Education Handbook 3 by Argo

IT’S TIME FOR ACTION...

Let’s get together things happen for a reason. take the example of the education roundtable, where we invited education leaders to share ideas on working together to address the challenge of achieving quality education. the energy generated from connecting inspired us all and created the motivation to:

“Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work...” -Daniel Burnham, Chicago architect. (1846-1912)

the education roundtable highlighted the need to work together to address the challenge of achieving quality education. In our conversations, we recognised that it takes courage, commitment and leadership to create a better future that we can all believe in. You have inspired us with your tireless efforts to make a difference and we would like to support your work by providing a practical education handbook, designed to encourage education leaders to get together and share ideas and projects, so that the challenge of achieving quality education becomes a team effort. there is one goal – achieving quality education, which is a basic right for every child in south Africa, not just those children who are fortunate enough to have access to good schooling. to inspire us to work together as one, we have launched the oNe campaign for achieving quality education for every child – the purpose is to profile actual projects across the different levels of the education system, to encourage confidence in the system, as it transitions from policy

development to achieving action. Join us inINSPIRE inspiring othersour to believe in education, by sharingbig, We youth to dream

master their skills and achieve.

your work on www.eD.org.za so that we can support the National Development Plan: “the plan will only achieve its objectives, if it enjoys broad social support and it will only work

We RECOGNIZE the role of teachers in our community.

if there is strong leadership and focused implementation. government and society as a whole are responsible for improving and implementing the national development plan.”

WeQUALITY MOTIVATE schools to RIGHT get their TOGETHER, WE CAN ACHIEVE EDUCATION – A BASIC FOR EVERY CHILD

learners future-focussed and

study-fit.

thanks to the team at Argo and to those of you that have shared your insights to make this a team effort.

ONE GOAL: INSPIRING BELIEF IN ACHIEVING QUALITY EDUCATION. Join the action leaders in education, and let’s focus on action, by tracking the top 100 projects on www.ED.org.za to inspire belief in the power of education. Proudly brought to you by Argo

We help teachers, opinion leaders and thinkers to COLLABORATE on key issues to and streamline actions.

sue Fontannaz research Director, Argo

We encourage society to demonstrate their SUPPORT by sharing stories of hope and transformation.

Argo has been developing leading communication projects in thea education past 15 years. We have established Connect with us to make difference and arena influencefor our the future: Tel +27 (0)21 865 2813 |relationships Fax +27 (0)21 865 2166 info@argo.org.za and| Email partnerships in all spheres of SA’s education www.argo.org.za community. For more information about our products please visit www.argo.org.za or contact us on 021 865 2813 or info@argo.org.za 1

CONNECT ON www.ED.Org.zA AND sHArE yOUr INsIgHTs

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ARGO: TAKING ACTION TO CREATE IMPACT

PROFILE • MASIXHASANE: JAG LITERACY PROJECT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

CHAPTER 1 RISING TO THE CHALLENGE OF ACHIEVING A QUALITY EDUCATION . . . . . 01

PROFILE • LAUNCH OF THE COZACARES FOUNDATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 04

CHAPTER 5 AN OVERVIEW OF THE KEY EDUCATION LEADERS AND INFLUENCERS. . . . 77

9 KEY CHALLENGES IDENTIFIED BY THE NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 06

TIME FOR THE NONPROFIT SECTOR TO CONSOLIDATE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

LESSONS LEARNT FROM THE PAST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 07 PROFILE • OLD MUTUAL FOUNDATION: ENABLING POSITIVE FUTURES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 08

PROFILE • FAIRHILLS: MAKING LIFE FAIR: A CASE STUDY OF INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION TO EMPOWER A DISTRESSED COMMUNITY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

KEY TRENDS REFLECTING THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION IN SOCIETAL DEVELOPMENT. . . . . . . . . 09

PROFILE • JUTA: LIGHTING THE LITERACY FIRE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

BUDGET 2012 HIGHLIGHTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

PROFILE • HOW CAPITEC SUPPORTS EDUCATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

THE POWER OF ONE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

PROFILE • THE POWER OF WORKING TOGETHER – THE ARGO EDUCATION ROUNDTABLE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

PROFILE • DOE: OVERVIEW OF 2011-2012 FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF BASIC EDUC ATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

CHAPTER 6 MOBILISING SOCIETY TO ACHIEVE QUALITY EDUCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

PROFILE • THE TRANSNET FOUNDATION’S EDUC ATION PORTFOLIO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

CAPITALIZING POOR PEOPLE IN SOUTH AFRICA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

www.argo.org.za, Tel 021 865 2813 or

CHAPTER 2 THE LEARNER AT THE CENTRE OF EDUCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

SUSPENDING JUDGEMENT AND DEVELOPING UNDERSTANDING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

info@argo.org.za.

PROVIDING THE BASIC SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA IN EDUCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

PROFILE • CELL C: KEEPING DREAMS ALIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

PROFILE • MINDSET LEARN: SUPPORTING EDUCATION BY PROVIDING EXCELLENT TEACHING AND LEARNING RESOURCES.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Published by Argo

Published in Stellenbosch, South Africa, July 2012. By Argo, Devon Valley Road, Stellenbosch, South Africa. Tel: 021 865 2813, info@argo.org.za, www.argo.org.za

CHILDREN ON SOCIAL GRANTS UP 13-FOLD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT: THE FIRST PRIORITY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 GENERAL SCHOOLING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

PROFILE • MUSTEK COMMITTED TO E-LEARNING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

PROFILE • IMSIMBI TRAINING: YOUR PARTNER IN EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 PROFILE • BRIDGE - A SYNOPSIS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 PROFILE • SANGARI INSTITUTE (F1 IN SCHOOLS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

SCHOOLING TARGETS IDENTIFIED BY THE NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Managing Editor: Sue Fontannaz

LEARNER ACHIEVEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 TOWARDS A DELIVERY-DRIVEN AND QUALITY EDUCATION SYSTEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Editorial team: Jeanne de Wet, Charmaine Smith, Jeanne Enslin Production Manager: Jeanne de Wet

THE NEGLECTED ELEMENT IN SCHOOLING: CHILDREN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 PROFILE • THE GOLD PEER EDUC ATION DEVELOPMENT AGENCY YOUTH DEVELOPMENT.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Design and Layout: Limbik (www.limbik.co.za)

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT: HIGHLIGHTING SOME BEST PRACTICES IN THE LAST DECADE.. . . . . . . . . . 33

Printing: Paarl Media

PROFILE • ARGO FUTURE STARS: LET’S INSPIRE THE FUTURE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Disclaimer: While every effort has been taken to ensure

CHAPTER 3 THE CENTRAL ROLE OF TEACHERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

that the information contained in this publication is

PROFILE • THE DOE - ACTION PLAN TO 2014. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

accurate and complete, Argo cannot accept any legal

PROFILE • THE DOE - MEASURING PROGRESS: ANNUAL NATIONAL ASSESSMENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

responsibility for action taken on the information given or the opinions expressed on this information. E & 0.E.

PROFILE • THE e.TV VALUES C AMPAIGN CELEBRATES POSITIVE SOUTH AFRIC ANS!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 PROFILE • ARGO STARS IN EDUC ATION AWARDS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

PROFILE • e.TV CELEBRATES GREAT TEACHERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

not be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

by any means, without the prior permission of the copyright holder. Any information from the Education Handbook used in other sources must accurately reference the publisher and

SADTU’S RESPONSE TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS ON EDUCATION AND TRAINING BY THE NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

the title of the Handbook. Copyright of photographs resides

SADTU CONDUCTS RESEARCH ON TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT NEEDS FOR TEACHERS . . . . . . 55

with the photographers.

ARGO CONDUCTS RESEARCH ON THE NEEDS OF TEACHERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 PROFILE • OLD MUTUAL: HELPING TEACHERS TO HELP LEARNERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

ISBN: 978-0-620-53640-0 3rd edition of the Education Handbook

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

PROFILE • OLD MUTUAL: EDUC ATION THAT CHANGES LIVES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 PROFILE • MACMILLAN TEACHER C AMPUS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 THE VISION FOR SCHOOLING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

THE SECTOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING AUTHORITIES (SETAS). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 PROFILE • PARTNER WITH BANSETA TO GROW YOUR HUMAN CAPITAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 PROFILE • SABC LEADS THE PACK IN TRAINING OF STUDENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 THE GREEN PAPER FOR POST-SCHOOL EDUCATION AND TRAINING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 PROFILE • METROPOLITAN: EMPOWERING YOU TO CONFIDENTLY SHAPE YOUR FUTURE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

CHAPTER 8 DEVELOPING FUTURE THINKERS – IT’S AN ART . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 UNIVERSITIES ARE KEY TO DEVELOPING A NATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 PROFILE • ARGO: THE ‘ART’ OF DEVELOPING ACHEIVERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 PROFILE • UNISA: THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION SAFE IN OUR HANDS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 INTERNATIONAL RANKING OF SOUTH AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 FUNDING OF UNIVERSITIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 INNOVATIVE PROGRAMMES IN STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF THE FREE STATE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 PROFILE • CELL C: THE POWER OF EDUCATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

CHAPTER 9 CONNECTING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 OVERVIEW OF EDUCATION SYSTEM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

CHAPTER 4 SCHOOLS AT THE CENTRE OF OUR COMMUNITIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

CHANGING EDUCATION, ONE PRINCIPAL AT A TIME. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

CHAPTER 7 TOWARDS A SKILLED WORKFORCE AND THE ROLE OF FURTHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING (FET). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

STATISTICS IN SOUTH AFRICA 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 PROFILE • OLD MUTUAL: GAINING FINANCIAL WISDOM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 HOPE FOR BASIC EDUCATION IN SA THROUGH BETTER SHARING AND COLLABORATION. . . . . . 153 PROFILE • OLD MUTUAL: MAKING WISE CHOICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

LIST OF REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

TSHIKULULU: TECHNOLOGY IN SCHOOLS – WHAT WE’VE LEARNT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

NGO PROFILES & PROJECTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

E-LEARNING IS NOT JUST ABOUT TECHNOLOGY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

USEFUL SOURCES OF INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

Connect on www.ed.org.za and share your insights

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

ADVERTORIAL / CASE STUDY

TAKING ACTION TO CREATE IMPACT

Supporting education leaders

FUTURE STARS

FUTURE STARS 2012 SUPERSPORT DIARY

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever hasâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Margaret Mead.

FUTURE STARS DIARY

Our research shows that we need to support our education leaders, as they face the daunting challenge of improving our education system. The Education Roundtable offered a forum for education leaders to engage and share resources, and we are building the momentum with the Education Handbook and www.ED.org.za, to encourage collaboration. We have also launched the ONE campaign, designed to inspire confidence in education, by profiling the projects that are getting results â&#x20AC;&#x201C; so that we can work as one, to achieving one goal: quality education for every child in South Africa.

2012

DIARY

2012

We partnered with SADTU and Education International to profile these campaigns to global education leaders.

You can win one of 5 x R10 000 prizes!

Get your friends to vote online for you and win!

Proudly brought to you by Argo

ACE YOUR CAREER

BE THE BEST THAT YOU CAN BE Issue 2 2011 AND ACE YOUR SCHOOL CAREER!

The recent youth unrest around the world has inspired us to take action and launch the Future Stars awards, designed to inspire the youth to believe in the power of education to change their world.

Ever wondered why some people manage their day so effectively and get through all of their homework and studies? What is their secret to success and how do you achieve your potential? How do you become all that you are meant to be? This is an important and â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;life-changingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; question when dealing with becoming your best and doing your best in your final exams! So, in order to figure out how you can manage your exams and stop struggling with your school work, take a break to determine who you really are and how that can help you ACE your performance and YOUR future! It is important that you create an inner â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;compassâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; that can direct you in becoming the best that youTHE can be! ART OF

â&#x20AC;˘ Curriculum policy and guideline documents,

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The question on everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lips is why we do not, as Mamphela Ramphele always wants us to do, declare the death certificate of outcomes-based education, OBE? I must say that we have, to all intents and purposes, done so. So if anybody asks us if we are going to continue with OBE, we say that there is no longer OBE. We have completely done away with it.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;In order for there to be learning outcomes and educational experiences of the majority to improve, we need to focus attention on dedicated, inspired teaching based on a curriculum that is teachable.â&#x20AC;? The task team has recommended that the changes occur within a framework of a five-year plan from 2010 to 2014. Some of the changes will take effect from January 2010. Some of the recommendations to be implemented from the beginning of 2010 should definitely bring immediate relief to teachers. Others will need more planning and consultation. The emphasis is on ensuring that there is more time for teaching and learning. Teachers will be relieved of administrative burdens that

â&#x20AC;˘ assessment - par ticularly continuous assessment.

CONNECTING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

During the hearings, the focus was extended to include:

CURRICULUM REVIEW

EDUCATION HANDBOOK

Reduction in formal assessment tasks â&#x20AC;&#x153;The number of projects required as formal assessment tasks for each learning area is reduced to one project per subject. Promotion and progression requirements for Grades R to 12, as well as grading descriptors for all grades, are to be finalised. The balance between year marks and exams should be 50% for Grades 4 to 9, and 75% exam mark for Grades 10 to 12.â&#x20AC;? Focus on the role of textbooks and expert learning material suppliers

EDUCATION HANDBOOK

â&#x20AC;˘ the transition between grades and phases, and

are

â&#x20AC;&#x153;With regard to the relief of the administrative burden on teachers, we are going to ensure that learner por tfolios as separate, formal compilations of assessment tasks are discontinued from January 2010. What the team found is that some of the assessment requirements that we had placed on learners did not add any value, but instead distracted both teachers and learners from the core function of the curriculum.â&#x20AC;?

â&#x20AC;&#x153;There was a very strange anomaly in our system in which the impor tance of textbooks in curriculum delivery was no longer appreciated. The depar tment has noted teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; concerns that the development of learning materials is best placed in the hands of exper ts, because it is only people who are exper ts in their fields of study that are best placed to develop textbooks and learning materials. In this review teachers said that the develop-

Planning requirements for teachers to be rationalised â&#x20AC;&#x153;There were also enormous planning requirements of teachers and these are going to be rationalised. The review also suggested that we must give more support to teachers, teachers being our tools of service, and, more than anything, being the key element in ensuring that we get quality education.â&#x20AC;? Teacher development â&#x20AC;&#x153;Some teachers have voiced the concern that they have not had sufficient curriculum training. Targeted in-service training that will be subject specific and targeted only where needed will be provided for teachers from 2010. This in-service training will not, however, under any circumstances be allowed to disrupt teaching and learning. In-service training is built into the five-year plan for improving teaching and learning and the depar tmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plan for continuing professional development training. All principals, heads of departments, district and provincial support staff will be trained on the curriculum and content and assessment requirements. Again, this will be built into a fiveyear plan for improving teaching and learning. The other matter that was raised through the review was the role of the subject advisers as school-based subject experts rather than as curriculum developers. This was because there was, again, an anomaly in which subject advisers themselves had started papering on top of the current curriculum. So what we are saying is that subject advisers will only focus their work on the delivery, implementation and moderation of the curriculum. They will offer learning area subjects and support teachers only.â&#x20AC;?

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and college.

P is all about PEOPLE, your classmates and friends! P is about PARTNERSHIPS! It is always important to remember that if they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t support you, they arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t your true â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;partnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;! These are the people that support ENTREPRENEURSHIPyou and like you for who you are! Choose them wisely as they are your friends and supThis is your 7chance to open Business success tips to help port for life! Spend your time with people your company grow. the doors to your future by that make you happy, make you laugh and understand you. Build strong partnerships using your â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;ESPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;! with people who challenge you, help you grow and give you positive energy! They will Why is it that some people are always so be sharing in your stress and exam worries; successful? They always know what to do they will help you be the success you want when it comes to making important deto be! cisions and choices without thinking too much about it? Well, it is because they have developed their â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;ESPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;; their inner compass! So, stop stressing and

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E focuses on the ENERGY you have in life to get things done and how you SAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S COOLEST CAREER GUIDE The ACE MATRIC GUIDE is here utilize your energy! So, you can spend your S From Doctors Dentists - weACE cover FOCU to help you to become a real at them all! CIA days complaining about theLerrors in your SPE everything you do! school system or curriculum, or you can use your energy to make>things happen, forDyou! BE N ICE AN S H A R E ! P L E A S E L E AV E T H I S C O P Y I N Y O U R C L A S S R O O M

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The recent ANA results inspired us to develop the Box of Stars campaign and the A+ school improvement campaign, designed to inspire school leaders, teachers and learners to achieve the results they are capable of.The campaign is 3%% !,, 9/52 345$9 /04)/.3 sponsored by Argo and other leaders, including 3%% !,, 9/52 345$9 /04)/.3 !4 4(% #,)#+ /& ! "544/. !4 4(% #,)#+ /& ! "544/. the Department of Basic Education and reaches the top 2000, under resourced performing high WWW SASTUDY CO ZA schools in South Africa. WWW SASTUDY CO ZA

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ISSUE 2 > 2011 ACE YOUR CAREER

Our partnership with Supersport and the leading higher education institutions has created awareness to over two million viewers and over 350Â 000 learners and students.

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

The team was tasked to develop a set of recommendations designed to improve implementation, with the specific focus on:

Learner portfolios discontinued

I MPAC T OF T HE REVIEW

Our teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment to making a difference in South Africa is recognised in our level 2 BBBEE score (social investment, enterprise development and skills development).

But itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s difficult to make it happen, when you are wondering what â&#x20AC;&#x153;itâ&#x20AC;? is? S is about unlocking your STRENGTHS! What tasks are you great at and what do you love doing? What subjects do you excel in? What makes you feel like youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re number one and gives you a confidence boost? What important tasks do you need to do to get your work done? Focus on these areas and the Learn how to apply areas that you do well in. This is where the secret of your strengths and energy lies, this online for varsity is where your future is, your career!

