Western Cape Education Department Research Articles

Primary school learners’ movement during class time: perceptions of educators in the Western Cape, South Africa

BackgroundOver the last decade, the efficacy of in-classroom movement interventions to reduce sedentary behaviour has been mainly conducted in high-income, developed countries. To date, there have been no published reports on the perceptions of principals and teachers regarding learners’ movement during class time to inform the implementation of classroom-based movement strategies to reduce sedentariness in South Africa.MethodsA sample of primary school principals and grades 5 and 6 teachers from a range of socio-economic categories participated in this exploratory, descriptive qualitative study in the metro central district of the Western Cape Education Department in South Africa. Transcripts of individual depth interviews (IDIs) with principals and focus group discussions (FGDs) with teachers were coded using Atlast ti 9* software for qualitative analysis.ResultsThirteen principals (13 IDIs) and 24 teachers (6 FGDs) participated in the study. Two main factors influencing in-classroom movement, namely teacher-related and structural factors, were identified. The teacher-related factors pertained to their classroom management practice, knowledge and beliefs about sitting, and management style influenced their role in delivering the curriculum and creating a classroom environment conducive for learning. Classroom factors pertained to classroom size, the number of learners in the class and the ergonomic utility of traditional classroom desks. Institutional expectations and acceptance of learners’ behaviour, and teachers’ practice were also notable contributing factors that influenced learners’ movement during class time.ConclusionEmerging evidence about the efficacy of in-classroom movement on sedentary behaviour and learning outcomes challenges traditional teacher practice that sitting is essential for the delivery of the curriculum and for creating an optimal learning environment. Teacher training about the behaviour control utility of in-classroom movement, and school management and policy supportive of in-classroom movement may encourage fidelity to in-classroom movement strategies.

Mapping the form of continuing professional development in public-private partnership schools in the Western Cape

Public-private partnership (PPP) schools in the Western Cape, South Africa, are known as collaboration schools. The management of these schools is outsourced to private entities known as school operating partners and these are, inter alia, also contracted to provide support to teachers through continuing professional development (CPD). The CPD activities are meant to up-skill teachers to improve teaching and learning and ultimately, advance learner performance. Although this is a valid principle, there is a need to evaluate the CPD received by collaboration schools. This paper profiles CPD provided in PPP schools to add to the understanding of this new form of schooling that which has taken hold in the Western Cape. Data were collected in the form of questionnaires and in-depth individual interviews with school operating partners, Western Cape Education Department officials, school leadership, teachers, and school governing body members. An analysis of the gathered information reveals that CPD received by teachers tends to focus narrowly on teaching and learning, and lacks the provision of a broad, expansive, and holistic notion of education. It also indicates the need for a better understanding of how such schools provide professional development support for teachers, and the effects on the provision of equitable and quality education for all.

Stakeholder engagement: A service delivery-based strategy formulation process in the public sector of South Africa

This paper explores stakeholder engagement in the strategic management process for service delivery in government. The main objective is to determine the factors influencing insufficient stakeholder engagement of strategic management processes for service delivery by a government department. The four moments of translation concept of Actor Network Theory (ANT) was utilised as a theoretical framework to understand and explain the interplay between the initiator of the network of service delivery and other actors in the network in aligning diverse interests to achieve service delivery goals. The assumption was that the phenomenon was ontologically subjective and that it was appropriate, epistemologically, to adopt an interpretive paradigm as the leading research philosophy, using a mixed approach of qualitative and quantitative elements wherein quantitative data was used to test the reliability of the qualitative data. Using the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) as a case study, a sample of 26 participants included 11 managers of WCED and 15 Khayelitsha Education Forum (KEF) members representing the community, school governing bodies and school principals and educators of 64 schools around Khayelitsha township. The study revealed that stakeholder engagement could address non-service delivery during service delivery strategy formulation and implementation. The findings suggest that a network of aligned interests should be established for continuous engagement in implementing strategic plans and service delivery in line with the mandate of Government departments and entities. The results imply intense arrangements and relationship building between government departments and citizens are needed to improve stakeholder relationships and alignment of service delivery expectations to reduce service delivery challenges.

