South African Public Schools Research Articles

How to Improve Teaching Practice?

We experimentally compare two modes of in-service professional development for South African public primary school teachers. In both modes teachers received the same learning materials and daily lesson plans, aligned to the official literacy curriculum. Students exposed to two years of the program improved their reading proficiency by 0.12 standard deviations if their teachers received centralized training, compared to 0.24 if their teachers received in-class coaching. Classroom observations reveal that teachers were more likely to split students into smaller reading groups, which enabled individualized attention and more opportunities to practice reading. Results vary by class size and baseline student reading proficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Voices of Teachers on School Violence and Gender in South African Urban Public Schools

This article discusses the findings of a study conducted in Gauteng, South Africa. The main aim of the study was to examine how principals and educators experience and address violence in schools. This included investigating the gendered nature of school violence. The study used a qualitative research method, which drew upon individual and focus group interviews to collect data from the School Management Teams (SMTs), educators and the School Governing Bodies (SGBs parent component). Using a post-structural feminist view to understand the gendered nature of violence in the schools, the research findings show that school violence is a male and female phenomenon, although boys (young males) were seen as the main protagonists of school violence. Findings also revealed that, although female educators are sometimes victims of school violence, they use violence reduction strategies in their professional capacity as educators that any other professional could apply regardless of their gender. The strategies for eliminating violence in schools should not be gendered but should rather be all-encompassing and should take all factors into account that may play a role in causing violence.

DRESS CODES IN SCHOOLS: A TALE OF HEADSCARVES AND HAIRSTYLES

In 2016 independent or private schools made headlines as learners protested the codes of conduct of various schools and the lack of accommodation of African hairstyles. The question of a school’s autonomy to enact a code of conduct and prohibit certain religious or cultural dress is not new and there has been worldwide controversy regarding schools banning the Islamic headscarf. This article examines the obligation of South African public and independent schools to accommodate the headscarf and diverse hairstyles. It argues that the Islamic headscarf is a central tenet of the Islamic faith protected by the constitutional right to religious freedom and that given the current guidelines on school uniforms, public schools are bound to accommodate the headscarf. The matter is more nuanced with independent schools that may be established in the pursuit of a religious ethos. The article argues that independent schools are equally prohibited from discrimination on religious and cultural grounds and must demonstrate the justifiability of the lack of accommodation. While these bans may be allowed, the historical inequalities in education and the socio-economic context in which the provision of excellent education still favours certain races must be weighed carefully against the school’s religious vision.Hairstyles are a more complex matter given their diversity. The article argues that disputes as to whether a hairstyle forms part of a culture are likely to become difficult given the porous and evolving nature of culture. Public and independent schools are rather urged to re-evaluate their codes of conduct. Codes that favour Eurocentric notions of neatness may indirectly discriminate on race, a completely untenable situation in a constitutional South Africa. These codes must be revised to celebrate and affirm our diversity rather than be used to exclude and alienate segments of society.

Teacher-instigated in-school interpersonal violence: Types and prevalence in South African public schools

The study examined types and prevalence of interpersonal violence in South African schools. Data on in-school interpersonal violence by the South African Council of Teachers (SACE) were analysed. The sample consisted of 1 184 teachers (rural = 32.6%, urban = 59.8%, peri-urban = 7.6%). Following logistic regression analyses, results indicated male teachers were the majority offenders. Furthermore, results showed that female teachers and learners were over nine times more likely to be victims of all types of violence, as compared to males. Findings support a social role theory perspective of gendered aggression in which males are likely to resort to physical violence, while females may engage in verbal violence.

South African public school teachers’ views on right to discipline learners

In South Africa, the common law principle of in loco parentis entitles teachers, as the guardians in the school environment, to discipline learners. However, in view of new legislation advancing children’s rights, it is unclear as to the extent to which teachers can or do enact the loco parentis role. This study employed a qualitative research approach to explore public school teachers’ views related to disciplining learners. A convenience sample of eight teachers (four females and four males) was interviewed using a focus group strategy. A thematic data analysis was applied to identify strands emerging from the discussions. Findings suggest diminished teachers’ rights to discipline learners as characterised by learners’ lack of respect, morals and values, teacher safety and personal protection, teacher sense of disempowerment, poor classroom management and teaching strategies, and ineffective parental involvement. Keywords : diminution; in loco parentis; teachers’ right and duty to discipline; teachers’ right and duty to punish