A panel of exper ts was appointed in July 2009 to investigate the nature of the challenges and problems experienced in the implementation of the National Curriculum Statement. This decision to review was based on our commitment to improving the quality of teaching and learning in our schools in both the shor t and long term.

The review panel reviewed documents and conducted interviews and hearings with teachers from all nine provinces as well as with teacher unions. They received electronic and written submissions from the public. In the process of their consultations - that they under took across the country - there was a remarkable consensus amongst teachers and unions about what the problems were. The team also repor ts that there was an overwhelming sense of the overall commitment of teachers across the country to try to improve learner performance.

We partnered with AVUSA media to launch the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Top 100 ideas for educationâ&#x20AC;?. The campaign created the awareness of the need for everyone to get involved in education â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to make a difference in South Africa.

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While others dismissed teachers during the 2007 strike action, we took action and

â&#x20AC;&#x153;While there has been positive support for the new curriculum, there has also been considerable criticism. This has included criticism of teacher overload, confusion and stress. Most worryingly, there is consistent evidence of widespread learner underperformance in both international and local assessments.â&#x20AC;?

ment of learning materials is not the core business of teachers. It also erodes their teaching time. Therefore, textbooks are going to be used as an effective tool to ensure consistency, coverage, appropriate pacing and better quality in terms of instruction and content.

Mobilising society to improve education

Recognising the central role that teachers play in our communities

Upload your profile and picture.

Tell us how you dream it, live it, do it!

Q-ONE STUDENT Q-ONE STUDENTDIARY DIARY2011 2011 Q-ONE STUDENT DIARY 2012

We also publish the Ace Matric Guide and host the most comprehensive study portal, www.SAstudy.co.za, which profiled over one million pages in 2011.

Closing date: 30 April 2012

Inspiring the youth to believe in the power of education

Inspiring school improvement

The measures to be implemented in January 2010 revolve around the relief of the administrative burden on teachers, increasing teacher support and improving literacy and numeracy.

We have also developed an open source leadership development e-learning programme: The Achiever Programme, which is available on www.SAstudy.co.za and which is promoted to the majority of students and teachers in South Africa.

You can win one of 5 x R10 000 prizes!

Proudly brought to you by Argo

Q-ONE STUDENT Q-ONE STUDENTDIARY DIARY2011 2011 Q-ONE STUDENT DIARY 2012

We have partnered with the leading higher education institutions and the leading teacher union, SADTU to produce the leading range of student and teacher diaries. These diaries have now been developed to include an e-learning option which is freely available to over 350Â 000 learners and students and 260 000 teachers.

launched the Stars in Education awards, to recognise those teachers who were taking the lead in their communities. We believe in teachers and also believe that teachers need recognition in society. Our partners include SADTU, SACE, Transnet Foundation, Mindset Learn, Macmillan, Cell C, The Star, MetroFM, Independent Newspapers and other leaders, to positively influence societyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s view of teachers, as leaders in our communities.

impact on teaching time. The system will provide systematic suppor t to teachers to strengthen their teaching.

BY THE MINISTER OF BASIC EDUCATION, ANGIE MOTSHEKGA, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 5 NOVEMBER 2009

Share your inspiration, hopes and ideas with us on SAstudy.co.za and enter the Future Stars Awardsâ&#x20AC;Ś no matter what youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re dreaming.

Encouraging skills development for the youth and teachers

Get your friends to vote online for you and win!

We have grown from a small start up in 1997, producing diaries for students and teachers, to becoming a dynamic multi-media publisher, focused on achieving a better future for all.We are action orientated and develop campaigns and practical solutions for key education challenges:

Upload your profile and picture.

Tell us how you dream it, live it, do it!

DO YOU HAVE BIG DREAMS FOR YOUR FUTURE?

Education has the power to change our world and while the challenges in education are daunting, we believe that action gets results and creates impact.We also believe that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all about collaboration. In fact, we believe our 15 year track record is a great example of how a small group of achievers can develop partnerships to make a difference in South Africa.

Closing date: 30 April 2012

CURRICULUM REVIEW

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE STATEMENT ON THE CURRICULUM REVIEW PROCESS

â&#x20AC;˘ A consideration of learning and teaching-suppor t materials and teacher suppor t and training.

We also partner with the leading education NGOs to profile their work to teachers, the youth and education leaders, across a range of multi-media platforms.

DO YOU HAVE BIG DREAMS FOR YOUR FUTURE? Share your inspiration, hopes and ideas with us on SAstudy.co.za and enter the Future Stars Awardsâ&#x20AC;Ś no matter what youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re dreaming.

Second Edition 2011

Chapter 2

T TI

Connect with us to make a difference and influence our future: Tel +27 (0)21 865 2813 | Fax +27 (0)21 865 2166 | Email info@argo.org.za www.argo.org.za

Connect on www.ed.org.za and share your insights

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

01 RISING TO THE CHALLENGE OF ACHIEVING A QUALITY EDUCATION

THERE ARE NO QUICK FIXES TO TRANSFORMING AN EDUCATION SYSTEM. THE CHALLENGE CAN BE OVERWHELMING AND THERE ARE MANY TEACHERS, LEARNERS AND COMMITTED ROLE PLAYERS WHO FEEL EXHAUSTED AND LACK THE CONFIDENCE TO BELIEVE THAT WE CAN ACHIEVE QUALITY EDUCATION. WE NEED TO WORK TOGETHER, TO SHARE OUR RESOURCES AND EXPERIENCES TO CONTINUE ON THE PATH THAT WE HAVE CHOSEN. It seems a distant memory when we astounded the world and proved we could do it for the World Cup in 2010 – and it gave us a sense of achievement, as we realised what we can do when we work together. Now it’s our time to rise to a bigger challenge, with much greater stakes – offering our youth an education that will enable them to create a future that benefits us all. It’s time to take the lead in education, to recognise our achievements so far and to focus our energies on what can be done to improve, rather than giving up, finding scapegoats to blame and citing all the reasons why it’s not possible.

Let’s work together as ONE to achieve quality education

Connect with the education leaders on www.ED.org.za or contact Argo on +27 (0)21 865 2813 or info@argo.org.za to be part of the Education Roundtables.

Chapter 1 RISING TO THE CHALLENGE OF ACHIEVING A QUALITY EDUCATION

Chapter 1 HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

It takes courage, it takes commitment and it takes leaders to work together as one towards ONE goal: achieving quality education: a basic right for every child. The Government has taken the lead in encouraging collaboration, by creating the National Planning Commission (NPC), which is an independent group of 26 people appointed by the President to advise on issues impacting on long-term development. This provides the opportunity to be honest, bold and cut through the silos of government and take on board the views of all South Africans. Chaired by the Minister in The Presidency for National Planning, the NPC have developed a draft long-term vision and strategic plan for South Africa, which has been informed by discussion and engagement across our country. This chapter includes highlights from the National Development Plan, which was published in November 2011.

Progress since 1994

•

Great strides have been made in education. Access to education at various levels has improved and race and gender disparities have been largely eliminated.

Since 1996, the number of schools without water has decreased from 9 000 to 1 700 and the number of schools without electricity has dropped from 15 000 to 2 800. The percentage of classrooms with more than 45 learners has decreased from 55 percent to 25 percent.

Get a quick overview of the challenges we face in education and the rationale for the National Planning Commission. Visit: www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIiRsFYsRcg or www.npconline.co.za for more information on the National Planning Commission and the work that is being done.

“At last, someone up there making sense. My word, I know that we the ordinary people, resilient everyday South Africans, have an uncanny knack for ‘making a plan’, and yet there has never been a coherent plan in place. At best some political claptrap masquerading as policy, long winded garbage cunningly designed to put you to sleep with its bombastic rhetoric. Enter, at last, a Government Report not buried under the weight of its own words. On the contrary, this is articulated beautifully. It doesn’t miss a beat or a human truth. Loaded with fact but lightened with sharp, simple insights. Calling a spade a %$%#^ shovel. (Whilst at it calling the lazy, the corrupt and the entitled to book). Inspiring to say the least. Read it and you will want to Do it. So do yourself a favour. Sit down and download, even just the intro – and you will want to stand up and deliver.” Mike Schalit, Chief Creative Officer, BBDO South Africa and co-founder of the MAL Foundation, the first not-for-profit advertising agency.

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

• Universal access and gender parity were almost achieved in schooling by 2010. About 99 percent of children complete grades 1 to 9, which shows that South Africa is delivering on the Millenium Development Goal of ensuring that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling. •

The national school nutrition programme feeds about six million children in 18 000 schools across the country.

“School attendance in the country is now close to 100 percent for the compulsory band, 7-15 years of age. But we remain concerned by the report of the General Household Survey in 2010 that just over 120 000 children in that band are out of school.” President Zuma, in the State of the Nation Address, 10 February 2012.

• The infrastructure of colleges received a significant improvement following the infrastructure recapitalisation grant announced in the 2005 budget. •

School funding policies have been propoor, resulting in 60 percent of all schools being designated as “no fee” schools.

• In historically white schools, about 56 percent of learners are black. •

The race profile of higher education institutions has changed: 32 percent of all students in 1990 were African; by 2009 this had increased to two-thirds.

“South Africa looks very different from the one we left behind in 1994.Yet for many poor South Africans, there is still much that looks the same, highlighting some serious shortcomings in our development path. Poverty is still pervasive and we have made insufficient progress in reducing inequality. Millions of people remain unemployed. Many of these are young people who feel that the odds are stacked against them.We cannot expect people to wait quietly on the sidelines.We require urgent measures to address our most pressing needs, particularly high levels of unemployment, especially among the youth. South Africa has the potential and capacity to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality over the next two decades. This requires a new approach – one that moves from a passive citizenry receiving services from the state to one that systematically includes the socially and economically excluded, where people are active champions of their own development, and where government works effectively to develop people’s capabilities to lead the lives they desire. The plan will only achieve its objectives, if it enjoys broad social support and it will only work if there is strong leadership and focused implementation. Government and society as a whole are responsible for improving and implementing the national development plan.” National Development Plan.

NEARLY 40% OF SOUTH AFRICANS LIVE ON LESS THAN A TANK OF PETROL Success will be measured by the degree to which the lives and opportunities of the poorest South Africans are transformed in a sustainable manner, so success would mean reducing the proportion of people living below the poverty line (less than R418/month) to zero. A reduction in inequality will be achieved if the Gini co-efficient falls from the current level of 0.7 (0= full equality and 1=maximum inequality) to 0.6 by 2030. Peoples’ views and voices need to be heard, their contributions valued; the poor majority need to be accorded the same dignity and respect as more fortunate members of society.

Connect on www.ed.org.za and share your insights

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Chapter 1 KEY CHALLENGES IDENTIFIED BY THE NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION

9 KEY CHALLENGES IDENTIFIED BY THE NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION 01. Too few people work. 02. The standard of education for most black learners is of poor quality. is poorly located, under-maintained and in03. Infrastructure sufficient to foster higher growth.

100 WAYS TO CHANGE OUR FUTURE Launched in 2011, the annual Education Roundtable focuses on the 100 most important education projects in South Africa. This inspiring event

04. Spatial patterns exclude the poor from the fruits of development. 05. The economy is overly and unsustainably resource intensive. 06. A widespread disease burden is compounded by a failing public health system. 07. Public services are uneven and often of poor quality. 08. Corruption is widespread. 09. South Africa remains a divided society. Of these elements, the National Planning Commission believes that two are critical and interrelated:

is a unique opportunity for leaders to share stories of success, gain insight from others and develop streamlined action plans for achieving

too few people work, and

quality education in our country.

the quality of education available to the majority is poor.

You can be part of this groundbreaking initiative that aims to inspire a belief in the power of education to change our future. Log onto www.ED.org.za to learn more about the projects, review their progress and identify opportunities for you to connect, share and collaborate.

Be inspired. Connect with action leaders and be part of our future.

Proudly brought to you by Argo

Increasing employment and improving the quality of education must be the highest priorities. Both require community involvement, better public service delivery and a higher degree of social cohesion that promotes co-operation between all sectors to support economic growth and job creation. Failure to address these challenges is likely to result in economic decline, falling living standards, rising competition for resources and social tension. Persistently high levels of poverty will prompt social instability, leading to a rise in populist politics and demands for short-term measures that lead to further tension and decline. South Africa must avoid such a destructive cycle.

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Chapter 1 LESSONS LEARNT FROM THE PAST

Chapter 1

Old Mutual Foundation enabling positive futures...

LESSONS LEARNT FROM THE PAST When the RDP was tabled, government had an overly optimistic view of the capacity of the state. The reality was a failure of coordination within government – with different depar tments working at cross purposes – and a lack of coordination between the public sector, the private sector and civil society.

Writing a new story for South Africa

Photographs © old mutual Foundation/mark Wessels

“We will begin to write a new story about South Africa—the story of how, working together, we drove back unemployment and reduced economic inequality and poverty. It is beginning to look possible. We must not lose this momentum”

omms 04.2012 T4048/FoUNDATIoN

The country must write a different story in the years ahead. In this new story, every citizen is concerned about the wellbeing of all other citizens, and the development of South Africa means the development of each and every one of us who lives here. We must build on our social solidarity, which, through history and heritage has demonstrated our aspiration to create a caring South African Society.

maths & science Leadership Academy Grade 10 learners conducting chemistry experiments during the 2011 winter school. Kimberley, Northern Cape

President Zuma, State of the Nation Address, 10 February 2012.

We believe it’s critical to grow the minds of our next generation

Education, training and innovation are central to South Africa’s long-term development. They are core elements in eliminating poverty and reducing inequality, and the foundations of an equal society. Education empowers people to define their identity, take control of their lives, raise healthy families, take part confidently in developing a just society, and play an effective role in the politics and governance of their communities. A strong educational system spanning early childhood development, primary, secondary, tertiary and further education is crucial for addressing poverty and inequality. The psychosocial well-being of learners from early childhood to higher education is also central to the success of a good quality education system. Other government policies, such as the provision of housing, basic services and social security, are therefore critical for building an education system that benefits all learners. Education, training and innovation are not a solution to all problems, but society’s ability to solve problems, develop competitively, eliminate poverty and reduce inequality is severely hampered without them. Schools are the building blocks for learning and socialisation. The values learnt at school permeate society. The quality of the schooling system impacts significantly on further education, college, higher education and society’s ability to innovate.

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

The old mutual Foundation is committed to the socio-economic development of south Africa. In 2011 we invested over R29 million towards enterprise development, skills building, staff volunteerism and education. A key priority for us is increasing the national maths and science pass rate to address critical skills shortage in the economy. Last year our Foundation-supported schools contributed 217 Bachelors qualifications and In 2011, Grade 12 learners from Dend ron Secondary Sch Limpopo (above) ach ool, ieved a 100% overa ll pass rate.

144 distinctions to the overall national figures. The Old Mutual Foundation specifically chooses to support initiatives that provide educational resources to assist with learning maths and science, that improve the quality of teaching in maths and science and most importantly that assist with the development of school leadership and management skills.

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Chapter 1 KEY TRENDS REFLECTING THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION IN SOCIETAL DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 1 BUDGET 2012 HIGHLIGHTS

KEY TRENDS REFLECTING THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION IN SOCIETAL DEVELOPMENT By 2030, South Africa needs an education system, with: Demographic trends Our country is midway through a demographic transition. Today the labour force makes up a significant share of the population, and the proportion of children and the elderly comprise smaller shares. Internationally, this demographic is often associated with rising incomes, faster productivity growth, higher savings and rising living standards. Alternatively, it can lead to a frustrating and destabilising environment where young people cannot get work, contributing to violence, crime, alcohol abuse and other social ills. The key determinant of success is whether a country can harness the advantage of having a large number of young people who are able and willing to work. To do so means providing them with education and skills, and getting school leavers into work that they find stimulating and through which they can fulfil their aspirations. One of our biggest exports since 1994 has been management skills. Government’s New Growth Path aims to create five million new jobs by 2020. It seeks to do so by providing a supporting environment for growth and development, while promoting a more labour-absorptive economy. The National Planning Commission builds on this approach and proposes to create 11 million jobs by 2030. The first step is to act on the fact that South Africa has millions of able-bodied people who want to work. The economy needs to create jobs for millions of unemployed South Africans, many of whom are young and low-skilled, while upgrading skills and knowledge. Raising employment levels will have benefits beyond the empowering experience of having a job. It will help people invest in their children’s education, upgrade their homes and manage life’s risks. Work and education will enable citizens to improve their own lives.

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

• High-quality early childhood education, with access rates exceeding 90 percent; •

Quality school education, with globally competitive literacy and numeracy standards;

•

Further and higher education and training that enable people to fulfil their potential;

• An expanding higher education sector that is able to contribute towards rising incomes, higher productivity and the shift to a more knowledge-intensive economy; • A wider system of innovation that links key public institutions with areas of the economy consistent with our economic priorities. According to a study by McKinsey (2010): “How the world’s most improved schooling systems keep getting better”, sound approaches begin to produce results about six years after reforms are initiated, with the real sustained dividends emerging over the long term. The study proposes that actions are based on five cross-cutting, interdependent and implementable themes: 1. Lay a solid foundation for a long and healthy life and higher educational and scientific achievement. This relates especially to early childhood development, basic education, further education and training, and higher education. 2. Build a properly qualified, professional, competent and committed teaching, academic, research and public service core. This relates to quality early childhood learning, schooling, further education and training, higher education, and the national system of innovation. It requires a coordinated plan to produce high-level professionals to lead the public and private sectors, and the cutting-edge knowledge capacity needed for increased innovation and socio-economic development. 3. Build a strong and coherent set of institutions for delivering quality education, science and technology innovation, training and skills development. Develop worldclass centres and programmes in the national system of innovation and the higher education sector over the next 20 years. The Department of Higher Education and Training and the Department of Science and Technology should lead and consolidate this process. 4. Expand the production of highly skilled professionals and enhance the innovative capacity of the nation. This relates to higher education, the national system of innovation, state owned enterprises and industry. Create a new national framework of common objectives and operations - recognising that new knowledge and innovation arise from many sites in modern society. Develop a common understanding within government in particular the Department of Higher Education and Training, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Trade and Industry, Public Enterprises, Treasury, and Economic Development on how to promote the role of science and technology and higher education in shaping society, the future of the nation and the growth path. 5. Create an educational and national science system that serves the needs of society. Increase participation rate in higher education to more than 30 percent, double the number of scientists and increase the numbers of African and woman postgraduates, especially PhDs, to improve research and innovation capacity. This will help to accelerate the transformation of South Africa’s scientific and academic communities to better reflect the population. Develop African languages and incorporate indigenous knowledge systems in education and research.