Exploring Funding Models in ‘’No-Fee’’ Schools in Cape Town: Evidence from Selected Public Primary Schools.

Purpose: The explicit goal of education funding policy is to raise educational standards by addressing historical financial disparities. This study, explored the funding models in three no-fees public primary schools within the Western Cape Education Department in Cape Town. The specific objective of this study was to explore and discuss the funding models’ initiatives of schools in resources scarce communities in Cape Town.
 Methodology: A qualitative research model was adopted for the investigation. Semi-structured guided questions were used to obtain the data. Using intentional sampling, which selects individuals based on their backgrounds and expertise, a total of nine people was recruited. Three school principals, three chairs of the governing body, and three administrators of the school's finances made up the group of participants. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, data were recorded using telephone conversations. The researcher used a thematic data analysis approach to analyse the data after recording and meticulously transcribing the talks. Individual interviews, participant data, and document analysis were all merged by the researcher in order to make the research conclusions credible.
 Findings: As a result, it was determined whether the information from the case study and the interviews headed in the same direction. Additionally, the researcher gave each participant a chance to confirm that the facts were what they had provided as data. The study indicated that despite receiving 75% of their income from the government, certain no-fee public primary schools still had a high level of resource reliance. A sizeable part of school funding—25%—comes from voluntary donations. The funding attempts, however, have not succeeded in bringing in the money the schools sorely need. Due to government rules, schools feel they have too little money left over and are unable to make significant improvements. The study also showed that fundraising campaigns have an impact on education since they interfere with class time. Additionally, the study demonstrates that learner’s social competition has increased as a result of selling products on campus to raise extra money since learners whose parents cannot afford it do not want to feel afraid or humiliated.
 Recommendations: Selected schools should raise funds using stronger and more innovative funding initiatives rather than traditional, hands-on approaches. The government should rethink amending schooling policies to legally accord schools to collect fees, since studies show that parents in low-resource communities are removing their children from low-resource schools to well-resource schools. Governments also need to rethink school policy changes to give schools the flexibility to make significant budget changes.

An Assessment of Funding Management Strategies in ‘’No Fee’’ Schools in Cape Town: With Specific Reference to Selected Primary Schools.

Purpose: South Africa has a growing literature on no-fees public schools’ policy. The vision of this policy is to ensure that all citizens have equal access to quality basic education. This study, assessed the funding-management strategies in three no-fees public primary schools within the Western Cape Education Department. The specific objective of this study was to identify and discuss the funding-management strategies of schools in resources scarce communities and its impact in providing quality education.
 Methodology: The study used a qualitative research model. Data were collected through semi-structured guided questions. A total of nine participants were chosen using purposeful sampling, which is selecting participants based on their experiences and knowledge. Participants comprised three school principals’, three chairpersons of the school governing body, and three school finance heads. Data were recorded using telephonic conversation due to the covid-19 pandemic. The conversations were recorded and later transcribed word by word, as a result, the data were analyzed by the researcher using a thematic data analysis approach. To instill trust in the research findings, the researcher combined individual interviews with information from the participants and an analysis of written documents. As such, the data from interviews and the case study were verified to see if they pointed in the same direction. Also, the researcher gave all the participants a chance to verify whether or not the facts were what they gave to the researcher as data.
 Results: The study showed that schools involved in financial management realize that it is wise to manage their budgets more carefully than in the past, especially since budgets have always been tighter over the years. Thus, the topics of financial management, financial planning, reporting, recordkeeping, and control all present themselves in the same way. Funding strategies have improved transparency, accountability and collective accountability. However, there are still shortcomings in school fund management such as lack of clear strategic planning, irregular reporting and control measures. The study concluded that tuition waivers and funding management strategies in under-resourced communities affect the performance of elementary schools.
 Recommendations: Aligning funding strategies with policy goals is essential to ensuring that financial resources are used effectively to guide school reform and development. School-level learning objectives need to be clearly defined and prioritized, especially in school with resource planning responsibilities.