Decolonizing the school curriculum for equity and social justice in South Africa

The starting point of decolonizing the curriculum is in the schools and classrooms that I regard as the formal education laboratories for equity and social justice in a just society. Unfortunately, many South African public schools’ curricula are not yet decolonized and thus continue to perpetuate the preparation of learners for leading western lives in a continent that is not western by nature. The South African school curriculum does little to address decolonization for equity and social justice in the South African public schools. This article argues for the decolonization of public school curricula for equity and social justice in South Africa. Background information is provided. Key terms will be decoded, followed by an outline of the frame of reference, method of research and a discussion of the process of decolonising the curriculum. The importance of decolonizing the school curriculum for equity and social justice in South Africa will be discussed. Threats emanating from not decolonizing the curriculum for equity and social justice in South Africa will also be discussed. Conclusions will be drawn.

A critical analysis of the learners’ constitutional rights to basic education in South Africa

Globally, several countries have been proposing to make primary education compulsory and freely available to all. Although there has been steady growth in learner enrolment in South African public schools since 1994, the socio-economic status of parents, racial and religious discrimination, high cost of school fees and schools’ language policies have prevented poor learners from accessing basic education, especially in public schools located within affluent areas. This paper critically examines legislation and policies relating to children’s constitutional rights to basic education. The government’s mandate to redress past injustices and concentrate on social justice and equity in public education is hampered by the failure of many schools tocorrectly interpret or consistently apply legislation and regulations relating to learner admissions. It has been found that the admission policies drawn up by school governing bodies (SGB) covertly prevent poor learners from enrolling at affluent schools. Although school admissions have been contested in various court cases, governing bodies of some affluent public schools continue to practise unfairness in opening its doors to all children. To ensure that social justice and equity prevail in school education, the Department of Education should revise policies or amend existing legislation encouraging SGBs to provide learner access without any prejudice.

Policy, practice, purpose: the text-based approach in contemporary South African EFAL classrooms

Curriculum implementation ought to be considered the main driving force for achieving the envisaged teaching and learning objectives. However, a major gap seems to exist between curriculum stipulations and actual classroom practice in many disadvantaged South African public schools. The CAPS prescribes both text-based and communicative approaches for English FAL and provides a description of the text-based approach, including several teaching guidelines. The authors believe that this form of prescriptiveness is advantageous as similar operational standards are given across the board. This article presents an account of a doctoral study that explored text-based teaching for communicative competence in Grade 4 in three public schools that offer English to learners whose mother tongue is not English. The study, which adhered to research ethical standards, intended to narrow the existing gap by interrogating curriculum knowledge and practice of the prescribed EFAL approach within a specific context. While the research did not intend to investigate the departmental language intervention strategy implemented during the period, empirical evidence revealed that the execution of the text-based approach was fundamentally influenced by the strategy. Whereas the participants acclaimed the text-based approach, they had limited knowledge and understanding of curriculum matters and the prescribed approach. Due to contextual limitations, the results were not to be generalised. Recommendations for future research on policy development and implementation were put forward.

Adoption of Instant Messaging for Mathematics Lessons in Rural Schools

The failure rate of mathematics is significantly high in the South African public secondary schools, particularly in rural areas. South Africa has a deficiency of adequately qualified teachers, particularly in mathematics in rural public schools. A lack of interest in a teaching as a career results in fewer young people taking up teaching as a profession, this contributes to shortage of teachers. Instant messaging applications, specifically Mxit provide a platform which learners and teachers can use for learning mathematics. Mxit which is more popular amoung teenagers who use it for communication with their friends and relatives offers mathematics tutoring through Dr Math application hosted by the CSIR Meraka Institute in South Africa. The aim of this study was to establish how pupils and teachers in the rural areas where there is a dire shortage of mathematics teacher can take advantage of Dr Math to improve mathematics knowledge and the matric pass rate. Diffusion of innovation theory was used to determine factors that could promote the adoption of instant messaging for learning mathematics in South African rural public schools. Dr Math has not been well promoted among rural schools and therefore lack of its awareness was found as one of the factors hampering learners to adopt it for learning mathematics in South Africa rural public schools.