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

BUDGET 2012 HIGHLIGHTS South Africa’s spending on education continues to grow with Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan announcing an allocation of R207 billion to the sector with projections that this may rise to up to R236 billion over the next three years. Provincial education spending is expected to grow by 5.9 percent over the next three years from R169.9 billion this year to R183.8 billion in 2015. Government will further spend over R18 billion of the money towards boosting learner subsidies for no-fee schools and expanded access to grade R. R235 million has been set aside in the budget for tailored interventions to support the Annual National Assessments of Learner performance. A further R1.4 billion will be spent over the next three years to support early childhood development programmes and implementation of the community-based childcare and protection programme. This will increase access to early childhood development from the current 500 000 to 580 000 children with a focus on rural areas with expectations that more than 10 000 youths will be employed as a result of the programme.

R 207 R18 R1,4

BILLION ALLOCATION TO THE EDUCATION SECTOR

BILLION TO BOOST LEARNER SUBSIDIES

BILLION TO SUPPORT EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT

R850 MILLION TO IMPROVE THE COUNTRY’S UNIVERSITY INFRASTRUCTURE R300

MILLION FOR THE DESIGN OF TWO NEW UNIVERSITIES

About R850 million has been set aside towards improving the country’s university infrastructure including student accommodation facilities. The National Student Financial Aid Scheme, which has helped poor students at tertiary institutions with loans, will receive more than R17 billion over the next three years. R300 million has been provided in the fiscus for the design of the two new universities, which are planned for Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape. Further financial commitments will be made as the projects get off the ground. Source: The Government Communication and Information System, 2012.

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Chapter 1 ADVERTORIAL / CASE STUDY

Chapter 1 THE POWER OF ONE

OVERVIEW OF 2011-2012 FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF BASIC EDUCATION

THE POWER OF ONE After having read Trevor Manuel and the NPC’s Strategic Plan the first thought that springs to mind is “Here I am, use me.” In the face of massive problems and challenges it is easy to withdraw from the enormity of the task, it is even understandable to want to bury your head in the sand or find greener pastures. But there is a part of me that rises to the challenge, a part of me that stares these problems in the face and says “bring it on!” We all love to read stories of valour and courage, where the heroes face insurmountable odds, where they face their darkest moments but always prevail. There is a reason stories and movies like Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia stir our blood and capture our imagination. For that moment we are immersed in their world, their pain is ours; we share their fears and celebrate their victories. Well right here and right now we have the opportunity to write our own story. We have the privilege of choosing to stand up and make a difference, to choose not to be cowed into submission or apathy by our circumstances but instead to raise our fists in defiance. We can choose to be a part of the solution, to join hands with our fellow South Africans and work towards building this beautiful country. I see a country united again. This time not to fight against an unjust system to gain freedom for her people, but to ensure that every person shares in the benefits of a free and democratic South Africa. This time we do not work to dismantle an evil regime, we work to build powerful and meaningful education systems, life-saving healthcare havens, efficient and productive municipalities and government departments, a vibrant economy, an environment in which empowered and liberated citizens are able to participate meaningfully at all levels of society. This time we work to build the South Africa we dreamt of when we voted on 27 April 1994.

but thoroughly used up, with every last drop squeezed out. What better way to do this than to leave a legacy which blesses generations to come. We have two decades, 20 years, to make this happen. There’s no time to waste, let’s get busy. Read through the document carefully with an awareness of which parts resonate deeply with you for that will be where your gifts, abilities and passion want to contribute. Then find concrete and practical ways you can begin to play your part. Reach out to your networks, share your plans with others and rally them to your cause.

“I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration; I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a person is humanized or dehumanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming”

The achievement of quality education for all learners in South Africa is the number one priority of the Depar tment of Basic Education. Education remains Government’s apex priority as reflected in the President’s State of the Nation Address in Februar y 2012. The Depar tment’s goal is to build a credible education system that will provide learners with a high quality education, regardless of their economic circumstances. The eradication of inequality is the most impor tant priority across all of government’s endeavours and is cer tainly a key priority in education.

The Delivery Agreement with the target of Outcome 1: Improved quality of basic education remains the DBE’s goal. Since 2010-11, the Department has prioritised the following four overarching outputs: •

Improve the quality of teaching and learning

•

Undertake regular assessments to track progress

•

Improve early childhood development and

•

Ensure a credible outcomes-focused planning and accountability system.

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

Source: Insight kindly provided by Angela Lang.

I want to come to the end of my life not safe, sheltered, comfortable or complacent

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

Connect on www.ed.org.za and share your insights

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Chapter 1 ADVERTORIAL / CASE STUDY

Under the leadership of Minister Angie Motshekga, MP, the Department’s focus is on an integrated planning process in the education sector to better align our strategies and plans. Our interventions to improve learner performance are framed by the long-term basic education sector plan, Action Plan to 2014: Towards the Realisation of Schooling 2025. This plan is part of the process and a momentum that has built up over the years as our focus on improving the quality of basic education has strengthened. Indeed, the plan provides a framework for an annual review of the schooling sector in which progress will be measured. As indicated in the Action Plan, we have set up national assessments systems, and through these and the results of special investigations, we have diagnosed areas of concern in the quality of learning and teaching in our system and started to vigorously and tangibly work on practical interventions. Each intervention is informed by the goals as set out in the Action Plan which will steadily take us towards the achievement of quality education for all. For 2012 and the second half of the MTEF, the Action Plan to 2014 will continue to guide the DBE’s interventions. It is important be proactive in our strategies to improve the quality of education that our young people have access to. At the same time, education performance is influenced by a host of social factors. And in a country as unequal as South Africa, the DBE is tasked with implementing policies that level the playing fields and ensure that the doors to quality education are open to all. Currently there are over 12 million learners in about 24 365 public schools taught by no less than 365 447 educators. For the education system to produce top quality learners at the end of Grade 12, learners must be prepared from the moment they first enter the classroom. School attendance is close to 100% for the compulsory band, in the 7-15 year age-range. However, the evidence in the 2010 General Household Survey shows that just over 120 000 children in that band are out of school. The dropout rate at Grades 10 and 11 is of concern. More young people are completing Grade 9, from 80% in 2003 to 88% in 2010. More are completing Grade 12.

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Our performance delivery agreement sets a target of a 10% improvement by 2014 on the disappointing 2009 60.6% pass rate. In November 2011 we surpassed 70%. The 2012 supplementary exams have been completed and the results have been released. The exam was written by 68 116 candidates and the overall pass rate combining the November 2011 and March 2012 examinations is now 72.7%. This 72.7% is an increase of 12.1% on the 2009 pass rate. It places us safely beyond the 10% target we set for 2014. Preparations for the 2012 NSC exams are on track and the target for the Class of 2012 is a national pass rate of 75%. The percentage of Grade 12 learners who qualify for Bachelor’s studies has now increased to 24.3%, placing us in good stead to meet the target of 175 000 by 2014. It was 23.5% in 2010, and 19.9% in 2009. The provision of quality Learning and Teaching Support Materials is at the centre of the Department’s operations and in 2011, we provided high-quality workbooks to 6 million learners. This year, we have extended the National Workbook Programme to cover Grades 7, 8 and 9. We have had a particularly positive response from teachers, practitioners, learners and managers on the quality and design of the workbooks - nationally and even internationally. Independent schools have also expressed interest in accessing and using our DBE workbooks. In 2012, we are providing 54 million books to learners, at no cost to the parent or learner. In line with our commitment to inclusive education, workbooks for Grades 1 to 6 were adapted and are currently being brailled. Grade 7 to 9 workbooks are also being adapted for brailling. With regard to textbooks, a national catalogue for Grades 1 - 3 and Grade 10 has been developed and distributed to provinces for procurement of core materials for schools. A total of 4 424 500 Physical Science and Mathematics supplementary textbooks has been distributed to all Grades 10-12 learners, in partnership with the Shuttleworth Foundation. In 2011, all learners who were in Grades 1, 3, and 6 in public schools in 2010 wrote the Annual National Assessments (ANA) for the first time. The ANA provide a benchmark

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

to measure future performance. This standardised test will be administered each year to ensure that every child in every school develops the correct literacy and numeracy skills that are appropriate for the grade in which the child is enrolled. The ANA will not be used for progression or promotion to another grade. Instead it is a tool for teachers to find out whether a child needs extra help or not. Teachers will use the individual results to inform their lessons and to give them a clear picture of where learners need attention. The ANA will assist the DBE find out where it is necessary to intervene if a particular class or school does not perform to the national levels. Following extensive consultation, the DBE started the phased introduction of Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) in 2012 for the Foundation Phase and Grade 10. The CAPS outline what is taught and learnt in every subject, for every grade from Grade R-12. The CAPS documents for each subject also guide teachers on how to assess that particular subject at different stages of the term and year. The preparation of the CAPS documents includes changes to 76 subjects at different levels and versioning/translating into all our official languages. Preparations for the introduction of CAPS for Intermediate Phase (Grades 4-6) and Grade 11 in 2013 and to the Senior Phase (Grades 7-9) and the FET Phase (Grade 12) in 2014 are well underway, with training of District officials completed for the Intermediate Phase and Grade 11. The Department is committed to eradicating the backlog of unsuitable education facilities and currently, 50 formerly-inappropriate schools are under construction for completion in August 2012. In 2011/12, 55 schools were provided with water, 115 with sanitation and 48 with electrification. While some progress has been made, the challenge remains and through the Accelerated School Infrastructure Delivery Initiative (ASIDI), we will do more to fast-track provision and improvement of school infrastructure.

Studies have shown that even a minimum of just one year of preprimary education has a marked effect on learner performance as they move through the schooling system.

Studies have shown that even a minimum of just one year of pre-primary education has a marked effect on learner performance as they move through the schooling system. The Department has targeted 100% enrolment in Early Childhood Development by 2014 and by the end of 2011, more than 80% of eligible learners were enrolled in some form of ECD. The democratic government has doubled Grade R enrolment from 300 000 in 2003 to 705 000 in 2011. As a sector we are developing interventions for improving learner retention rates. Given the link between poverty and education, free schooling and school meals are part of government’s pro-poor policies. The number of learners in no-fee schools exceeds our 60% target. This year, there are 69.3% of learners in more than 20 000 no-fee schools. Informed by Government’s anti-poverty strategy, the National School Nutrition Programme provides a healthy, balanced meal to millions of learners on a daily basis. The NSNP reached a total of 8 850 208 learners in 21 013 quintile 1 – 3 primary and secondary schools nationally. The programme was extended for first time to quintile 3 secondary schools in April 2011, which accounts for an increase of 24 887 learners. A learner who is not hungry is able to concentrate better in class and the Department is confident that the expansion of this programme will also play a role in improved learner attendance. In November 2011, a new initiative on sports in education was launched, in partnership with the Minister of Sports and Recreation. We will deliver an organised, structured and well co-ordinated school sports programme in all our schools. We are receiving positive reports on the increased participation in sporting activities at schools, particularly on Wednesdays as part of the Magnificent Wednesdays campaign. Participation in sports helps to build positive values, fosters a sense of team work and contributes towards the physical and emotional well being of our learners. Under the leadership of the Minister and Director-General, the Department will continue to work to strengthen the delivery of quality education to all learners in South Africa. The work of the Department will continue to focus on the strengthening of literacy and numeracy skills of learners. We have the capacity, capability, competence and the will to consolidate our advances by delivering better education. Our strategic aim is to improve quality and efficiency, and strengthen accountability throughout the basic education sector.

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Chapter 1

Our growth would be meaningless if it did not impact responsibly on the socio– economic needs of South Africa

Education The Transnet Foundation’s Education Portfolio shifted focus from learner development to teacher development in April 2011, to maximise programme impact and benefit a larger pool of learners. The main focus of the teacher development programme is to contribute towards scarce skills in science, engineering and technology.

350 teachers from Makana: Eastern Cape, Moretele: North West, Motheo: Free State, Durban South and Mtubatuba: KZN, and Sekhukhune: Limpopo.

The programme resonates with the Transnet’s Human Capital Strategy of developing engineering skills in South Africa. The programme will target

Teachers will receive a minimum of 240 hours of tutorials during school vacations. During school term, service providers will visit schools of the

The programme is a 3 year programme and targets teachers in the further education and training (phase), i.e. Grades 10 to 12 who teach Maths, Science and English.

target teachers to offer classroom support, coteach and mentor the teachers. The programme will empower the teachers with content knowledge so that they’re able to deliver and complete the curriculum and enhance their learners’ performance; equip them with the skills needed to interact effectively with learners; provide them with the required support material; and – crucially – to motivate the teachers to prepare adequately for their lessons, and make the most of the teaching time at their disposal.

delivering freight reliably

www.transnet.net

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

“It is essential that everybody has access to services of a consistently high standard regardless of who they are and where they live. This will require that specific consideration be given to the most vulnerable children - those who are living in poverty or with disabilities” – National Development Plan.

02 THE LEARNER AT THE CENTRE OF EDUCATION

THE CHALLENGES OF TRANSFORMING OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM ARE AT TIMES OVERWHELMING, WHICH CAN DISTRACT US FROM THE CENTRAL FOCUS: THE CHILD WHO BENEFITS FROM THE EDUCATION. IT IS THROUGH EDUCATION THAT A CHILD CAN BE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO FULFIL THEIR POTENTIAL, INDEPENDENTLY OF THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES INTO WHICH THEY WERE BORN. We need to maintain our focus on the child at the centre of education and ensure that all children can access and benefit from a high quality education. The National Planning Commission recommends a range of early childhood development services and programmes be implemented to support the holistic development of young children. These services need to be flexible, so that they can be responsive to the needs of children, families and communities. Some services will need to be targeted directly at children, while others will provide support to their primary caregivers.

Let’s work together as ONE to achieve quality education

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CHAPTER 2 PROVIDING THE BASIC SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN

PROVIDING THE BASIC SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN

Job opportunities in the NSNP programme are also created through contracting different service providers in the form of SMME’s. According to the KZN Department of Education, in the current financial year, 1757 SMME’s have been contracted which has assisted immensely in empowering and nurturing business as well as operational skills to former disadvantaged women.

Many South African children grow up lacking food and nutrition, which does not provide a good platform for cognitive development and full par ticipation in society. Nowhere is this more evident than in South Africa’s poor schooling outcomes and low skills base.

The NSNP has also during this period, recruited 9 587 voluntary food handlers who receive a monthly stipend of R640 per 300 learners. The food handlers have been trained in different skills which include food preparation of NSNP menus, food safety, hygiene and other relevant skills in ensuring that the food that is provided to learners is of a required standard. In total 11 961 people, the majority being women, are benefiting through the NSNP.

Source: Govender, 2012

Children in the 0-4 age group have the highest mortality rates in the South African population and unacceptably high levels of stunting (18 percent) and exposure to violence and neglect. This affects their development. South Africa is also one of the 20 countries with the highest burden of under-nutrition. There are 2.8 million households and 11.5 million individuals who are vulnerable to hunger, over 72 percent of whom live in rural areas. About one in 10 children (9.3 percent) are underweight, reflecting the severity of child under-nutrition. Micronutrient deficiency is also a problem. One in four women lacks vitamin A and about a third of women and children are iron deficient. A third of pre-school children are vitamin A deficient, 21.4 percent are anaemic and five percent suffer from iron-deficiency anaemia. The feeding schemes at schools have contributed greatly to reducing under-nutrition. In 2030, feeding schemes in schools should cover all children in need and provide food that is high in nutritional content and rich in vitamins, particularly vitamin A. Eliminating anaemia has been shown to increase adult productivity by between five percent and 17 percent.

Sindiliwe Zandile Myiko on the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) Sindiliwe Zandile Myiko (48) is one woman who knows exactly what the President is talking about. When children start looking healthy at school, Myiko’s heart starts to warm up for it’s both her life and the lives of children that have changed since the National

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) began. Myiko belongs to a women’s cooperative in the Empangeni area, north of Durban. She with nine other women provides vegetables and other food to 12 schools so that children get meals for at least 16 to 21 days a month.

“To fight poverty and inequality and to keep learners in school, over eight million learners attend no-fee schools while over eight million benefit from government’s school feeding scheme” President Zuma, State of the Nation Address, 9 February 2012. Before becoming involved in this project, Myiko was unemployed and tried to earn a living by planting vegetables in her garden. In 2006, she received training in catering and the feeding scheme. And with the other women she received a loan of R280 000 to start a cooperative. Thus far, 109 local women cooperatives have been established in the province to provide nutritious meals to feeding schools benefiting 617 members.

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

“Many of the children that receive the food are orphans or very poor, so it makes me very happy to see these children grow and look beautiful because of the food they receive,” says Myiko. Meanwhile, the Education Department has in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture identified community projects in five municipal wards in Umgungundlovu District to be enrolled as primary producers from which NSNP service providers in these

areas can purchase vegetables. It is envisaged that similar projects will be rolled out throughout the province next year. The Government’s objective with this initiative is to contribute to improving the learning capacity, promote self-supporting school food gardens and to promote healthy lifestyles amongst learners. “The NSNP has improved the majority of the lives of children who live in impoverished areas and were previously going to school hungry, and as consequence had reduced concentration and less enthusiasm to attend school,” explains KZN Education department spokesperson Mbali Thusi. “However, with the introduction of NSNP in the schools the following successes are notable, improved learner attendance during school feeding days and attentiveness in class and general cognitive development,” adds Thusi. The Department found that NSNP also improved the nutritional status of children and helped reduce minor ailments that were attributed to malnutrition. “Children who are from child-headed households who have NSNP meal as the only meal of the day are considerably sustained through the programme,” says Thusi. Children’s interest in food production has also increased through NSNP school garden competitions that are held yearly. NSNP contributes considerably to the economic empowerment of women mainly in its women cooperative project.