The level of difficulty and discrimination power of the items of the National Senior Certificate Mathematics Examination

South Africa’s National Senior Certificate examination system was introduced in 2008 as a single national examination system, in order to facilitate fair and standardised assessment and to provide all learners with an equal chance of access to higher education. However, limited research has been done to investigate the discrimination power of the actual examination items and the spread difficulty level for learners from different school quintile types. The purpose of the study reported on here was to investigate differential performance of learners in the items of the 2009 National Senior Certificate mathematics examination. The dataset used in this study was from the Western Cape (WC) Education Department. From the analysis, the results show that the discrimination power of the different examination questions was not identical across different school quintiles. Further investigation of the data reflects a considerable range of category difficulty levels, with higher (above average) ability levels being tested for learners in the quintile 1 to quintile 4 schools, while only learners with average abilities were being tested in the quintile 5 and independent schools.

Learner performance in the 2009 to 2014 final Grade 12 mathematics examination: A quantile regression approach

The South African education system bears evidence of fluctuations in the final Grade 12 mathematics marks occurring across different learner profiles. This study reflected on the National Senior Certificate (NSC) mathematics results from the Western Cape Education Department for the years 2009 to 2014, the period just after the introduction of the NSC in 2008 and including the updated NSC introduced in 2014. Accordingly, this study aimed to examine the learners’ performance by socio-economic school quintile and education district for the period of 2009 to 2014, for learners in the Western Cape. Instead of the ordinary regression model, we adopted the quantile regression approach to examine the effect of school (national) quintile (NQ) type and education district at different quantiles of learner performance in the mathematics examination. The results showed that there is a significant school quintile type and education district effect on learner performance in NSC mathematics examinations for learners in the Western Cape. In some years, there were no significant performance differences between learners from NQ2 and NQ4 schools in the different quantiles. Similarly, learner performance differences for NQ3 and NQ4 schools were not significant. As we moved from 2009 to 2014, the performance difference between the lower school quintiles and the upper school quintiles narrowed, although the performance differences remained significant. These differences were smallest in 2013. This is a good sign, as it indicates that government efforts and policies, designed to narrow the historical social disparities manifested in the schools, have been somewhat successful. The identification and scrutinising of school quintile type and education district where the gap is wider will assist the government to review policies and interventions to accelerate the transformation.

Integration of MOODLE into the classroom for better conceptual understanding of functions in Mathematics

Many South African educational institutions are adopting learning management systems (LMS) into their daily teaching and learning practice. The Western Cape Education Department piloted Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment (Moodle), an LMS for improving teaching and learning. The objective of the research reported on here was to determine whether Moodle improved Grade 10 learners’ conceptual understanding of the topic, functions, in mathematics. The research investigated two classes; one dependent upon a traditional chalk-and-talk teaching method (control), and another exposed to Moodle (experimental). It was found that learners constructed their own knowledge by drawing on resources embedded in Moodle and framed within a Social Constructivist theory. A hybrid e-learning framework was deployed; learners acquired knowledge by interacting with computers. Interaction was monitored and results were recorded using online surveys and tests. A quasi-experimental design was employed to compare the groups. The comparisons were statistically analysed. Results showed that the functionalities within the Moodle LMS were instrumental in improving conceptual understanding of mathematical functions.

Integration of MOODLE into the classroom for better conceptual understanding of functions in Mathematics

Many South African educational institutions are adopting learning management systems (LMS) into their daily teaching and learning practice. The Western Cape Education Department piloted Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment (Moodle), an LMS for improving teaching and learning. The objective of the research reported on here was to determine whether Moodle improved Grade 10 learners’ conceptual understanding of the topic, functions, in mathematics. The research investigated two classes; one dependent upon a traditional chalk-and-talk teaching method (control), and another exposed to Moodle (experimental). It was found that learners constructed their own knowledge by drawing on resources embedded in Moodle and framed within a Social Constructivist theory. A hybrid e-learning framework was deployed; learners acquired knowledge by interacting with computers. Interaction was monitored and results were recorded using online surveys and tests. A quasi-experimental design was employed to compare the groups. The comparisons were statistically analysed. Results showed that the functionalities within the Moodle LMS were instrumental in improving conceptual understanding of mathematical functions.