The health of our educators and HIV/AIDS

In 2005, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) of South Africa published a research report titled: The Health of Our Educators: A focus on HIV/AIDS in South African public schools (2004/2005). The findings of the report were shocking as the health of our educators was a source of concern because of the HIV prevalence recorded. The results documented that 12.7% of the educators who gave specimens for HIV testing were HIV positive. This included educators in all provinces, and educators of all ages, sex and racial groups.1

Learners’ perspectives on the provision of condoms in South African public schools

ABSTRACTA stubborn health challenge for learners in South African public schools concerns sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). In 2015, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) proposed the provision of condoms and SRHR-services to learners in schools. This study aimed to contribute to the finalisation and implementation of DBE’s policy by exploring learners’ perspectives on the provision of condoms and SRHR-services in schools. Sixteen focus group discussions were conducted with learners (n = 116) from 33 public schools, to assess their attitudes, social influences, and needs and desires regarding condom provision and SRHR-services in schools. The majority of learners did not support condom provision in schools as they feared that it may increase sexual activity. Contrarily, they supported the provision of other SRHR-services as clinics fail to offer youth-friendly services. Learners’ sexual behaviour and access to SRHR-services are strongly determined by their social environment, including traditional norms and values, and social-pressure from peers and adults. Learners’ most pressing needs and desires to access condoms and SRHR-services in school concerned respect, privacy and confidentiality of such service provision. Implementation of DBE’s policy must be preceded by an evidence-informed advocacy campaign to debunk myths about the risk of increased sexual activity, to advocate for why such services are needed, to shift societal norms towards open discussion of adolescent SRHR and to grapple with the juxtaposition of being legally empowered but socially inhibited to protect oneself from HIV, STIs and early pregnancy. Provision of condoms and other SRHR-services in schools must be sensitive to learners’ privacy and confidentiality to minimise stigma and discrimination.

School leadership and accountability in managerialist times: implications for south african public schools

While it is argued in the paper that the New Public Management theory and practice has been applied much more in education than in any other area in the public sector, literature on education leadership and management still reveals a startling degree of confusion among education authorities, managers and leaders over what strategies to apply in order to bring out commitment, positive results and accountability among the school leaders. The authors argue that the confusion is caused by the fact that there has been a dramatic change in education policymaking that has adopted a more market-oriented approach and underplayed the conception of “education as a public good.” The authors conclude that this change has led to the obsession of educational authorities with quantifiable outcomes which have an adverse effect on the standard and quality of education in South Africa.Â

The role of governing bodies in the management of financial resources in South African no-fee public schools

The National Norms and Standards for School Funding policy was adopted by the government to address equity in South African public schools. This pro-poor funding policy compels the state to progressively fund schools based on a quintile ranking system. Schools lacking in infrastructure, physical and financial resources and usually located within poor socio-economic environments are ranked quintiles 1 and 2. These schools are referred to as no-fee schools and are provided with far more state funding than well-resourced schools, ranked quintiles 4 and 5. More recently, quintile 3 schools, serving middle-of-the-range communities, have also been declared no-fee schools. Most of the school governing bodies and principals serving no-fee schools experience numerous challenges in effectively managing their schools’ funds. Using a quantitative research approach, the study aimed to determine the views of teachers and school management team members of how no-fee schools manage the funds received from the state and other fundraising initiatives. The findings revealed that governing bodies of no-fee schools lacked the necessary financial and entrepreneurial skills and, therefore, experienced great difficulty in preparing budgets and cash flow projection statements that could enable them to effectively manage the schools’ funds.

Improving access to school based education for South African children in rural areas who have a tracheostomy: A case series and recommendations

ObjectivesCurrently few children with tracheostomies attend rural mainstreams schools in South Africa limiting their ability to gain an education. We sought to document the current school experience for the few children attending school who have tracheostomies and devise educational tools for teachers and administrators that will facilitate greater acceptance and safety in classrooms for this population. MethodsThe four patients that are currently attending school with a tracheostomy were identified from the patient records of a tertiary hospital with a pediatric tracheostomy home based care service. With the aid of a Zulu language translator, the mothers and classroom teachers completed a semi structured interview and closed item questionnaire in their home and school, respectively. Schools were visited to understand and describe the settings in which the children and their teachers were being asked to function. Tools for education were developed in conjunction with key stakeholders at schools already hosting such children. ResultsThe key teacher-identified barriers to enrollment were: teacher unfamiliarity with tracheostomies, uncertainty about the school's liability, and concerns about the response of other children. The safety barriers identified were: greater than 60 children per classroom - limiting teacher's ability to attend to the child with a tracheostomy, lack of running water, pit latrines separate from school threatening hygiene and isolating the child when they leave to use the latrines & sandy classrooms which can result in sand entering the airway. Identified needs for successful school placement include providing tracheostomy supplies and suctioning equipment, hand hygiene materials and training teachers in: identification of respiratory distress, performance of emergency tracheostomy changes, CPR. ConclusionsChildren with tracheostomies could likely successfully attend South African rural mainstream public schools with a training program for teachers. As a first step, an introductory booklet for teachers that explains tracheostomies and provides educational and safety suggestions was created. A list of recommendations for successful inclusion of students in the school system was developed together with and delivered to key stakeholders.