EDUCATION has the right 01. Everyone • to a basic education, including adult basic education; and • to further education, which the state, through reasonable measures, must make progressively available and accessible.

02. Everyone has the right to receive education in the official language or languages of their choice in public educational institutions where that education is reasonably practicable. In order to ensure the effective access to, and implementation of this right, the state must consider all reasonable educational alternatives, including single medium institutions, taking into account equity, practicability, and the need to redress the results of past racially discriminatory laws and practices.

“More women who were poor and unemployed have now an opportunity to earn an average income to support their families, and others even managed to have a descent shelter for them and their children,” says Thusi. One cooperative in KZN bought a house for one of its members who did not have one, while another cooperative bought three vans for deliveries whilst the two have managed to purchase a truck and bakkie respectively. In KwaZulu-Natal at least 5203 schools benefit from the NSNP and in the 2011/2012 financial year over two million learners have received meals at school on a weekly basis.

Source: Bill of rights, 1996.

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

think

idea

Success dO

KeePing dreAMS ALive. Over the last decade Cell C has not only been welcomed into, but has also enjoyed great success in the South African market, and as a socially conscious brand, we have always believed in giving back to the people who have given us so much over the years. Through the help of some incredible partners, we have been able to set up a number of CSI initiatives that not only help to educate and empower, but also create a fun and interactive atmosphere for learning. These initiatives encourage and equip young people with the skills needed to follow careers in science, engineering and technology.

Two of our flagship initiatives are our MSAT and MoMaths programmes. Through these programmes we aim to build skills in the areas of maths, science, accounting and technology. The Maths, Science, Accounting & Technology (MSAT) Project. This project provides after-school and Saturday tuition, to over 3000 Grade 11 and 12 learners, in mathematics, science and accounting subjects throughout the year. Mobile Maths Learning Programme (MoMaths). Working in partnership with Nokia, we use mobile phones to deliver curriculum content to even the most rural learner in a cost effective manner. Learners and teachers have access to interactive Grade 10 mathematics learning materials, including various topics, tests, immediate feedback and the ability to compare results with their classmates and other learners nationally.

For more information on, or to get involved in one of our CSI Programmes, please log onto www.cellc.co.za

CHAPTER 2 CHILDREN ON SOCIAL GRANTS UP 13-FOLD

CHILDREN ON SOCIAL GRANTS UP 13-FOLD A sur vey by the SA Institute of Race Relations confirms that the number of children receiving social grants has risen from 800 476 in 2001 to 10 387 238 in 2011 and is expected to increase by another million by 2012. Children on the child suppor t grant accounted for 70 percent of all people on social welfare and they received R260/month.

In February 2011, the government announced an extension of the child support grant to all children up to the age of 18 years. The child support grant accounts for 36 percent of total grant expenditure. While some argue that child support grants encourage teenage pregnancy, the facts show that the number of pregnancies among girls aged 15 to 19 years peaked in 1996, which was two years before the child grant was introduced. The study further showed that teenage pregnancy has declined since then, which is contrary to a report by the Limpopo health and social development department in November 2011, showing that pregnancy in schools was increasing. In this study, 16% of the girls admitted to falling pregnant to obtain access to the child support grant.

2001

2011

The number of children receiving social grants has risen from 800 476 in 2001 to 10 387 238 in 2011.

Source: News24, 2012.

EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT: THE FIRST PRIORITY Early childhood development is defined in the Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Act (2005) as the process of children developing their emotional, cognitive, sensor y, spiritual, moral, physical, social and communication capabilities from bir th to school-going age. Source: Republic of South Africa, 2006.

16%

of the girls admitted to falling pregnant to obtain access to the child support grant.

70%

of all people on social welfare are children.

Delays in cognitive and overall development before schooling can often have long-lasting and costly consequences for children, families and society. The most effective and cost-efficient time to intervene is before birth and in the early years of life. The 1 000-day window from conception to two years is a particularly sensitive period in child development. Investment in early childhood development should be a key priority. Research shows well planned and targeted early childhood development initiatives to

be a cost-effective way of ensuring that all children have a childhood that is free of factors that impede their physical and cognitive development. The focus should be on children under the age of five. However, access to early childhood development centres remains low. In 2009 about a quarter of children aged two attended early childhood development centres compared to nearly 60 percent of those aged four. Source: Biersteker & Motala, 2011.

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

CHAPTER 2 GENERAL SCHOOLING

CHAPTER 2 SCHOOLING TARGETS IDENTIFIED BY THE NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION

Universal access to two years of early childhood development The National Development Plan recommends that, by 2030, all children should start their learning and development at early childhood development centres. Capacity needs to be developed to provide relevant development activities to the total projected four million children in the 0-3 age cohort and nearly two million in the 4-5 age group

by 2030. Capacity needs to be developed to effectively monitor and regulate the sector as well. The benefits of investing in early intervention programmes include improvements in school enrolment rates, retention and academic performance, decline in antisocial behaviour and higher rates of high school completion.

GENERAL SCHOOLING Despite many positive changes since 1994, the legacy of lowquality education in historically disadvantaged par ts of the school system persists. This seriously hampers the education system’s ability to provide a way out of pover ty for poor children. The grade promotion of learners who are not ready in the primary and early secondary phases leads to substantial dropout before the standardised matric examination.

In the Southern and East African Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality III (2007) survey of grade 6 mathematics and reading, South Africa performed below most African countries. An alarmingly high proportion of grade 6 learners had not mastered even the most basic reading and numeracy skills. Of the 15 countries in the study, South Africa had the third highest proportion of functionally illiterate learners (27 percent), and the fifth highest proportion of functionally innumerate learners (40 percent). Source: Van der Berg, Taylor, Gustafsson, Spaull & Armstrong, 2011a.

Most children are in the historically disadvantaged part of the education system, which still serves mainly black and coloured children. Learners in these schools typically exhibit low proficiency in reading, writing and numeracy. The schools that historically served white children produce educational achievement closer to the standards of developed countries. Literacy and numeracy testing within the National School Effectiveness Study demonstrates that grade 5 learners in historically black schools are performing considerably worse on average than grade 3 learners in historically white schools. Two factors are largely responsible for the failings of the school system. The primary cause is weak capacity throughout the civil service - teachers, principals and system-level officials, which results not only in poor schooling outcomes, but also breeds a lack of respect for government. The mirror image of this weakness in the technical core is a culture of patronage that permeates almost all areas of the civil service. Nepotism and the appointment of unsuitable personnel further weaken government capacity.

Research shows well planned and targeted early childhood development initiatives to be a cost-effective way of ensuring that all children have a childhood that is free of factors that impede their physical and cognitive development.

STARTING TO TAKE THE FIRST STEPS TOWARDS BUILDING A STRONGER FOUNDATION “A major achievement is the doubling of grade R enrolment, from 300 000 in 2003 to 705 000 in 2011. We appear poised to meet our target of 100% coverage for grade R by 2014”

SCHOOLING TARGETS IDENTIFIED BY THE NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION About 80 percent of schools and learners achieve 50 percent and above in literacy, mathematics and science in grades 3, 6, 9 The Department of Basic Education understands the need to improve the quality of outcomes at different grades for mathematics, literacy and science. It has set ambitious targets for 2024. For language and numeracy in grade 3 and grade 6, the target is that 90 percent of learners should perform at the required level. However, the performance standard is ambiguous; referring only to minimum competencies in different subjects. The commission proposes that the acceptable level of performance be defined as 50 percent and above, and the target of learners and schools performing at this level by 2030 be set at 80 percent. If 80 percent of schools and learners achieve results above 50 percent on average, it will demonstrate considerable improvement.

Increase the number of students eligible to study maths and science at university to 450 000 per year The department has set a target to increase the number of learners eligible for bachelors programme to 300 000 by 2024, 350 000 learners who pass mathematics, and 20 000 learners who pass physical science. These targets are very ambitious, more than doubling the results achieved in 2010. We propose a target of 450 000 learners eligible for bachelors programme with maths and science by 2030.

– President Zuma, State of the Nation Address, 9 Februar y 2012.

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

The department aims to improve its average Southern and East African Consortium for Monitoring Education Quality results for grade 6 languages and maths from 495 to 600 by 2022 and to improve average grade 8 scores in the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study from 264 to 420 in 2023. The commission supports these targets and proposes that by 2030, grade 8 scores in the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study should reach 500. Ideally, South Africa should improve its position by 10 places or more by 2030.

About 80 percent of every cohort of learners successfully completes the full 12 years of schooling South Africa loses half of every cohort that enters the school system by the end of the 12-year schooling period, wasting significant human potential and harming the life-chances of those concerned. We believe it is important to increase learner retention rates to 90 percent, of whom 80 percent successfully pass the exit exam.

“Secondary school completion rate is 77% in the United States, 87 % in the United Kingdom and 93% in Japan”. – National Development Plan. Watch “Waiting for Superman” on YouTube to get an overview of education challenges in the United States and for inspiration.

Source: Taylor, 2011.

South Africa improves its position in international education rankings

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

CHAPTER 2 LEARNER ACHIEVEMENTS

LEARNER ACHIEVEMENTS The first Annual National Assessments (ANA) were written in Februar y 2011, to test nearly six million children on their literacy and numeracy skills in tests that have been set nationally. The purpose of conducting and repor ting publicly on the ANA is to continuously measure, at the primar y school level, the performance of individual learners and that of classes, schools, districts, provinces and of course, of the countr y as a whole. The Depar tment of Basic Education insists on making the ANA results public so that parents, schools and communities can act positively on the information, well aware of areas deser ving of attention in the education of their children.

The ANA results of 2011 will offer a benchmark, which will be used to analyse the results, so that they can be used to identify areas of weakness that call for improvement with regard to what learners can do and what they cannot. The ANA results provide information on individual learner performance and the functioning of the sector as a whole. The ANA results will enable measurement of the impact of specific programmes and interventions to improve literacy and numeracy. The administration of the ANA uncovered problems within specific districts not only in terms of gaps in human and material resources, but also in terms of the support offered to schools by district officials.

ANA results for 2011

In grade 3, the national average performance in:

In grade 6, the national average performance in:

35%

28%

30%

LITERACY: 35%

NUMERACY: 28%

LANGUAGES: 28%

MATHEMATICS: 30%

Provincial performance in these two areas ranges between 19 percent (Mpumalanga) and 43 percent (Western Cape).

Provincial performance in these two areas ranges between 20 percent (Mpumalanga) and 41 percent (Western Cape).

In terms of the different levels of performance, in grade 3, 47 percent of learners achieved above 35 percent in literacy, and 34 percent of learners achieved above 35 percent in numeracy. In the case of grade 6, 30 percent of learners achieved above 35 percent in languages, and 31 percent of learners achieved above 35 percent in mathematics. Source: Motshekga, 2011.

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CHAPTER 2 TOWARDS A DELIVERY-DRIVEN AND QUALITY EDUCATION SYSTEM

TOWARDS A DELIVERY-DRIVEN AND QUALITY EDUCATION SYSTEM The ANA results for 2011 inform us of many things, but in par ticular, that the education sector at all levels needs to focus even more on its core business – quality learning and teaching. We’re conscious of the formidable challenges facing us. The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS) and Progress in the International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) international assessments over the past decade have pointed to difficulties with the quality of literacy and numeracy in our schools. Our own systemic assessments in 2001 and 2004 have revealed low levels of literacy and numeracy in primar y schools. The Southern and Eastern African Consor tium for Monitoring Education Quality (SACMEQ) results of 2007 have shown some improvements in reading since 2003, but not in maths.

This is worrying precisely because the critical skills of literacy and numeracy are fundamental to further education and achievement in the worlds of both education and work. Many of our learners lack proper foundations in literacy and numeracy and so they struggle to progress in the system and into post-school education and training. This is unacceptable for a nation whose democratic promise included that of education and skills development, particularly in a global world that celebrates the knowledge society and places a premium on the ability to work skilfully with words, images and numbers. Historically, as a country and an education system, we have relied on measuring the performance of learners at the end of schooling, after 12 years. This does not allow us to comprehend deeply enough what goes on lower down in the system on a year by year basis. This performance is something that we expected, given the poor performance of South African learners in recent international and local assessments. But now we have our own benchmarks against which we can set targets and move forward.

Lessons learnt and interventions We have already begun to put in place interventions based on the challenges we

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

have identified and confirmed through ANA. While there is no ‘quick fix’, we are confident that our interventions will bear fruit in the years to come, especially since we are now in a position to measure their impact. We know from international research on the impact of such annual assessments that they begin to bear fruit after some time. The conduct of such assessments requires teachers and the system to focus on what exactly is being taught and learnt. What we now know is that there has been an under-emphasis on the development of basic skills of reading, writing and numeracy at the foundation levels and that this is where we need to focus our attention. My predecessor, Minister Naledi Pandor, launched the Foundations for Learning Campaign in 2008 to improve learner performance in reading, writing and numeracy in all schools. In 2011, we distributed 15000 Foundations for Learning packs for use by teachers from grade R to 3. These included the development of lesson plans and assessment frameworks. We have completed the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements and will phase them into the Foundation Phase in 2012. They build on the Foundations for Learning and provide more time for languages and mathematics (or literacy and numeracy).

We therefore expect that there will be much more focused teaching and assessment. But this needs to be supported with guided teacher development and appropriate readers and workbooks. Our workbooks, that we distributed earlier this year, were developed in synchronisation with the CAPS. They should assist teachers in pacing and sequencing their work better as they consist of attractive worksheets to be worked on daily and on a term-by-term basis. In preparation for the implementation of the CAPS, we have done a ‘do-ability’ exercise to ensure that we do not repeat mistakes of the past. We have trained subject advisors and provinces are continuing with the training of teachers. Our classes will also be fully resourced to ensure effective implementation. Our curriculum and workbook interventions here have only really just begun. Based on the ANA results, we believe this focus on a more scripted approach is correct. The curriculum review process in 2009 alerted us to the fact that there is far too big a leap between the Foundation Phase (grades 1-3) and the Intermediate Phase (grades 4-6). Learners jump from three subjects to eight. This may account for the drop in results that we see as children move up the grades.

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

So we have reduced the number of subjects in the Intermediate Phase, and will begin implementation of fewer subjects in grades 4-6 in 2012. We thus want to ensure that the emphasis on the foundational skills will continue to be strengthened. The jump from grade 3 to 4 is made more difficult with the switch to English in grade 4. Many schools switch from their home language to English from grade 4.

This indeed has been one of our great successes, with access expanding dramatically in the recent past. Between 2007 and 2010 there was an increase in the number of schools offering grade R, from 12 480 schools to 16 020 and an increase in the number of learners in grade R, from 487 222 to 707 203. This intervention is critical, as early exposure of learners to grade R programmes assists in the

The affected learners often lack basic skills in English and struggle to cope with the demands of the grade 4 curriculum.

In 2010, the Council of Education Ministers approved the recommendation that from 2012, the language chosen by the learner as a Language of Learning and Teaching from grade 4 shall be taught as a subject, from grade 1, and not from grade 3 as is currently the case.

All learners whose Language of Learning and Teaching will be English from grade 4 onwards will be required to take English as a subject from grade 1. What this means is that the teaching of English will occur alongside home language instruction for those learners who choose English as a Language of Learning and Teaching in later grades. English will not replace the home language in the early grades. Each learner will be taught in his or her home language in the early grades where it is practically possible. The move to English in grade 1 is intended for those schools whose home language is not English. The challenge here will be improving the English language skills of teachers whose mother tongue is not English, but we are committed to doing this through a range of programmes. Every grade up requires support further down. We have accordingly also placed increasing emphasis on the importance of Early Childhood Development and grade R for learners. To support the objective of laying solid foundations for learning from an early age, the Department of Basic Education is working towards universal access to grade R, by 2014.

Government has taken the step of providing six million learners from grade R to 6 with high-quality workbooks from 2011. In 2012, workbooks will also be distributed to learners in grades 7-9. This is a massive intervention and reports from teachers tell us that the workbooks are both visually stimulating and exciting and are definitely serving the purpose for which they were intended. Each learner in these grades will have received one workbook for literacy and one for numeracy, and, in the third term, each learner will get another book for literacy and one for numeracy. Each workbook is made up of 128 easy-to-follow worksheets to improve listening, reading, writing and numeracy skills.

Research has shown that later transition from home language to Language of Learning and Teaching, where they differ, negatively affects learning outcomes.

From 2012, all learners in grades 1-3 will be required to offer four subjects, that is, Home Language, First Additional Language, Numeracy and Life Skills.

importance of quality learning and teaching materials.

smooth transition between home and school. In addition, children will learn the basics in Languages, Mathematics and Life Skills. The evidence is uncontested that children who have attended a centre or school-based pre-school programme in the year before school entry perform better on assessments of reading and math skills. Our task remains to improve qualitatively the level of qualifications of grade R teachers to ensure that we reach our goal of quality learning and teaching at this level as well. These early interventions are bearing fruit with the fairly good performance of learners in the ANA in grades 1 and 2. We will continue to strengthen our interventions in Early Childhood Development and grade R. However, it is clear that the drop in learner achievement in the ANA, from grade 2 to 3, and again from grade 3 to 4, requires our immediate attention. We have already gone a long way towards setting in place measures that will impact directly on teaching and learning in our schools. We have long recognised the

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Teachers are central to the success of the new approach we are adopting. We are strengthening our teacher development programmes guided by the Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Education and Development that we launched earlier this year in conjunction with the Department of Higher Education and Training. Here the focus is firmly on more targeted, subject-specific teacher education and development that will improve teacher content knowledge. We are also strengthening our campaign to attract young people to the teaching profession through our Funza Lushaka Bursary programme. Our message is simply that we want to recruit the best of our young people to the teaching profession and that teaching should be seen as a profession of first rather than last resort for our talented youth. The ANA results have clearly demonstrated that we need an effective monitoring and evaluation system through which the quality of education can be continuously enhanced. The Action Plan to 2014: Towards the Realisation of Schooling 2025 and the Delivery Agreement for Basic Education provide specific goals against which the performance of the sector will be measured and evaluated. This will be done by holding all levels of the system accountable for what they are required to deliver.