Public-Private Partnerships in South African Education: Risky Business or Good Governance?

This article discusses the globalised phenomenon of public-private partnerships, which involve the private and public sector collaborating to provide infrastructure and service delivery to public institutions. Within the education sector, the most commonly known public-private partnerships exist in the United States as charter schools and the United Kingdom as academies. Discussing this phenomenon in the South African context, this article draws on the Collaboration Schools Pilot Project as an example for understanding how the involvement of private partnerships within public schooling is being conceptualised by the Western Cape Education Department. Framed within the debate of public-private partnerships for the public good, the article provides a critical discussion on how these partnerships are enacted as a decentralisation of state involvement in the provision of public schooling by government. The article concludes by noting that the Collaboration Schools Pilot Project, which involves significant changes in policy regarding how schools are governed and managed, requires more rigorous and critical dialogue by all stakeholders as the model unfolds in schools in the Western Cape.

Caregiver descriptions of joint activity routines with young children with autism spectrum disorder in South Africa.

Coaching caregivers to deliver Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Intervention (NDBI) strategies to their young child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) could help address the provider capacity barrier in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the behavioral and developmental research that underpins NDBIs is overwhelmingly drawn from high resource settings. Therefore, our understanding of joint activity routines, including play and family routines in which NDBI strategies are embedded, may have limited applicability in low resource, culturally diverse environments. Important questions remain on how to adapt NDBIs to be relevant in the family lives in these settings. This study aimed to elicit descriptions of joint activity routines from caregivers of young children with ASD in South Africa, to understand whether an NDBI-informed caregiver coaching could 'fit' within the multicultural, multilingual South African context. Four focus groups were conducted with 22 caregivers of young children with ASD who were recruited from the Western Cape Education Department autism waiting list. Data were analyzed through directed content analysis, which uses inductive methods to determine salient themes and subthemes. The predetermined initial coding classifications were based on joint activity routine categories of object-based play, sensory social routines, and family routines. Participants' descriptions of caregiver-child interactions aligned with a-priori joint activity routine categories. During object-based play, caregivers engaged in turn-taking, taught developmental skills (for example cognitive, language, and fine motor skills), and participated in child-directed activities. During sensory social routines, caregivers described active, physical play, awareness of child affect, increased child expressive language, and willingness to engage with different play partners. During family routines, caregivers detailed child participation in mealtime and bath time. These data suggest that South African caregivers of young children with ASD use joint activity routines to engage their children and teach them new skills, thus suggesting a degree of 'fit' between South African caregiver-child interactions and an NDBI-informed caregiver coaching approach. However, more information on family routines and which caregiver interacts with the young child with ASD during these routines would help tailor these interventions for low-resource African settings.

The constitutionality of the Fee Exemption Regulations in South African schools: A critical analysis of Michelle Saffer v Head of Department, Western Cape Education Department

The constitutionality of the Fee Exemption Regulations in South African schools: A critical analysis of Michelle Saffer v Head of Department, Western Cape Education Department

Factors influencing the in-service programmes: Case study of teachers with learner-centred strategies in Blue Watersi setting

Key policies on teacher development emphasise the necessity of a teaching force that is competent to apply learner-centred practices. Barriers to learning, like poverty, present huge classroom challenges and have implications for in-service programmes intended to develop learner-centred practices. This study endeavoured to determine factors that influenced the effective implementation of in-service programmes to assist teachers with learner-centred teaching in the Blue Waters area of the Western Cape. It was anticipated that identifying these factors would assist teachers in poverty-stricken schools in an area like Blue Waters to effectively deal with poverty-related challenges of individual learners. A qualitative case study approach was applied with convenience and purposive sampling. Semi-structured interviews and a document study were used as tools to collect data. The participants of this study consisted of one principal, one social worker, and one district officer from the Western Cape Education Department (WCED). Qualitative data was analysed through thematic analysis. The competencies of teachers, Department of Education (DoE) and Department of Basic Education (DBE) policy intentions, socio-economic issues, and the types of in-service development programmes were revealed as factors inhibiting the In-Service Development Programmes at schools. This study recommended that the application of this strategy needed the holistic development of teaching skills at schools in Blue Waters. Keywords: barriers to learning; in-service programmes; learner-centred strategies

