Unit 1 PHG401

THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT.

SCHOOL SYSTEMS IN SOUTH AFRICA
Fleisch (2008) and the SA Human Rights Commission
(2006) assert that South Africa appears to have not
one, but two unofficial education systems mirroring
the problems of two economies
One, which caters for the elite and the White and Black middle
class (about 20% of the population), provides an education
comparable to that offered to middle class children worldwide
(Taylor, 2006
In contrast, the majority of schools are not equipped
for success and are barely functioning.
These institutions fall within a system that serves the
majority (over 80%) of the South African working class
and poor children.
Educational quality in historically black schools which
constitute 80% of enrolment and are thus central to
educational progress has not improved significantly
since political transition
(van der Berg, 2005, p. 1)
SAS performance on national and international tests
In the TIMMS test on maths and science proficiency at
Gr 8 level SA came last of 50 participating countries

On SACMEQ tests administered in 2005, SA scored 9th

of 14 countries in the region
In the UNESCO Monitoring Learner Assessment (MLA)
tests for Grade 4, SAs numeracy score was 30% lower
than Mauritius, Senegal and Malawi
A Gr 3 systemic evaluation found low achievements
across all provinces in literacy and numeracy

ANA RESULTS 2013

Commitment to doing better

Given low performance in Grade 9 mathematics and

concerns raised about the nature, structure and content of
the 2013 ANA Grade 9 test instrument, Motshekga had
on 19 November convened a special meeting of the
Maths, Science and Technology (MST) Task team to
investigate whether the test instrument was fair, valid and
reliable.

The task team is led by Professor John Bradley. It gave its

report to the minister on 2 December 2014.
 The task team said the results are a genuine and credible
reflection of the learning achievements in Grade 9 maths.
The report further indicated that the Curriculum and
Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) provide
comprehensive guidelines on curriculum content and
assessment, and should be considered a primary vehicle
for addressing low performance in Grade 9 maths, said
Motshekga.

Test results patterns

Best results achieved by historically privileged schools
significant gap between these and historically
disadvantaged
Results suggest that while SA has, improved access to
schooling for the majority of the population, quality
schooling is provided for the minority and
SA schooling is not effective nor efficient considering
that SA performs less well than its neighbours who
spend less on their education systems

Poor quality of schooling at primary and secondary

schools severely limits the youths capacity to exploit
further training opportunities. (Spaull 2013)
UNIT 1: Good Teaching, Good Learning
Specific outcomes:

Good teaching and learning must happen in schools

Schools should provide a consistently high standard of
teaching and learning
Make good teaching and good learning a high priority
Create conditions for classroom improvement
1. How can we make good teaching and learning happen
and how will we know it is happening?
GOOD TEACHING IS NOT JUST ABOUT:

academic/ curriculum matters nor confined to the

classroom
good results (by-product)
drill and rote learning (may be necessary for
understanding)
Group work.
Good teaching and learning is about:
- intellect; stimulating young minds to think
- making learners think about their thinking / reflecting on
thinking
It is about grappling with a problem or concept until it is
understood and
 can be fitted into the framework of the jigsaw puzzle that is
our ideas

Its about hard work; its about pushing in the same direction,
and its about sustained efforts. There are no quick fixes

Read Personal story (p204)

2. How can we make good teaching and learning a priority
in our schools?
Consider the work of Maslow
Good teaching and learning should always be on the lips of
leaders and their staff
Talk must influence every decision
Build a strategy to know where you want to go and to plan
the steps that you will need to get there (Vision)
First requirement to make good teaching and good
learning prosper in your school > have the will to make it
work
Spend time with SMT reflecting on school policies and
practices and ensure they promote good teaching and
learning
3. The Five levels of leadership
Level 5: Executive. Builds enduring greatness through a
paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will
Level 4: Effective leader. Catalyses commitment to and
vigorous pursuit of a clear and compelling vision, stimulating
higher performance standards.
Level 3: Competent manager. Organises people and resources
toward effective and efficient pursuit of pre-determined
objectives.
Level 2: Contributing team member. Contributes individual
capabilities to the achievement of group objectives and works
effectively with others in a group setting
Level 1: Highly capable individual. Makes productive
contributions through talent, knowledge, skills and good work
habits
REQUIREMENTS FOR EFFECTIVE LEARNING

Kaplan and Owings (2001) distinguish between teacher

quality and teaching quality
Teacher quality = inputs the teacher brings to the school
e.g. demographics, professional preparation, work
experience, qualifications, etc.
Teaching quality = the ability to teach, what the teacher
does to promote student learning, creating a positive
climate, selecting appropriate instructional goals, using
 curriculum effectively and employing instructional factors
related to increases student achievement
BARRIERS TO LEARNING (pp208)

July 2001 DoE launched White Paper 6 Special Needs

Education confirming commitment to the constitutional
challenge that all learners pursue their learning to the
fullest
Purpose: the provision of educational opportunities for
learners who experience barriers to learning or have
dropped out because of inability of the system to
accommodate the diversity of learning needs
The White Paper 6 seeks to assess and address needs of
learners within a single unified education system
FOR many schools struggling with challenges of large
classes, poorly qualified and unmotivated teachers, limited
resources, lack of support from DoE officials, this idea is
pie in the sky stuff
Other barriers to learning experienced in many public
schools relate to language to poverty
STRATEGIES FOR GOOD TEACHING AND GOOD LEARNING
(pp209)

Strategies for the Principals

- Work closely with subject teachers
- Talk about the importance of good teaching
- Observe teachers teaching and discuss observation with
them
- Visit classrooms frequently and identify examples of best
practice
- Give specific positive feedback on what you have observed
Strategies for the school
- Hire well qualified teachers with a verifiable record of
teaching should
- Establish policy which ensures that when the timetable is
drawn up each teacher is allocated both high performing
and academically weak class groups
- Plan the programme of professional development for the
school year so that most of the programme is devoted to
issues related to teaching best practice

PHG 401

QUESTIONS TO PREPARE
 Read the article on LITERATURE SCHOOLS THAT WORK and prepare the following questions:

1. THE COLEMAN REPORT

- What was the purpose of the study?
- What were the findings of the study and how were these (findings) received by other
scholars?
- What recommendations or claims did the report make?
- How relevant is the study to the South African scenario?
2. EFFECTIVE SCHOOLS RESEARCH (ESR)
- What triggered the ESR?
- What was the focus of ESR?
- What came out of ESR?
- Critically evaluate Heneveld and Craigs conceptual framework on ESR.
- What criticisms were leveled against ESR?
- Discuss lessons learnt from ESR as viewed by MacBeath and Mortimore.

3. SCHOOLS THAT WORK IN SOUTH AFRICA

- Outline published and unpublished works you know of on aspects of the post-apartheid
education system relating to performance.
- How would you describe the quality of schooling in South Africa particularly for the majority
of the population? Justify your answer.
- Comment on the following:
i) Problem in systemic performance
ii) Performance in mathematics and science
iii) Views of scholars on poor performance
iv) Literature on schools that work in South Africa
- What factors according to Taylor, may optimize learning and improve school results?