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

CHAPTER 2 TOWARDS A DELIVERY-DRIVEN AND QUALITY EDUCATION SYSTEM

CHAPTER 2 THE NEGLECTED ELEMENT IN SCHOOLING: CHILDREN

Our broad strategy for improving accountability is anchored around the following four pillars: • Strengthening the culture of performance management within the education system. • Simplifying and aligning the evaluation instruments that measure performance standards for educators. • Strengthening monitoring and support for educators. • Strengthening reporting at all levels.

We have established the National Education Evaluation and Development Unit (NEEDU), led by Prof John Volmink, as CEO, that will also help in evaluating the education system. NEEDU will identify critical factors that inhibit or advance school improvement and make focused recommendations for redressing the problem areas that undermine school improvement. In addition, as part of our efforts to strengthen accountability in the system, we are working closely with the Education Labour Relations Council to develop performance management contracts with our principals and deputy principals. Effective school management and leadership are key factors in ensuring effective schooling. We are strongly looking at strengthening even the appointment procedures for school principals. All principals and deputy principals will enter into performance contracts in the future with clear performance targets. This will help to strengthen accountability in schools at two levels. Firstly, performance will be measured in terms of the academic performance of the school in accordance with the South African Schools Act and directly linked to performance in the ANA and NSC Grade 12 examinations. Secondly, principals will be measured against the quality of management and monitoring of the performance of their respective teachers in line with the Teacher Performance Appraisal System (TPA), currently under discussion.

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Furthermore, district support for schools, that is often poor or lacking, will be strengthened through, among other things, the development of job descriptions for circuit managers and subject advisors and the development of performance agreements to be signed by these officials with clear targets and deliverables.

The current situation calls for a deliverydriven approach to schooling. We promised in the Budget Vote speech that we will set up a Planning and Delivery Oversight Unit whose mandate will be to take forward the processes and initiatives currently underway, guided by the current administration’s outcomes approach.

These interventions will go a long way towards raising levels of accountability across the entire sector and ensuring that we move steadily towards reaching the key targets in learner achievement that we have set ourselves.

Accordingly, we have appointed Mr Ronnie Swart, former HOD of the Western Cape Department of Education, to lead the new unit. He will work with academics and researchers to support provinces.

Equally, we know that the conditions under which learning takes place impact on learning and teaching. These include factors like school infrastructure and school furniture. As we announced in our 2011 Budget Vote speech, for 2011/12, we have prioritised 85 mud schools and 246 inappropriate structures. We will provide water to at least 807 schools, provide sanitation to 391 and electricity to 286 schools. Through the Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Development Initiative, we plan to make all schools, rural and urban, to function optimally by 2014. This is what informs government’s commitment to eradicating mud and unsafe structures and providing electricity and sanitation.

Only this way, as required by the Freedom Charter, education shall be “equal for all children”.

Education is a societal issue. We need decisiveness and action from all role-players – parents, learners, teachers and unions, school management teams, government and the broader civil society. Together we must ensure that schools work and that quality teaching and learning takes place. We must ensure that our children attend school every day, learn how to read and write, count and calculate, reason and debate. Working together we can do more to create a delivery-driven and quality basic education system. Only this way can we bring within reach the overarching goal of an improved quality of basic education. Improving the quality of basic education, broadening access, achieving equity in the best interest of all children are preconditions for realising South Africa’s human resources development goals and a better life for all”. Source: Department of Basic Education, 2011.

The Annual National Assessments results for 2011 have left us with no room for complacency. We must acknowledge that we have serious challenges in the schooling system. We can either try to find scapegoats and evade responsibility, or we can all take a stand, raise a hand for education, and grasp the nettle. Our learning outcomes clearly need improving.

Basic Education Minister - Angie Motshekga

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

THE NEGLECTED ELEMENT IN SCHOOLING: CHILDREN Martin Prew, Director of the Centre for Education Policy Development

It is common cause that the last 18 years has seen many good intentions aimed at improving South Africa’s education system, both from within government and from outside, but with remarkably little impact. We are burdened with a failing education system at just the time when we need a strong, ar ticulated, successful education system to help power our development. I want to highlight three causes of this failure: they relate to focus, leverage and dealing with the past.

You only have to glance at the South African Schools’ Act, promulgated in 1996, to realise that from the start we lost our focus on the only reason we have a schooling system – the children. Children need to be brought into the centre of the picture; their welfare and concerns need to be at the centre of the frame through which we view all education changes. If they had been many of the innovations and changes that have been introduced would have been still-born. While trying to improve the system billions of rands have been spent on school improvement and a few million rands on education districts, yet there are 86 districts and over 25000 schools. Logic should have told the education community that the leverage point to improve the school experiences of learners must be districts. Districts are the key to school improvement and yet they have generally been allowed to become mere staging points between province and school with no real function assigned them apart from passing on instructions. This has to change; districts need to be at the centre of a smarter approach to improving schools.

Lastly, and perhaps most significantly, we need to start dealing honestly with our past. Literature written from outside South Africa assumes we have a ‘post-conflict’ education

system, yet you will rarely find this mentioned in our own policy documents and literature. It is as if Madiba waved a magic wand in 1994 and South Africa became a ‘normal society’, and we all believed this fiction. Unfortunately life is not that simple. Our rural and township schools are full of traumatised teachers and learners. These teachers and learners, like anyone who has experienced trauma are looking for a safe haven, a place where there is stability, support and love: in return we give them an all-too-often abusive environment where the curriculum and policies change constantly and everything is in a state of flux. Seen through this lens it is not too surprising that our schools seem to resist improvement, our teachers seem untrainable and learners drop out or learn little in a language most struggle to access. Collectively these three causes of our present educational problems need urgent attention. We must start by facing reality and acknowledging that our teachers and learners need stability and psycho-social support to be able to move forward; they do not need more policies and changes. This requires stronger, supportive education district offices staffed with people who understand how to support and nurture their schools and teachers and learners. Such districts will require officers who see their role in terms of the school and not the province and are willing to work with schools to assist them in solving their own problems on their own terms while assisting them in navigating the

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immensely complicated education policy environment we have managed to create in the last two decades. If we do this we will start to put the learner at the centre of our thinking and education system. Once this is achieved we will see real and sustained improvement in the quality of learning in our schools – and we will see happier more fulfilled learners who are not perpetuating the anger which surrounds them in the wider community.

Martin Prew, Director of the Centre for Education Policy Development

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Chapter 2

ADVERTORIAL / CASE STUDY

THE GOLD PEER EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT AGENCY

GOLD is a dynamic non-profit organisation using the methodology of peer education which harnesses the influence that young leaders have with their peers to encourage youth to make informed choices and develop health-enhancing and purpose driven social norms.

The stories below illustrate some of the changes youth have made in their lives which have benefited their education and their future.

I am now the “Best” student in my class and have a dream for my future! “At first I joined the gold programme for fun. I always attended to talk and laugh not to learn. I was an ignorant girl. I never listened to anyone including my teachers and parents. In 2009 I failed grade 10. I continued with my bad attitude. Then I was mentored by GOLD facilitators. The first mentoring session was on having a positive attitude and I started to open my eyes. I decided to change my life from a follower to a leader. I told my friend that I can’t go on disrespecting people, and the life of having boyfriends is over to me. We had a fight and my friend decided to go with another group and I chose another friend and my life changed for good. My parents and teachers were surprised to see me so positive and respectful. Amazingly I passed grade 10 with flying colours. I have become a top student. Since then everyone at school knows me as a best student and also as a role model. My former friend is a now a mother and she failed her grade 11 again for the second time. But because of GOLD that did not happen to me. I have changed. I now have a dream; I know what I want and who I want to be. When I finish my matric I want to go to the university to study and become a pilot”. - A Grade 11 peer educator.

Mission: “Empower youth peer leaders to become positive role models and agents of community change” GOLD is playing a pivotal role in building social capital in communities, in supporting education in difficult circumstances, and in developing a generation of young emerging leaders with tangible skills and character to contribute to positive changes in their schools and communities. Our target group is youth from hard hit communities who demonstrate leadership potential who are equipped and supported to fulfil four roles through which they reach their peers, younger children and communities at large: health-enhancing 01. Role-model and purpose driven behaviour; peers in a structured 02. Educate manner through Lesson Deliveries and Talk/Debate Groups; peers in need of help 03. Recognise and refer them for assistance; their communities 04. Uplift through advocacy, volunteerism and awareness of important issues affecting youth.

Direct beneficiaries in RSA include:

3 PROVINCES (KZN, WC, MP) 3432 YOUTH PEER EDUCATORS 10296 YOUTH PEERS AND CHILDREN 54 OUT OF SCHOOL YOUTH LEADERS 54 COMMUNITIES & HIGH SCHOOLS 3432 PARENTS AND GUARDIANS 162 COMMUNITY LEADERS & STAKEHOLDERS The project has resulted in:

“Before I joined the programme I failed grade 10 because I had no knowledge/information on the importance of education. I had no goals, always did bad things, had low self-esteem and couldn’t stand in front of people to talk. The reason why I joined the programme is that one day some GOLD peer educators came to our class and conducted a talk group on Teen Pregnancy. After the talk group I had a talk with one of the peer educators to find out what the programme was all about.. She told me how the programme helped her achieve some of her goals and taught her that in life as a person you need to have a vision. I decided to join because I too wanted to know how to set up goals and have a vision for myself. I’ve achieved that and also learned to lead by example to other peers at school, in my community and in church. I can now stand in front of people and talk/teach and stand up for myself no matter what problem I face. The programme has also taught me the importance of education and focusing on my studies which is why I passed grade10 last year and to me this is a big achievement. In the community some parents are now making a good example about me to their kids when talking or disciplining them. Some kids are now looking up to me as their role model. The GOLD programme has made me shine to my peers and in my community and at school. - A 17 year old peer educator in Grade 11.

Improved academic performance; Decreased behavioural or discipline problems at school;

School principals, teachers, parents and community leaders are mobilised to create an enabling environment for sustained change through youth reaching youth.

Improved attendance at school;

Beneficiaries are provided with a lifetime toolkit of skills, leadership development, and a connection to future opportunities.

Increased employability of youth with leadership and job readiness skills.

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

I have improved my grades and become a role model to my peers and in my community

Increased life skills; Increases in youth leadership.

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

Going back to School “He had not been at school for 2 months. Some of the GOLD peer educators went to his house to find out how he was doing. GOLD facilitators also went to talk to him about coming back to school. He decided to go back to school after this and he told us that all this time he was at home he was writing in his GOLD portfolio. He shared the poem he had written in his portfolio thanking the program for encouraging him to go back to school.” - Written by a facilitator about a 16-year old young man in grade 11 who was in danger of dropping out of school.

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Chapter 2

ADVERTORIAL / CASE STUDY

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT: HIGHLIGHTING SOME BEST PRACTICES IN THE LAST DECADE.

Brightest Young Minds™ (BYM) star ted out in 2000 with the vision “to create a platform that showcases the Brightest Young Minds’ potential and fast track their development for the benefit of South Africa.

Brightest Young Minds and Berkana Institute of Life affirming leadership By Thava Govender - Human Development Strategist

BYM’s mission is: ‘To channel the hear ts and minds of young people into initiatives that can affect societal improvement’. In order to do this, BYM identifies, equips and inspires bright and passionate young leaders to be positive change agents.

In essence, Brightest Young Minds is an incubator for social entrepreneurship and it does this on two levels:

01.

Through identifying and developing young leaders and equipping them to affect social change wherever they are

Brightest Young Minds seeks to inspire, develop, train young people through several initiatives. Of these, the annual Brightest Young Minds summit is our flagship project.

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Other spaces created for fresh dialogue throughout the year are the BYM Think Tanks, and Playshops. designing, developing 02. Through and supporting projects that have a positive social impact” Brightest Young Minds™ (BYM) started out in 2000 with the vision “to create a platform that showcases the Brightest Young Minds’ potential and fast track their development for the benefit of South Africa.

It started out just as a conference aiming to bridge the gap between students and the outside business world and giving students a platform to share their ideas amongst inspiring peers. For partnering companies it provided the opportunity to listen to the ideas of the students and pose them specific challenges. Moreover the companies got very good exposure through BYM’s national media coverage and interaction during the week. I personally supported and engaged in this proactive initiative at its inception since 2000. At that time corporate had it own

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

programmes called the ‘Chairman’s leadership challenge’ these were the bright young graduates. Partnering with BYM had demonstrated it can do this successfully and cost-effectively across organizations in a larger context” It broke down silo mentality of competition and invited openness to more collaborative engagements. This initial engagement proved a new freshness of insights for corporates to consider in their future search strategies, which is, relevant in these trying times for business sustainability. During that period there was a collaboration of African leaders with the Berkana Institute of Life affirming leadership (LAL)with Margaret Wheatley (guru on ‘leadership and the new sciences) and Africa Leadership Forum (ALF) which included youth. The Berkana Institute works in friendship and partnership with people around the world who are discovering that there is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about. We name ourselves pathfinders, people discovering the new in the midst of the breakdown of the old, making our path by walking it. We choose not to deny or flee from our global crises. Instead, we work to support those people and communities who are moving courageously into the future now, experimenting locally to discover solutions to problems others consider intractable.

2011 BYM Summit

This initiative lead to the ripple effect of youth leadership engagements and summits in various African countries .The intention of ALF is to develop a new breed of collaborative future leaders on the African continent. This mammoth task can be achieved through collaboration, abundance, willingness to nurturing and support each other of all interested in youth development. For more details contact Thava Govender, gthava@telkomsa.net, and visit www.brightestyoungminds.com and www.berkana.org

2011 BYM Summit

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Chapter 2

ADVERTORIAL / CASE STUDY

CHAPTER 2

LET’S INSPIRE THE FUTURE

We all know the power of having someone who believes in us, and the feeling when no-one does and how this undermines our ability to achieve our potential. And nowhere is this more evident than in the recent youth uprisings across the world, where the youth are raising questions about their future and the fears that they face.

us to believe in them, to give them the support to make it happen, and to inspire them to believe in themselves and the power of education to get them to where they deserve to go.

These uprisings and comments from youth leaders raise questions about an attitude of entitlement and a lack of regard for social values, which creates doubt about the future that we all face. It also raises questions about the lack of role models to inspire the youth, about education and the chances of finding employment after graduating.

The first round of annual national assessments has focused attention on the need for school improvement. Up to 80% of our schools are recognised by the National Planning Commission as dysfunctional, so what can be done to inspire school improvement?

So, how do we recognise that there are future stars out there – matriculants who are prepared to stand in 5 kilometre queues in the heat of summer to gain access to university and be the first generation to reach this milestone? It all starts with having someone who believes in you, and the reality is that this is not always a reality for our youth – there is no guarantee that there is this support, which is what Future Stars is all about. It’s about recognising that our youth want to achieve, they want to make a difference and they want to get ahead and it’s up to

INSPIRING SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT

The first step is to believe that it is possible and the next step is to encourage accountability for improvement within each school. A case study by Stanford and Duke university Professors recognises that the solution needs to be owned by those involved, which inspired the A+ School improvement campaign that Argo are currently developing.

a chance to win a team development workshop to support their development. To motivate the school, the campaign is supported with a Box of stars, which is designed to coach school leaders, recognise the efforts of teachers, and motivate learners to be invested in their education and encourage their parents to be a part of their education. This practical campaign to empower communities recognises that school leaders and teachers understand the context in which they work and is respectful of their role as education professionals, as it offers the school community the opportunity to take the lead in improving their environment. Take the lead in this campaign that is designed to have a positive impact in 2 000 high schools across the country. Sponsors may nominate particular schools to receive the Box of Stars or may partner with Argo for the national distribution.

Be part of the solution, and join The A+ School improvement campaign us in inspiring schools to step up recognises that everyone needs to be and achieve quality education. involved in the process of improving education – the school leader, the teachers, Call us on 021 865 2813 or email the learners and the parents. The campaign info@argo.org.za for more asks each school to come up with T a plan AKE THE information. L E A D IN to improve their school and offersQ them A C H IE V IN U A L IT Y E G D U C A T IO A n d b e re N w a rd e d fo r y o u r e ff o rt s.

ENTER TH E STARS IN EDUCATIO AN A+ SCHO N AWARDS OL, BY CO AND BECO MPLETING ME What’s your THESE QU ESTIONS: dream for your school ?

How can yo u and your team make it happen?

Send us yo ur entry to Freepost (u or enter on se same ad line at ed.o dress as St rg.za, the achievemen ars compe leading ed t in educat tition) ucation po ion. rtal for tra cking

WIN BIG!

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

You can win a tea m develop workshop ment for your tea m of teach administra ers and tors, value d at R50 0 00. Inspire achie vement an d be a leade others look r that up to.

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

03 THE CENTRAL ROLE OF TEACHERS

“TEACHERS ARE CENTRAL TO EDUCATION AND TEACHING SHOULD BE A HIGHLY VALUED PROFESSION. TEACHERS MUST HAVE A GOOD KNOWLEDGE OF THE SUBJECTS THEY TEACH. IT IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT THAT THERE ARE HIGH QUALITY TEACHERS OF MATHS AND SCIENCE. WE SHOULD ASPIRE TO A FUTURE WHERE TEACHERS ARE RECOGNISED FOR THEIR EFFORTS AND PROFESSIONALISM. BODIES SUCH AS THE SOUTH AFRICAN COUNCIL FOR EDUCATORS AND SPECIALIST MATHS, SCIENCE AND OTHER SUBJECTSPECIFIC ASSOCIATIONS NEED TO PLAY A LEADING ROLE IN THE CONTINUING DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHERS AND THE PROMOTION OF PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS” – NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN.

