from Grades 1-3 (Eureka) benefitted more than those who have participated for only one or two years (Lowryville)?
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