Linguistic Gender Sensitivity Strategies in Current South African Intermediate Phase English Workbooks: Feminisation or Degenderisation?

ABSTRACTThis study extends research on manifestations of gender insensitivity in learners’ reading materials by shifting attention to the linguistic strategies that authors of current texts employ for the realisation of gender sensitivity. We analysed the content of 12 current (2014) English workbooks (Grade 4–6) used in South African government and public schools for gender sensitive strategies they employed. Most strategies sought to get round the problem caused by the lack of a singular third person gender neutral pronoun in the English Language. Although both feminisation and degenderisation strategies were apparent in the few strategies observed, we observe the difficulty of degenderising reading materials without radical reforms within the English language. We posit that the judicious combination of feminisation and degenderisation holds promise for gender sensitivity in texts.

Causes of financial mismanagement in South African public schools: The views of role players

This paper investigates the underlying causes of financial mismanagement in public schools and focuses on the perceptions of various role players in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. The various Departments of Basic Education in South Africa allocate funds to schools each year, and expect school principals and school governing bodies to manage it appropriately. The problem is that in some schools, the principals, teachers and school governing body members are perpetrators of various financial mismanagement activities related to financial mismanagement. This article reports on qualitative research used to arrive at an in-depth understanding of why financial mismanagement occurs in certain schools. For this purpose, data was collected through semi-structured interviews with principals, finance officers and departmental officials and analysed thematically. The findings revealed a lack of knowledge of legislation and skills, poor monitoring and control of funds, unavailability of financial policies in schools, omission to act against culprits, and lack of honesty, openness and trustworthiness. The article proposes remedies that might bring financial management in public schools in line with the principles of good governance. Keywords: Accountability; Corruption; Financial maladministration; Financial mismanagement; Misappropriation; Principals; Public schools; School governing bodies

The perceptions of stakeholders of the implementation of a state funding model in South African public schools

ABSTRACTThe government has made great strides in redressing past imbalances in education through the National Norms and Standards for School Funding (NNSSF) policy that focuses on equity in school funding. This NNSSF model compels the state to fund public schools according to a poverty quintile system, where poor schools are allocated much more funding for resources than affluent schools. Using qualitative research, school management teams, school governing bodies and principals of six public schools located within the Gauteng West District were interviewed to determine their views of how the NNSSF policy had been implemented. One of the findings revealed that equity in public schools has not been fully achieved since funding provided by the state is insufficient to address the backlog in educational resources. It is recommended that the state abandons the policy of funding schools according to quintile rankings but instead, fund schools based on resource needs.

The church’s pastoral role concerning challenges faced by teachers in South-African public schools: Some practical theological perspectives

Teaching used to be a well-respected profession, which many people used to love in the past.Many children, when asked what they wanted to be when growing up, indicated that theywanted to be teachers. This is why – even when children were play-acting – most of them likedto play the role of a teacher. It is disturbing to learn that this profession has grown to be hated bymany people today. This is evidenced by the mass resignations of teachers from many publicschools over the past few years in South Africa. This exodus had been researched by differentscholars from different disciplines who have also made their recommendations as to how thesituation can be reversed. The fact that teachers, who are disappointed and demotivated tocontinue with the career, are the creation of God and are teaching the creation of God, calls forthe church through its pastoral theological services to play its role in trying to compose guidelinesfor the elimination of the problem. The purpose of this article is to search for possible ways inwhich the church can theologically play its role in addressing the problem of the teachers’dissatisfaction as well as giving some guidelines on how this challenge can be eliminated.

A Framework to Deal with Violence in South African Public Schools

A Framework to Deal with Violence in South African Public Schools

A Framework to Deal with Violence in South African Public Schools

Violence continues to be a major challenge in South African schools. The carrying of knives, guns and other weapons to school has become part of the daily life for many learners. These incidents hi...