“There needs to be an institutional structure, including bursary programmes for existing teachers, that promotes good teaching by attracting, investing in and retaining the best teachers. Teacher remuneration should be linked to their performance while taking into account mitigating factors such as the school environment and the socio-economic status of learners.”

To get an idea of the central role of teachers in education, watch Taylor Mali’s “what a teacher makes” on www.youtube.com

Let’s work together as ONE to achieve quality education

Source: Van der Berg, Taylor, Gustafsson, Spaull & Armstrong, 2011b.

Connect with the education leaders on www.ED.org.za or contact Argo on +27 (0)21 865 2813 or info@argo.org.za to be part of the Education Roundtables.

Chapter 3 ADVERTORIAL / CASE STUDY

ACTION PLAN TO 2014 Towards The Realisation Of Schooling 2025 The Action Plan to 2014: Towards the Realisation of Schooling 2025 is the Department of Basic Education’s strategy to strengthen weak areas in the education system that require support. It was developed in line with the Presidency’s 2009 National Strategic Planning and draws direction from the guiding document, Improving Government Performance: Our Approach.

From improving performance in specific areas, learners will benefit from a higher quality of education. The nation as a whole will also benefit, as school graduates with better skills and knowledge levels enter further and higher education and the workplace.

1: Increase the number of 01. Goal learners in Grade 3 who by the end of the year have mastered the minimum language and numeracy competencies for Grade 3. 2009 baseline: +/- 48% (literacy) and 43% (numeracy); 2014 target: 60% for both subjects.

Short-term goals, long-term vision The Action Plan sets out the goals that the national education system will be working towards, and the actions to achieve these goals, by 2014. These are the first steps towards realising the bigger, more long-term vision of quality education in schools by 2025. This vision is called Schooling 2025.

Everyone has a part to play As far as possible, the Action Plan indicates for each stakeholder in the system what activities they should be engaged in to realise each goal in the plan. It also suggests ways that those outside the education system can also provide resources or expertise in support.

Clear goals, flexible strategies The Action Plan sets out 13 goals to be achieved related to learning and enrolment. In addition, it sets out 14 areas in education which need to be improved to reach these goals. The DBE is not, however, telling people exactly what they must do to achieve these goals. The approach is to allow a degree of flexibility so that schools and their communities can come up with strategies that best suit their own situation.

The goals of the Action Plan The Action Plan has 27 goals. Goals 1 to 13 deal with outputs we want to achieve in relation to learning and enrolments. Output goals focusing on minimum quality standards

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

2: Increase the number of 02. Goal learners in Grade 6 who by the end of the year have mastered the minimum language and mathematics competencies for Grade 6. 2009 baseline: +/- 37% (literacy) and 19% (numeracy); 2014 target: 60% for both subjects.

9: Improve the average 09. Goal performance in mathematics

Output goals focusing on access and progression 10: Ensure that all children 10. Goal remain effectively enrolled in school up to the year in which they turn 15. 2008 baseline: 97.4%; 2014 target: 99% 11: Improve the access of 11. Goal children to quality Early Childhood Development (ECD) below Grade 1. Indicator 1 (Percentage of Grade 1 learners who’ve received formal Grade R): 2008 baseline: 51%; 2014 target: 80%, but 100% if non-formal ECD is included. Indicator 2: The enrolment ratio of children aged 0 to 5. 2008 baseline: 25%; 2014 target: 37%.

end of the year have mastered the minimum language and mathematics competencies for Grade 9.

eligible for a Bachelors programme at a university. 2009 baseline: +/110 000; 2014 target: 175 000. 5: Increase the number 05. Goal of Grade 12 learners who pass mathematics. 2009 baseline: +/125 000; 2014 target: 180 000. 6: Increase the number 06. Goal of Grade 12 learners who pass physical science. 2009 baseline: +/- 120 000; 2014 target: 170 000. Output goals focusing on improving average performance 7: Improve the average 07. Goal performance in languages of Grade 6 learners. 8: Improve the average 08. Goal performance in mathematics of Grade 6 learners.

and appropriately trained teachers into the teaching profession.

15: Ensure that the 15. Goal availability and utilisation of

teachers is such that excessively large classes are avoided.

16.

Goal 16: Improve the professionalism, teaching skills, subject knowledge and computer literacy of teachers throughout their entire careers.

17.

Goal 17: Strive for a teacher workforce that is healthy and enjoys a sense of job satisfaction.

of Grade 8 learners.

3: Increase the number of 03. Goal learners in Grade 9 who by the

4: Increase the number of 04. Goal Grade 12 learners who become

14: Attract in each year a 14. Goal new group of young, motivated

12.

Goal 12: Improve the grade promotion of learners through the Grades 1 to 9 phases of school. Indicator 1: % of children aged 9 who have completed Grade 3: 2008 baseline: 59%; 2014 target: 65%. Indicator 2: % of children aged 12 who have completed Grade 6: 2008 baseline: 46%; 2014 target: 52%

13: Improve the access of 13. Goal youth to Further Education and Training beyond Grade 9. Indicator 1: % of youth who have received an NSC: 2008 baseline: 40%; 2014 target: 50%. Indicator 2: % of youth who obtain FET qualifications. 2008 baseline: 41%; 2014 target: 65%

18: Ensure that learners 18. Goal cover all the topics and skills

areas that they should cover within their current school year.

LEARNER RESOURCES

SCHOOL INFRASTRUCTURE AND SUPPORT SERVICES 24: Ensure that the physical 24. Goal infrastructure and environment of every school inspires learners to want to come to school and learn, and teachers to teach. 25: Use the school as 25. Goal a location to promote access amongst children to the full range of public health and poverty reduction interventions. 26: Increase the number 26. Goal of schools which effectively implement the inclusive education policy and have access to centres which offer specialist services. 27: Improve the frequency 27. Goal and quality of the monitoring and support services provided by district offices to schools, partly through better use of e-Education.

19: Ensure that every 19. Goal learner has access to the minimum set of textbooks and workbooks required according to national policy.

20: Increase access 20. Goal amongst learners to a wide range of media, including computers, which enrich their education.

WHOLE-SCHOOL IMPROVEMENTS 21: Ensure that the 21. Goal basic annual management

processes occur across all schools in the country in a way that contributes towards a functional school environment.

22: Improve parent 22. Goal and community participation

in the governance of schools, partly by improving access to important information via the e-Education strategy.

SCHOOL FUNDING Goals 14 to 27 deal with how to achieve the 13 output goals. TEACHERS

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

23: Ensure that all schools 23. Goal are funded at least at the minimum

per learner levels determined nationally and that funds are utilised transparently and effectively.

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Chapter 3 ADVERTORIAL / CASE STUDY

MEASURING PROGRESS: ANNUAL NATIONAL ASSESSMENTS Measuring Progress: Annual National Assessments

Who writes ANA?

In 2011, all learners who were in Grades 1, 3 and 6 in public schools in 2010 wrote the Annual National Assessments (ANA) in literacy/language and numeracy/mathematics for the first time.The ANA are meant to provide a benchmark to measure future performance.This national standardised test will be administered to primary school learners each year to ensure that every child in every school develops the literacy/language and numeracy/mathematics skills that are the correct level for the grade in which the child is enrolled.

All learners in all schools in grades 1 – 6 and 9 will write the ANA in September 2012, according to a nationally-set timetable.

Why is the Department administering these tests? The Minister of Basic Education, Mrs Angie Motshekga, MP and the Government are determined to improve the levels of literacy/ language and numeracy/mathematics skills of our learners. The Minister has set specific targets to be achieved by 2014 and beyond. What will ANA be used for? The ANA will not be used for progression or promotion to another grade. Instead, it is a tool for teachers to find out whether a child needs extra help or not. Teachers will use the individual results to inform their lessons and to give them a clear picture of where learners need attention. Schools will design their curriculum plans based on the results and implement strategies to address areas identified as being in need of remediation. The National and Provincial departments will use the ANA results to prioritise appropriate support to teachers and schools.

What will learners be tested on? The test is administered in every public primary school in the country. The learners will be tested on the language and numeracy skills they had learnt during the grade year.

2012 ANNUAL NATIONAL ASSESSMENTS TIMETABLE

LEARNING AREA/SUBJECT LANGUAGE

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

DATE

TIME

TUESDAY 18 SEPTEMBER

9:00 - 10:00

The following documents relating to ANA have been distributed by the DBE:

9:00 - 10:00

• Report on the Annual National Assessments of 2011

9:00 - 10:00

9:00 - 10:30

• Guidelines for the interpretation and use of ANA results • Qualitative Analysis Report of ANA 2011 Results • Set 1 of Exemplars in Languages and Mathematics for Grades 4, 5 and 6

LANGUAGE

• ANA Circular Number 1: Procedure for ANA 2012 registration process • ANA Circular Number 2: Dissemination of Qualitative Analysis Report of ANA 2011 Results

MATHEMATICS

• ANA Circular Number 3: Dissemination of Annual National Assessments Exemplars All principals should ensure that they have received all these documents and have distributed them to teachers in their school in order that they may prepare the learners adequately for the ANA.

Who sets the ANA? Each ANA question paper is set by the Department of Basic Education in Pretoria to make sure that all children in each grade across the country have the same test.

GRADE

Copies of these documents may be accessed on the Department’s website: www.education.gov.za

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MATHEMATICS

WEDNESDAY 19 SEPTEMBER

9:00 - 10:00

9:00 - 10:30

9:00 - 11:00

THURSDAY 20 SEPTEMBER

9:00 - 10:00

9:00 - 10:30

FRIDAY 21 SEPTEMBER

9:00 - 10:00

9:00 - 10:30

9:00 - 11:30

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Chapter 3 ADVERTORIAL / CASE STUDY

VALUES CAMPAIGN CELEBRATES POSITIVE SOUTH AFRICANS The e.tv Values Campaign is a series of televised inser ts which highlight the positive, dynamic stories unfolding in South Africa every day. The project is dedicated to profiling a diverse range of South Africans who work toward uplifting their countr y, and their communities.

The core focus of the campaign is to determine what it means to be a South African. The series seeks to affirm the South African identity by focusing on and celebrating South Africans who are positive about the country and its future. There are many ordinary South Africans who have genuine passion for the country and other people; the campaign is committed towards identifying these people and telling their stories. The project was initiated in 2008 by former e.tv Executive Producer, Donfrey Meyer. Over the past 4 years Donfrey and his team have brought inspiring stories by ordinary South Africans to the fore. Initially Donfrey and his team filmed and broadcast profiles of 50 South Africans, telling their day to day stories. This was an interesting mix of both professional and working class people from different parts of South Africa, rural and urban areas. The focus was directed

Donfrey Meyer, Former GM for the Values Campaign

towards engaging positive conversations about the country and its future. The team identified three public institutions which are critical to public confidence, e.g. policing, health and education. “It was a real honour to be allocated the task of unearthing such inspiring South African stories. Through the campaign, we have seen that unsung South African heroes and heroines share the same values and patriotism, regardless of their backgrounds. An overwhelming majority of South Africans are positive about the country and its future”, says former Executive Producer, Donfrey Meyer. Donfrey, who is now Head of the National History Unit (NHU), has handed over the reins to Enid Roets, an Executive Producer who has worked in the film and television industry for over 6 years. Enid, who is equally passionate about telling positive South African stories, has

Enid Roets, the Values Campaign GM

already hit the ground running. “The campaign will continue with the quest to restore faith in our fellow South Africans by finding the unsung heroes of our nation and honouring them. We will continue to remind viewers of the wonderful people this country has and hopefully inspire them to make a difference. Our intention is to tell more stories of great selfless South Africans who work very hard to shape the future of this country”, says Executive Producer, Enid Roets.

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

It’s very seldom that we get to see reports of ordinary South Africans involved in the active upliftment of their communities. It’s only through campaigns of this nature that we are able to fully appreciate the inspiring stories that drive true South African heroes.

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Chapter 3 ADVERTORIAL / CASE STUDY

STARS IN EDUCATION AWARDS

STARSIN

TEACHERS

EDUCATION

CELEBRATING FIVE YEARS OF RECOGNISING INSPIRING TEACHERS IN 2012

Teachers recognised for taking the lead

STARSIN EDUCATION

The Stars in Education Awards is proof of how most inspiring stories often have their origin in seemingly dismal situations and events. The campaign was star ted in response to the negative image of teachers in the media during the 2007 Teacher’s strike. Whilst the impact of the strike action can be debated, the consequence of the strike was a lack of respect for ordinary teachers.

A+SCHOOLS

STARSIN EDUCATION PARTNERS

“Our work with teachers and education officials told a different story to the media image – we were meeting ordinary teachers and overworked education officials, who often went beyond the call of duty in challenging environments to support learners. These teachers were embarrassed to tell others that they were teachers, and felt ashamed to be associated with the teachers portrayed in the media. This gave us a very different view of teachers. The Argo team saw teachers who changed the lives of learners, and positively impacted their communities and acted as role models for others. We believed in the work of these teachers and wanted to recognise these stars in our communities, by launching the Stars in Education Awards, the only non-curricula project to recognise the inspirational role that teachers play in our lives. Each of us can recall a teacher who made a difference in our lives, and this difference had little to do with the content that was delivered in the classroom – it was about a teacher’s ability to inspire us to believe in ourselves and become who we were meant to be.

A slow start

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Our winner, Mokone Peter Mofokeng stood out for his commitment to go beyond the duties of the classroom to develop an ‘Alternatives to Violence’ programme to assist the youth at Motswela Secondary School (Maokeng, Kroonstad) in dealing with violence in the classroom. One Monday morning, Mokone Peter Mofokeng was startled to hear that the previous Friday a teenage boy was severely assaulted by a teenage gang armed with knobkierries. As a result, Mofokeng partnered with a pastor from the area to develop workshops called ‘Alternatives to Violence’, to mentor the boys and provide them with the life skills and self esteem to help prevent gangsterism and violence. Mr Mofokeng took the initiative and went for training as a workshop facilitator. He then took these skills and trained teachers at Matseripe Secondary School in Ventersberg to do the same. Together they ran workshops with 38 teenage boys and by 2008 they had 200 teenage learners and teachers who had completed the workshop.

The call for entries was marketed extensively in the National Teachers Diary and on Metro FM and we received only 12 entries. This low response rate shocked us into realising the lack of confidence in the teaching community, which had developed as a result of constant change, and social disregard for teachers and education. However, the quality of the entries inspired us, as we realised the extent of the teachers’ commitment to their learners and to the community.

The Alternatives to Violence Programme continues, aided by the R10 000 prize awarded in recognition of his work, which went towards funding venues for future workshops.

Entries told of teachers working to transform communities, with photos of Limpopo landscapes turned into playgrounds and gardens, creativity inspired through arts projects and heartfelt thank you letters from learners involved in Soul Buddies campaigns where their teachers encouraged them to befriend children who suffered from HIV/AIDS.

“These young men are natural leaders. The difference is that before they were leading in gangs and now they lead in a good way,” Mr Mofokeng.

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Mr Mofokeng’s love for his work and recognition as one of our ‘Stars in Education’ encouraged him to continue the good work. In January 2012 he celebrated his 25th year in teaching and can still be found boldly leading the young men of Motswela Secondary School into a future knowing that violence isn’t the only solution. The energy around the Stars in Education campaign started to grow with youth getting involved in recognising their star teachers on the Hectic 99 youth TV show, on radio and by entering on sastudy.co.za and via the Q-ONE student diary call for entries. The campaign was also extensively advertised in the National Teachers Diary, and supported by leading education NGOs, who encouraged entries from teachers. The level of entries showed growth and the quality of the entries astounded the judging panel, which included a range of education leaders. The judges were moved to tears as they read about the work that the teachers were doing in communities far removed from their own.

The Stars in Education winner shines at Education Week 2009 In 2009 the winner of The Stars in Education Awards was recognised at a lunchtime function at Education Week, which had an audience of over 500 education leaders. Our winner, Mologadi Priscilla Maluleke was nominated by a learner, Khomotso Marakalla, who said of her teacher ‘Mam’ Maluleke: “She is my mother and teacher, she cares for us as OVC’s and helps us with home activities, school uniform, food parcels, presents and more”. Mam Maluleke trained as an HIV Care worker in 2008 and in 2009 set up the Bophelong HIV and AIDS support group. A member of the group writes “I am well because of her” and that she is a woman with “perseverance and love”. Her entry included detailed records of her many visits to dozens

STARSIN

At the luncheon event at Education week Mologadi Maluleke moved the audience to tears when she received her prize of R10 000, by showing her commitment to her learners, with her promise: “I’m going to use it to bring their happiness back”.

STARSIN

In 2012, we caught up with ‘Mam’ Maluleke. EDUCATION When asked if she is still teaching, she enthusiastically answered thatPARTNERS her project had gone from strength to strength, growing in the way community members were educated about HIV – which goes hand in hand with supporting learners orphaned as a result of HIV. The prize money went towards buying the children calculators to practice maths, educational toys, puzzles and charts and posters for the classrooms. The OVC’s after-school classroom was also equipped with ironing boards and a kettle to better care for the children in the afternoons. Most importantly, she reports that the competition made a real difference to the community’s view of the centre, who now say the children no longer feel like orphans because of the centre. The members of the community have been motivated to come and help care for the children, cleaning the centre and mending the children’s clothing. “The children are really interested in coming every afternoon and the little ones love playing very much”, says Mologadi. One project need Mrs Maluleke reports is equipment like sewing machines and fabric so that HIV positive people can work and be kept busy.