Shared writing as first phase in writing instruction of Intermediate Phase Afrikaans Home Language learners

Since 2012, the poor literacy levels of Intermediate Phase (IP) learners have been a concern for officials in the Western Cape Education Department (WCED). Responding to the literacy crisis, the WCED has implemented the South African Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), along with various other literacy interventions, but in the West Coast District, IP learners’ writing skills remain poor. Focusing on the West Coast District, this article sheds light on the implementation of writing-instruction practices in Afrikaans classrooms, specifically ‘shared writing’, as outlined in CAPS. The article maps the theoretical and conceptual framework of the writing process. In particular, it discusses Vygotsky’s and Piaget’s ideas on social-cognitive development and scaffolding, which propose that a competent adult should interactively model the writing process to learners before practice and independent writing are attempted. Current literature in the field of writing instruction foregrounds the concepts of ‘thinking aloud’ and a ‘shared pen’, according to which the teacher and learner co-compose a text, allowing teachers to model writing strategies and learners to become competent writers. In this study, quantitative and qualitative research methods were used to describe and understand West Coast District IP Afrikaans Home Language teachers’ implementation of shared writing. Data collection consisted of quantitative and qualitative questionnaires, as well as interviews, with results converted into percentages. Subsequent data analysis disclosed the patterns, strengths and weaknesses experienced by IP Afrikaans Home Language teachers in the West Coast District, and provide valuable insights into the implementation of shared writing.

Comparison of two infrastructure project implementation models in a developing country

A comparative analysis of public sector infrastructure projects implemented using a traditional public sector model against projects implemented using a modern management contractor model is presented. Traditionally, the implementation of public sector construction projects in South Africa is undertaken by an implementer such as the Department of Public Works. However, in 2014, the Western Cape Education Department created a framework contract and employed two management contractors with single-point accountability to implement maintenance and upgrading projects alongside those implemented in the traditional manner. A total of 122 projects implemented by management contractors are evaluated and compared with 35 implemented by the Western Cape Department of Transport and Public Works based on the cost performance, time performance and professional services costs of the two approaches. The practice of including contingency and provisional sums in contracts distorts the cost performance analysis, and superficial comparisons can be misleading. The management contracts delivered more projects on time. The professional services costs associated with management contracts was 9·2% compared to 15·6% for public works projects. The overall evidence demonstrates that the management contracting system is efficient and suited to the nature of maintenance and upgrading projects and delivers significant advantages.

Implementation of Educational Provision for Children with Severe to Profound Intellectual Disability in the Western Cape: From Rights to Reality

Children with severe to profound intellectual disability have been excluded from education on the basis that their impairment makes them ‘ineducable’. The Western Cape Forum for Intellectual Disability challenged this notion through litigation against the South African Government. The ensuing judgement asserts the right to education of these children and outlines action steps for government to this end. We describe the actions taken by the Western Cape Education Department in responding to the requirements of the court by means of a document review. We then reflect on the implementation process, highlighting key learning points of relevance for others engaged in implementation. We note critical factors to be considered for the child, their families, special care centres, and the broader educational and legal systems. We conclude by outlining important considerations for the inclusion of these children within the education system in South Africa.

The Potential and Limits of Performance Management: Improving Basic Education in the Western Cape

The focus of this paper is on the management and governance of education at provincial level – specifically on efforts to introduce performance management into education by the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), and their impact. Post-1994 the WCED inherited a bureaucracy that was well placed to manage the province’s large public education system. Subsequently, irrespective of which political party has been in power, the WCED consistently has sought to implement performance management. This paper explores to what extent determined, top-down efforts, led by the public sector, can improve dismal educational performance. The paper concludes that the WCED is (and long has been) a relatively well-run public bureaucracy. However, the sustained, determined efforts to strengthen the operation of the WCED’s bureaucracy have not translated into systematic improvements in schools in poorer areas. One possible implication is that efforts to strengthen hierarchy might usefully be complemented with additional effort to support more horizontal, peer-to-peer governance at the school level.