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ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

of orphans and vulnerable children. One report tells of her helping a child after abuse and organising papers for children so they can receive grants. Her work extends to helping children with their homework, taking them to the clinic if they are sick, providing for them through a vegetable garden, organising eye tests and requesting support from community EDUCATION members and local businesses.A+SCHOOLS

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Chapter 3 ADVERTORIAL / CASE STUDY

03 continued from page 46

STARSIN

TEACHERS

EDUCATION

Taking the Stars in Education awards to the community in which the teacher works In 2010, we wanted to recognise the teacher in the community, to encourage community support for teachers. We arranged with the school principal of New West Secondary School to create a special assembly to present the winner, Roslyn Narain, with her award for her extraordinary contribution to her learners and her community. She was nominated by a learner, Shiksha Lutchmipersadh, who wrote of how her teacher had inspired her to get involved in projects herself. She was inspired by Mrs Narain’s dedication to various projects including a centre focused on teaching elderly members of the community to read and write. In Roslyn’s case, we saw again how a dark moment could trigger the inspiration needed for a teacher to take action. Mrs Narain was moved to ask a learner about his depression and recent suicide attempt. “I just want my father to love me” was the learner’s desperate reply. Knowing she could not answer that need, Roslyn responded by developing a programme where toys were distributed to a local hospital and she asked the boy to be Father Christmas. In giving love to others, his self esteem was boosted and a “light bulb” went on for Roslyn Narain – her life was changed as she sought to impact the lives of others in many new ways. The project that caught Stars in Education Awards judge’s attention was RAFAL – Roslyn’s Academy for Adult Learning, an ABET project answering the desperate need for Roslyn’s elderly neighbours in her community to learn to read and write. Roslyn started out as a volunteer educator in the National Government Literacy Programme called Khar Ri Gude in 2009. She then started her own academy with the help of sponsors and community members of Phoenix in 2010. One elderly woman in her early eighties commented “because of

her I can read my name for the first time” and her family commented that since she had attended the classes she was more cheerful and suffered from fewer ailments.

Recognition from SACE and education leaders In 2011, the winners of the Stars in Education Awards were honoured at a South African Council for Educators (SACE) Gala Event in Cape Town on 7 October. SACE sponsored the attendance of the finalists at the event and invited them to attend the SACE Teachers Roundtable where they learned about the latest trends and issues in education and networked with education leaders, to share their insights on education. A film crew were also sent to the school to film the award presentation at a special assembly, to celebrate World Teacher’s Day. Mr Roith Rajpal, Mindset Network CEO, has this to say about their involvement with the initiative, “Mindset Learn has always been a consistent supporter of teachers in South Africa. We produce relevant curriculum aligned content in multi-media format in order to assist teachers to explain difficult concepts in their classrooms. We are excited to be the broadcast partner of Stars in Education, the project that recognises the important role that teachers play in developing communities. Through this partnership, we shall create awareness of teachers’ hard work and dedication in educating the nation”. When asked what motivated the Transnet Foundation to commit their support to the Stars in Education Awards 2012, Senior Manager of Education, Theresa Vivian Moila responded passionately, “At Transnet Foundation we believe that teachers are at the forefront of a good quality education system. Teacher quality is critical for improving learner performance. Well trained teachers are able to deliver the curriculum and improve learner performance. I believe in

the value of our teachers, the ability to shape young minds. It is against this background that we are embarking on a teacher development programme that seeks to give teachers requisite skills to impart knowledge to learners and enhance their performance. The focus for Transnet is to improve an individual educator so that EDUCATION she has the better capacity to impart knowledge A+SCHOOLS and improve learner performance.”

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

THE WINNER: Phuti Ragophala, Pula Madibogo Primary School, Mankweng, Limpopo STARSIN

STARSIN

Caren Maree, Group Marketing and STARSIN Teacher Campus EDUCATION ManagerPARTNERS for Macmillan is also proud to be on board, “At Macmillan we believe we are selling more than textbooks, we are selling an education! It is therefore a high priority for us to be part of an award that recognises those teachers that makes it their life’s work to give their learners an education that prepares them for the demands of the 21st century”.

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EDUCATION Pula Madibogo Itsosheng Permaculture and OVC Care Centre, IT Teach a Teacher project A+SCHOOLS “One day around 2002 a teacher came to me and reported a girl who was shivering and faint. She had not eaten the night before. We started to take her aside and give her food before class started”. - Phuti Ragophala, her teacher and the principal of the school, describes the moment that sparked a journey into a many-faceted project including permaculture, a chicken farm and community IT classes. The project addresses the hunger and need experienced by orphans and unemployed people in her Limpopo community.

STARSIN EDUCATION

“It is often that a teacher does not recognisePARTNERS the needy children. These children will not speak up; we need to be watching for the signs”. The Winner: Phuti Ragophala, Pula Madibogo Primary School

Phuti Ragophala applies her energy and ideas to answering the needs of orphans in her area “What can I say, I am a woman, it feels like these children come from my own stomach!” she says with a smile. Phuti makes every effort to recognise the unflagging dedication of her team of teachers and community team without whom she could never have turned an ex-rubbish dump into what Phuti calls “a forest of food”. Over the years Phuti has dedicated her time to Eco schools competitions, selecting girls for the Oprah Winfrey Academy, organising school career days, encouraging the ‘adoption’ of orphaned learners, supporting prisoner’s learning and teaching teachers in other schools about IT. Her latest focus is a project which encourages anyone with knowledge to Teach-a-Teacher about IT. This passion won her the ISPA Super Teacher of the year a week before she received Stars in Education Award and a month later was recognised by the a special award from the CPSI (Centre for Public Service Innovation) from the office of the Minister of Public Works and Administration, Roy Padayachee for Selfless Leadership and Innovative Work in the Public Sector. About her passion for IT, Phuti quotes the saying “If you want to shoot birds, shoot where they are going, not where they are”, meaning that one must work with a vision of the future and be willing to change with the times. Though many in surrounding rural Mankweng may face desperate levels of unemployment and HIV, the overriding feeling at Pula Madibogo Primary is that of enthusiasm and hope as Phuti’s passion overflows and seeks to influence high schools and the community at large.

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Chapter 3 ADVERTORIAL / CASE STUDY

STARSIN EDUCATION TEACHERS

Great partnerships create impact These inspirational stories of ordinary teachers doing extraordinary work and taking the lead in making a difference in their communities have encouraged industry leaders to get involved in supporting the Stars in Education awards, as it continues to recognise how teachers inspire others. Transnet, Macmillan and Cell C have taken the lead in recognising the vital role that teachers play in our communities. While getting to know our current and previous winners, we have realised that these dedicated teachers are frequently under-supported, over-invested and facing burn-out. Like all teachers, these heroes face daily challenges and express the need for extra support. We would like to develop the impact of the Stars in Education awards, by offering coaching support, links to other support organisa-

tions and encouragement to these teachers leading projects. We’d also like to launch a Star Teachers Club where the previous Stars in Education winners can offer support and encouragement to other teachers. This vision is shared by one of our judges, Tsedi Dipholo, the dynamic CEO of SACE:. We also have noted how the work of certain NGOs has cropped up again and again in the Stars in Education entry reports. Eco Schools and Soul Buddyz have done excellent work in encouraging projects linked to schools and run by teachers. We look forward to developing a category to honour NGOs who are crucial in supporting the work of teachers in the projects they run.

”I want to honour schools where the principal has nominated the teacher, I love to STARSIN EDUCATION see this leadership, A+SCHOOLS as principals not recognising their teachers is a challenge we face. So we’d like to develop STARSIN Stars in Education to EDUCATION honour the teams PARTNERS and teacher-principal partnerships behind schools which excel”.

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If you would like to take the lead in recognising teachers, principals who encourage teachers to develop or in recognising the vital work of the NGO community, please contact us on +27 21 865 2813 or visit www.ED.org.za to partner on inspiring our teachers to take the lead in inspiring learners and their communities.

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Chapter 3 ADVERTORIAL / CASE STUDY

e.TV CELEBRATES GREAT TEACHERS

There can never be a limit to celebrating great teachers. They play an integral role in determining our ability to innovate, to invent and to grow.

Nadia Anthony Nadia Anthony is a crusader for people with disabilities. She established Nadia’s Social Support Club for people with disabilities to ensure that her community does not turn a blind eye to the issue. Through this support club, Nadia is making a serious impact in her community.

Teachers are a fundamental part of most our early childhood memories. It is for this reason that e.tv’s Values Campaign department dedicated a full series to celebrating teachers who have devoted their lives to providing quality education at all levels. We took a closer look at six great South Africans breaking barriers in this profession:

Mercy Madikane Mercy Madikane is an educator who takes her role as teacher far beyond the classroom. She believes uplifting the broader community is the key to successful learning. With this in mind, Mercy took it upon herself to start a Girl Guide Group at Ilitha Secondary School, King Williams Town in the Eastern Cape. The club equips young girls with skills to combat social ills such as substance abuse, teenage pregnancy and the spread of HIV and AIDS.

Irfaan Abrahams Irfaan Abrahams has become much more than a teacher to his learners at Rocklands High School in Mitchells Plain. Mitchells Plain is a community rife with gangsterism, alcohol, drug abuse and other social ills, but Abrahams has refused to let that get the better of his students. He has established numerous clubs to provide activities to keep students off the streets.

Roslyn Narain Unable to tolerate the high levels of illiterate adults in her community, Roslyn took action to establish Roslyn’s Academy for Adult Learning.Through her Academy, Roslyn now dedicates her time to improving the literacy rate amongst adults aged between of 49 and 80 in her immediate community.

Mark Van Wyk Mark Van Wyk is a teacher at Kliptown High School in Eldorado Park. His community also struggles with drugs and gangsterism and he believes providing alternate lifestyle choices is the key to successful transformation. He has done this by starting a soccer club, the Colchester Football Club, and through this is keeping boys off the streets.

Andrew Ngoma Andrew Ngoma, vice principal of Ennis Thabong School in Hartebeespoort, is making it his mission to ensure that his learners and the community develop a sense of caring and natural respect for the environment. He has developed an eco-club program where learners discuss environmental issues at regular meetings. The eco-club run a successful vegetable garden project and work to police water wastage in the community.

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

About e.tv’s Values Campaign The e.tv Values Campaign profiles true-life South African stories which introduce every day South Africans, striving to make a difference in their communities. The focus of the campaign is to determine what it means to be South African. The point of departure is to build a national sense of ‘South Africanism’ by utilising personal, day-in-the-life accounts of people making a difference in their communities.

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Chapter 3 RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION

Chapter 3 SADTU’S RESPONSE

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION Expand Funza Lushaka Bursary Scheme The Funza Lushaka Bursary Scheme is an important strategy to attract learners into the teaching profession, especially those with good passes in maths, science and languages. It should be strengthened and expanded. In addition, measures are needed to ensure that Funza Lushaka graduates are immediately absorbed into schools.

Provide more support to professional bodies To enhance teachers’ subject knowledge and their pride in the profession, greater support should be given to teacher associations that specialise in specific subjects, such as the Association for Mathematics Education of South Africa. The Eastern Cape has recently established an association of English teachers. Other countries have associations

of computer science, science and English teachers. These organisations could provide professional development opportunities, disseminate information about best practices and provide updates on cutting-edge research. South Africa would benefit immensely from having such organisations in key subject areas.

Change the pay structure to attract and retain good teachers Bursaries alone will not attract enough topachieving candidates into teaching. The flat wage gradient in teaching deters highly skilled people from entering or staying in teaching. The performance of teachers is only one of the things that impacts on the performance of learners. As a result, performance-based incentives often prove highly controversial. However, it is possible to identify some indicators of improvements in teachers’

FUNERAL COVER

Two years of pre-schooling: We welcome this as it is our belief that a good foundation in education yields to good grasp of secondar y and ter tiar y education. The bold prescription by the NPC must be: make all pre-school facilitators and Early Childhood educators permanent so that we can have stability and cer tainty at the ECD level. Teachers in this phase must be fully qualified with the full suppor t of the government.

performance. This proposal comes from the IMF prescriptions that have been rejected by the Education International - a teacher federation representing more than 30 million teachers and education personnel globally. It is unachievable. In the past decade, South Africa has seen major education reforms which began with curriculum changes. These were introduced without adequate teacher professional development. As a result, most teachers misunderstood and misinterpreted what they were supposed to do in this new education dispensation. This therefore had a negative impact on the learners’ academic performance. More emphasis should be placed on teacher professional development.

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performance that can be used to reward teachers for enhancing their skills. Remuneration and promotion systems should take such indicators of a teacher’s level of expertise and commitment into account. Each year, there should be an opportunity for teachers to take an examination focused on the curriculum that they teach. Within each education band, there should be a test for every subject. Teachers taking part should write the test corresponding to the subject and highest band in which they teach. For foundation-phase teachers, a more generic test will be appropriate. For accurate budgeting, a fixed number of teachers should receive a financial bonus, paid out over about three years, so that teachers are tested regularly, but not too often. It should also be recognised that there are non-economic ways of rewarding good performance, ranging rom public awards to exchange programmes and sabbaticals.

SADTU’S RESPONSE TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS ON EDUCATION AND TRAINING BY THE NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION

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Increase teacher training by Funza Lushaka bursaries: While we welcome the bursaries, we maintain that we don’t believe that the universities have the capacity to train the number of teachers needed. We therefore reiterate our call for the re-opening of teacher colleges to have focused and dedicated training. We welcome the recommendation to build new universities in Mpumalanga and Northern Cape and a new medical school in Limpopo. Regular testing of teachers: The regular testing of teachers in subjects they teach is an insult to teachers. Instead, teachers should

undergo regular refresher courses on the subjects they teach. The recommendation is based on preconceived ideas and not on the reality faced by teachers. This will add to the low morale the teachers are already suffering from because the policies are de-professionalising teaching.

Granting of work permits to foreigners who graduate from a registered South African University: The employment of foreign teachers should be a short-term measure to fill in gaps on scarce skills subjects and learning areas. These teachers should be subjected to the same conditions of service as South African teachers. Meanwhile, government should train more South African teachers in these subjects. Source: Maluleke, 2011.

Linking of teacher pay to learner performance improvement: This would be unfair as learner performance improvement does not lie with the teacher only. Factors such as the availability of resources, socio-economic status, language, parental involvement, school leadership and management, have an impact on the learners’ academic

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Chapter 3 SADTU CONDUCTS RESEARCH ON TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT NEEDS FOR TEACHERS

SADTU CONDUCTS RESEARCH ON TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT NEEDS FOR TEACHERS Research conducted by Kaizer Makole, Research officer, SADTU National Office.

The Union commissioned a research study to identify the professional development challenges faced by teachers. The question of teacher professional development has recently become a priority for government, teachers unions and other educational organisations in a quest to improve South African education system. Villegas-Reimers (2003) emphasised that reforms without teacher development or vice-versa are a recipe for disaster, and South Africa has learned the hard way. Major educational reforms in a form of different curriculum changes were introduced without an adequate teacher professional development plan in South Africa.

The motivation for the study was to deliver on the union’s strategy of developing professionalism within the teaching corps. The purpose of the research project was to identify professional development challenges of teachers to respond to curriculum changes and improve performance in rural and township schools, in response to the SADTU National Executive Committee’s position that continuing professional development of its members is an essential prerequisite for improved teaching and learning in South African schools (SADTU NEC, 2011). A qualitative research study was designed to solicit the views and perceptions of teachers who are SADTU members and principals in township and rural schools about their training needs that would inform professional development for better classroom practices. The research study was conducted in 20 rural and township schools, both high and primary, in Nkangala, Gert Sibande and Bothabela regions of Mpumalanga Province. Ninety-one teachers, 19 principals and one deputy principal, participated in the study. The reason for participation of the principals was to ensure balanced views from teachers’ responses so as to ensure objectivity of the study. The first phase of the research project was completed in Mpumalanga Province and will be followed by other phases in Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo Province.

Research findings

Recommendations

ÆÆ 85 teachers were trained at different colleges of education. Only six teachers received foundational training in the teaching profession from universities.

ÆÆ Most of the teachers have been in the teaching profession for over 20 years without in-service training. Professional development training should be implemented for teachers to develop their knowledge and skills about curriculum changes.

ÆÆ Teaching was not regarded as a first career choice for most of the teachers. They opted for teaching because it was a cheaper career and bursaries were available in the early 80s. ÆÆ Most of the teachers’ choice of the first school was related to reduction in travelling costs. However, some of the teachers did not choose their first schools as they were desperate for employment. ÆÆ The initial teaching experience of teachers was affected by cultural challenges and the level of training they received. Most of the teachers were not prepared for the real school experiences. However, teachers’ colleges were viewed as better in training new teachers as compared to universities.

ÆÆ Forty-four percent of teachers are at REQV 13. Only 17 percent of teachers at REQV 13 are currently engaged in any studies to improve their classroom practices. This implies that 83 percent of teachers in this category are not involved in any form of professional development. The qualification level of these teachers should be upgraded through professional development to the REQV 14 (minimum qualification required by the 2007 National Policy Framework for Teachers Education). ÆÆ Professional development training should target more female teachers as research indicates that most of the teachers in poor township and rural schools are females as opposed to males.

ÆÆ For many teachers, teaching was viewed in a positive light as being exciting and enriching. However, the current situation in schools has discouraged most of the teachers about the profession.

ÆÆ Socio-political challenges should be addressed to motivate teachers in township and rural schools to improve classroom practice as there is a relationship between poverty and performance in schools.

ÆÆ Teachers were motivated by their parents, families and former teachers to become teachers. The working conditions in many schools are an obstacle that results in some of the teachers planning to leave the profession.

ÆÆ School managers and teachers in township and rural schools should be trained about better strategies for learner discipline.

ÆÆ All participants shared a common understanding of the teaching profession. Teachers acknowledged challenges that destabilise the profession, e.g. lack of commitment and low salaries. ÆÆ Most teachers complained about quality of professional development that they received from the department of education. They complained about lack of competence and feedback from curriculum implementers which resulted in them not being competent practitioners in classrooms.

ÆÆ The union and department of education should develop mentorship programmes for new teachers to acclimatise in the teaching profession. ÆÆ The union should guide the department of education to ensure that content learning and school language policies suit the learners and therefore enable them to succeed. ÆÆ The union should develop a programme aimed at empowering parents and school governing bodies to improve on quality of learning and teaching as per Quality of Learning and Teaching Campaign mandate.