The baseline assessment of Grade 1 learners’ literacy skills in a socio-economically disadvantaged school setting

<p>Research has revealed that the academic performances of learners in South Africa are below the required level. The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) launched the literacy and numeracy strategy 2006–2016 in response to the low literacy and numeracy levels. In addition, the WCED introduced the Grade 1 baseline assessment in 2006, as part of the literacy and numeracy strategy. The purpose of this study was to observe the implementation of the Grade 1 literacy baseline assessment programme of the WCED. This study aimed to determine what literacy barriers, if any, the learners were experiencing and to recommend literacy support strategies, in order to inform teaching practices. Purposive sampling was used for the selection of a Grade 1 class, with English as the language of learning and teaching Thirty-seven Grade 1 learners participated in the study. A mixed-methods research design was used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. The data collection strategies employed<br />included documentary analysis, by examining participants’ school admission forms to provide biographical information as well as their written baseline assessment scripts. The baseline assessment process was also observed as it was being conducted. The findings suggest that some of the learners experienced literacy barriers in terms of receptive and expressive language, perceptual skills and fine motor development. The data were summarised, and the information was used to describe the literacy barriers in terms of the biographical variables and to recommend learning support strategies for literacy development.</p>

The validation of an educational database for children with profound intellectual disabilities.

BackgroundThe Western Cape Forum for Intellectual Disability took the South African Government to court in 2010 on its failure to implement the right to education for Children with Severe and Profound Intellectual Disability. Subsequently, multidisciplinary teams were appointed by the Western Cape Education Department to deliver services to the Special Care Centres (SCCs). Initially, minimal information was available on this population.ObjectivesThe purpose is to document the process of developing and validating a database for the collection of routine data.MethodA descriptive analytical study design was used. A sample of convenience was drawn from individuals under the age of 18 years, enrolled in SCCs in the Western Cape. The team who entered and analysed the data reached consensus regarding the utility and feasibility of each item.ResultsData were collected on 134 children. The omission of certain items from the database was identified. Some information was not reliable or readily available. Of the instruments identified to assess function, the classification systems were found to be reliable and useful, as were the performance scales. The WeeFIM, on the other hand, was lengthy and expensive, and was therefore discarded.Discussion and conclusionsA list of items to be included was identified. Apart from an individual profile, it can be useful for service planning and monitoring, if incorporated into the central information system used to monitor the performance of all children. Without such inclusion, this most vulnerable population, despite court ruling, will not have their right to education adequately addressed.

Hastening slowly: insights about teacher development from an evaluation of courses at the WCED’s Cape Teaching and Leadership Institute

In the area of teacher professional development, South African education administrators face the challenge of reconciling two imperatives that have entirely different implications for programme time frames and budgets. On the one hand, there is an urgent need to improve the pedagogic content knowledge of many teachers to improve the overall standard of teaching and learning in the public school system. Considering the scale and urgency of the matter, centralised course-based in-service training seems to be the only affordable alternative. On the other hand, researchers have long warned that once-off course-based training on its own has limited impact on teachers’ practice, and has to be accompanied by further professional support in the school and classroom, or be abandoned in favour of more enduring professional learning communities. The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has grappled with this dilemma in the Department’s various professional development initiatives for teachers, a mainstay of which is the training offered by the Cape Teaching and Leadership Institute (CTLI). This paper presents some of the data and findings from an external evaluation that ORT SA CAPE conducted in 2011–2012 of courses offered by the WCED at the CTLI. The hierarchy of INSET outcomes proposed by Harland and Kinder (1997) was applied to record changes in the practice of 18 teachers at eight schools. The progress of five of the teachers is discussed to illustrate the interplay between school-level factors and the experiences of individual teachers which influenced the impact of CTLI training on their teaching.