ÆÆ Participants felt that the union is not doing much in professional development of its members. The union should conduct professional development workshops on different teaching strategies for learning areas and learner discipline. ÆÆ Participants felt that the union is in a better position for professional development as it is closer to members. The union should also monitor and evaluate professional development from the department of education to ensure quality.

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Chapter 3 ARGO CONDUCTS RESEARCH ON THE NEEDS OF TEACHERS

WHAT TEACHERS NEED A research study conducted by Argo confirms that some teachers still have a passion for teaching, as highlighted by their responses to:

What do you love about teaching?

What makes you frustrated about teaching?

ÆÆ Don’t have a laboratory and library to teach properly like other schools;

ÆÆ Implementing a curriculum with no training & department is doing nothing to solve this except to roll out pamphlets & circulars to educators;

ÆÆ Implementing new curriculum without direct intervention. Lacking proper means to discipline learners;

ÆÆ Crime and theft, not having computers at school, not enough funds to have private security; ÆÆ The curriculum that changes often;

ÆÆ Love working with kids, so they can produce in the future and assist their families;

ÆÆ Department makes excessive demands & expects things yesterday when they themselves often deliver late;

ÆÆ Seeing my learners become successful in their lives; ÆÆ To teach learners to achieve their dreams; ÆÆ Seeing the hope that teaching brings into to the lives of children; ÆÆ When learners understand the “AHA” concept, and understand; ÆÆ Seeing them happy when they do well in tests; ÆÆ To share ideas with them and guide them to become responsible citizens in future; ÆÆ To develop those little minds into something; ÆÆ To bring change in education; ÆÆ Creating an open space for learners; ÆÆ Be part of children lives by making a meaningful contribution.

ÆÆ Demotivated and undisciplined learners and educators who don’t do their work; ÆÆ Learners are not performing according to the required learning outcomes;

ÆÆ Overcrowding in class rooms; ÆÆ Multi-grade class rooms; ÆÆ Laziness of the children - potential they have and not submitting home work or assignments; ÆÆ Unnecessary changes in curriculum, taking teachers out of classroom to attend workshops, leaving children unattended in classrooms; ÆÆ The increased admin that are required for grade 9 & 12, CAPS introduction with a few support materials like textbooks being available; ÆÆ Infrastructure backlog;

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

ÆÆ Security, administration block, support from department little money; ÆÆ Big classes, child headed families and vulnerable learners, security at schools;

ÆÆ Introduction of in service training to educators in various learning areas; ÆÆ Conducting of in-service workshops for different learning areas; ÆÆ Have a security guard at school, to train educators to use computers, agricultural support – gardening; ÆÆ Computer lessons for educators; ÆÆ Teacher training;

ÆÆ Big failure of leaners in ANA; ÆÆ History subjects - subject is dying; ÆÆ Make sure everything is done, keeping up with administration yet teaching creatively;

ÆÆ Hire more advisors with knowledge of content; ÆÆ Tips on organization, template to help with filing; ÆÆ more qualified teachers and paid class assistants; ÆÆ Enough books for all learners as it was promised;

ÆÆ Overcrowding lack of government support. Lack of teaching assistance and social economic struggles within the community; ÆÆ Lesson plan, keeping discipline in class room;

ÆÆ Workshops and in service training; ÆÆ Government help with additional class rooms; ÆÆ Stakeholders to assist where needed with discipline;

ÆÆ See some learners under achieving and teenage pregnancy at early stage;

ÆÆ Department of Education to encourage LO to be taken serious in schools;

ÆÆ Multi grade class rooms - no class rooms for other children;

ÆÆ Support from department of social development; ÆÆ Enough LTSM distributed to schools;

ÆÆ Parents that are not committed, hard to work with learners; ÆÆ Children not doing home work or if they fail at the end of the year;

ÆÆ Food parcels given to them to take home, school uniform sponsors; ÆÆ Department to support and not pressure.

ÆÆ Changing curriculum and undisciplined learners; ÆÆ To discover that learners are sexually active, but come to school still without the knowledge and information about pregnancy , STD prevention and HIV/AIDS; ÆÆ Parents that do not co operate; ÆÆ High failing rate of learners.

What support would you appreciate? ÆÆ NGO’s & educational departments should provide mobile library and mobile chances for learners;

ÆÆ If there are no resources to provide for lessons and learners;

Teachers showed their love for working with children, for contributing to our nation’s future and empowering learners to achieve, so that they can assist their families and communities. Responses included comments, such as:

ÆÆ Participating in shaping the future generation of SA, the children;

What are the biggest challenges that you face?

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

ÆÆ Constantly changing pass requirements at GET level, learners are not coping - pressures of high school; ÆÆ different levels of education for teachers, work load for the educators; ÆÆ lack of technology in school, computers.

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Chapter 3 WHAT TEACHERS NEED

If you could, what would you change in education? ÆÆ Change OBE - using test books in classrooms, garden & craft work to improved skills; ÆÆ Perception learners have on the value of education and their future, teachers component, learning area must match educators; ÆÆ Agent in Primary education, have interest in primary maths to teach learners from foundation phase;

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Helping teachers to help learners

continued from page 58

ÆÆ Change the curriculum, full handwriting in Grade R to 7; ÆÆ System of teachers change doing too much admin work so that effective teaching should take place; ÆÆ Children should have readiness year to prepare them for school; ÆÆ Smaller classes, no more that 30 kids in a class;

Education is key to the future of South Africa, which is why the Old Mutual Foundation supports education initiatives which build excellence in secondary mathematics and science.

ÆÆ Reinstate punishment;

The Foundation targets two key areas of education:

ÆÆ Strengthen discipline and provide sufficient resources for learners;

■

ÆÆ Come up with stable curriculum;

■

ÆÆ Top down directives issued by people who have forgotten what it is to be in the classroom, would like to give teachers a greater voice; ÆÆ Learners should be given more task in a form of research; ÆÆ Reduce admin work for educators to make them focus on teaching.

Responses to the survey indicated that there were between 40 – 55 children in a classroom, but in some cases as many as 80 in 1 class. The majority of the teachers who responded, indicated that the laptops would facilitate teaching and increase the quality of education and that this initiative would need training support. The research indicated that most of the teachers who responded were members of a trade union, with SADTU membership being in the majority. The benefits that the teachers received from union membership included support in negotiating conditions of service, information about education changes, funeral and insurance benefits. The research indicates that teachers would like more information about teacher development, bursaries, encouraging parental support and learner motivation and teachers would like more access to competitions that offered bursaries, laptops, book vouchers, teaching resources and textbooks. There was a mixed response to whether teachers have access to the internet, with about half the teachers indicating that they have access and use the internet for learning resources and to improve their skills.

Instructional functionality: By improving the quality of teaching, we improve the transfer of knowledge. Regulatory functionality: By developing school leadership and management skills, we improve the system within which educators work.

The old mutual Foundation funds printing and distribution of the following amesa publications: ■

■

a critical education initiative funded by the old mutual Foundation is the association of mathematics education of south africa (amesa), a professional association of mathematics educators in south africa. ■

The Foundation has been a primary donor of amesa for a period of 19 years and has invested over R3 300 000 in the printing and distribution of amesa publications that assist with instructional functionality around south africa. These publications reach 2 200 members and impact on approximately 340 000 learners across the country annually. The aim of amesa is to enhance the quality of teaching and learning of mathematics. To achieve these aims, amesa: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Provides a forum for all involved with teaching mathematics, at all levels of education encourages research related to mathematics education and brings the results of such research to the attention of its members Formulates policy statements on matters pertaining to mathematics education and promotes such perspectives actively engages in mathematics education projects that result in the social, economic, political and cultural development of society encourages and assists its members to strive towards a high standard of professionalism in the exercise of their profession

Pythagoras: is a peer-reviewed research journal which presents current research and developments in mathematics education, at national and international level. It is accredited by the sa Department of education and is published twice yearly. Learning and Teaching Mathematics (LTM): provides stimulating and challenging ideas relating to mathematics teaching and learning at all levels. LTM is a peer-reviewed journal which is published twice yearly. AMESA NEWS: keeps members regularly informed about issues and events related to mathematics and is published quarterly.

By investing in mathematics teachers, the old mutual Foundation makes a contribution towards addressing the national skills deficit through support to technical subjects.

The 18th annual AMESA Congress 2012, supported by the Old Mutual Foundation, will be held on: Date:

25 – 28 June 2012

Venue:

Faculty of education sciences, North-West University

Enquiries: elsa stoop 018 299 4719 congress2012@amesa.org.za

For more information, contact AMESA on info@amesa.org.za or www.amesa.org.za.

RESEARCH CONDUCTED BY ARGO.

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

04 SCHOOLS AT THE CENTRE OF OUR COMMUNITIES

IT IS ESTIMATED THAT APPROXIMATELY 80 PERCENT OF OUR SCHOOLS ARE UNDERPERFORMING. THIS TRANSLATES TO ABOUT 20 000 SCHOOLS. INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE SHOWS THAT SYSTEM WIDE IMPROVEMENTS IN EDUCATION SYSTEMS CAN BE IMPLEMENTED IN A NUMBER OF WAYS, INCLUDING PUTTING TOGETHER MULTI-DISCIPLINARY TEAMS THAT ASSESS THE FUNCTIONALITY OF A SCHOOL, DEVELOP A TURNAROUND PLAN AND OVERSEE ITS IMPLEMENTATION. TO DEVELOP AND SUSTAIN A PROFESSIONAL CULTURE, SCHOOLS NEED TO BE WELL RUN BY SKILLED AND DEDICATED PRINCIPALS WHO FOSTER A VIBRANT BUT DISCIPLINED ENVIRONMENT THAT IS CONDUCIVE TO LEARNING. THE CURRICULUM WILL NEED TO BE TAILORED TO THE NEEDS OF SOUTH AFRICAN SOCIETY. THIS WILL REQUIRE PRINCIPALS AND MANAGEMENT TEAMS TO FULFIL THEIR ROLES AS LEADERS IN IMPLEMENTING THE CURRICULUM.

Source: Taylor, 2011.

Let’s work together as ONE to achieve quality education

Connect with the education leaders on www.ED.org.za or contact Argo on +27 (0)21 865 2813 or info@argo.org.za to be part of the Education Roundtables.

Chapter 4 RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION School management for instructional leadership A targeted approach will need to be taken as not every proposal will be appropriate for every school. Schools that are already performing well should not be expected to fulfil additional tasks that are designed to deliver improvements in poorly performing schools. Very low-performing schools should receive the closest attention. This principle is accepted by the Department of Basic Education. Visible indicators of the quality of school leadership should be monitored. For example, in schools where curriculum coverage is a problem, principals should report regularly on this issue.

Ensure that appropriately qualified and competent people become principals

“The influence of the principal relates to his or her leadership and management skills and ability to create the kind of learning environment that will allow skilled and creative teachers to flourish.” Alan Clarke. Source: Clarke, 2010.

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

High-quality principals need to be attracted, trained and supported. Changes should be introduced to appointment processes for principals including administering a competency test for all candidates. Minimum qualifications for becoming principals should be introduced and recruitment processes should ensure that candidates meet these criteria. Serving principals should be given a period of 10 years to acquire the qualifications, failing which they should face retrenchment or demotion. Principals should gradually be given more powers to administer schools, including financial management, procurement of textbooks and other educational material, as well as hiring and firing educators. These delegations are necessary so that principals can be accountable for the performance of their schools. The commission supports the Department of Basic Education initiative to introduce performance contracts for principals. These contracts should be used as a means to help principals who strive for excellence to find ways to improve their performance year on year, including being used as a way of identifying training needs. However, if principals repeatedly fail to meet performance targets, monitoring information indicates poor performance, and investigations based on interviews with school stakeholders confirm that the principal is ineffective, then the principal should be replaced.

Clarify the role of districts and improve their capacity to support schools A clearer understanding of the functions of districts is required. Lack of capacity may limit what can reasonably be delegated to district offices. Since it takes time for professional capacity to be built up in districts, the focus should be on improving the availability of intervention tools that can be used by district officials and other bodies that support schools.

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

Promote constructive partnerships Teacher unions are crucial to improving the education system. Government should look at effective ways of working with unions to reach their members. Experience in other countries shows that without a critical level of professional expertise among union leaders, it is difficult to get unions to move beyond the issue of salary increments to the core professional concern of improving the quality of education. Sponsoring advanced studies for union leaders could form part of the constructive partnership.

“Our call to teachers to be in school, in class, on time, teaching for at least seven hours a day remains pivotal to success. We thank the teacher unions for suppor ting this campaign.” State of the Nation Address by President Zuma, 9 February 2012. While there is ongoing debate regarding the role of politics in education, there can be no denying that a collaborative approach is seen to be more effective in achieving quality education, as illustrated in the Dinokeng Scenarios.

Generate and draw support from civil society School governing bodies have a strong legislative mandate to fulfil the governance function of schools, including extensive responsibility in finances and setting internal school policies. Many governing bodies are significantly hampered by parents’ lack of expertise and social status relative to school staff. Additional support should be given to governing bodies to enable them to fulfil their mandate in promoting the effective management of schools. School governing bodies should attend compulsory courses once elected.

Externally administer and mark the annual national assessment in one primary school grade In a minimum of one primary school grade (perhaps grade 6), the annual national assessment should be externally administered and marked to ensure that there is at least one reliable system-wide measure of quality for all primary schools.

during the transition to English as the language of learning and teaching. The Department of Basic Education should actively participate in the international market for skills, including recruiting teachers from other English-speaking countries.

Present the annual national assessment results in an accessible format The assessment results should be made accessible to parents and the community in a way that makes the data easy to interpret.

Ensure high-quality language instruction in the foundation phase High-quality teaching of students’ first language and English is vital during the foundation phase. Effective support materials need to be available for teachers and learners

SADTU’S RESPONSE TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION Political and union interference in appointments: SADTU’s role is that of ensuring that proper processes are followed in the appointment/promotion of teachers and district officials. The recommendation should deal with those responsible for employment such as the SGB and the District office to perform their duties in the best interest of our country and not to allow improper influence. Change process of appointment of principals and set minimum qualifications: The Department proposed an ACE course as a primary requirement for principals. Many principals have completed ACE in Education, Management and Governance. Principals and teachers have spent large sums of money and their time trying to upgrade themselves in their careers, only to find that the goal posts get shifted. These many changes eventually lead to despondency. We would like to see principals given more powers to administer schools but the department should be clear about what they want from principals. Source: Maluleke, 2011.

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Chapter 4 CHANGING EDUCATION, ONE PRINCIPAL AT A TIME

According to United Way (Research Suppor ting The Education Volunteer Call To Action), children spend on average 80% of their waking hours at home and in the community, and only 20% at school. Until recently, responsibility for poor academic results of learners has been placed solely on the shoulders of principals and teachers. The emphasis is now broadening to include the role which parents and the greater community can play in suppor ting education.

Symphonia for South Africa strongly believes that principals should be leading change at their schools, but understands that principals are often over-burdened and unsupported and not equipped to lead social change at their schools. The Partner for Possibility (PfP) programme was launched to address the challenges that these principals face, by inviting business leaders to partner with school principals to deal with the challenges of the school together. 47 schools across the country are now a part of this world first initiative, which is supported by business leaders across South Africa. The programme forms part of a vision to strengthen the fabric of society through mobilising citizens and community building, which was built on the ethos of Benjamin and Rosamund Zander’s book, The Art of Possibility and forms part of the School @ the Centre of Community project. The project was initiated by Louise van Rhyn, who believes that of about 14 million children at school, less than 20% are getting the education they need to secure an economically sustainable future. Based on this belief, she decided to put her theory to the test, and partnered withRidwanSamodien, principal of Kannemeyer Primary School in the Western Cape. “Principals are expected to lead major turnarounds at their school which requires them to think strategically. But very few of our principals are equipped to do this effectively. I’ve learnt from experience that it’s not enough to put people who need to lead change through training programmes. Change leaders need to be supported with extra resources and capacity. Everyone wants to look at a systems and policies, but large scale

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

change doesn’t just happen through changing systems and policies, but through local projects where knowledge is shared and used to unlock possibility,” explained Dr Van Rhyn, who has extensive experience in organisational change. The business leader is therefore seen as a thinking partner whose key role is to support and assist with the change process and work together with the principal in a co-learning and co-action partnership. “I was always aware of the need for community and parental involvement, but I was anxious to bring the parents more closely on board.After I attended one of Symphonia’s community building workshops, I hosted one at my school and what a massive success it was! For the first time, the community felt involved and valued. They discovered they too had a role to play within their child’s education process” Ridwan said. “Our school was considered one of the problem schools in the Western Cape, but that didn’t hinder my PfP to take the time out to get to know our community and try to understand the challenges we face. Through this journey, we have learnt to trust one another and established a lasting relationship. This programme has been life changing,” said Quentin Newman, principal of John Ramsay High School in Bishop Lavis about his business partner, Rene Wright from Sanlam. The project has received international recognition with Dr Van Rhyn winning the Blue Dart Global Corporate Social (CSR) award for Social Entrepreneurship in Mumbai, India recently.

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

Education that changes lives Thembinkosi* is a 27-year-old Capetonian who lives in his own home, earns a salary and is studying for a tertiary qualification while supporting his parents financially. His future is promising and he’s a happy man who walks with a lightness in his step, yet 20 years ago the odds were stacked heavily against his success. Thembinkosi spent his days herding cattle, not attending school. He stayed with his grandparents in the Eastern Cape and only occasionally visited his parents living in Langa, Cape Town’s oldest township.

living in informal, non-permanent houses, where one or more parent is deceased. Learners’ educational deficits are addressed through a rigorous and holistic programme, which includes an extended school day, double contact time in key subjects, small classes, increased contact time with teachers, value based life orientation and familystyle interaction within the school community.

In 1994, aged 11, Thembinkosi moved permanently to Langa and started school for the very first time. Painfully shy and older than his classmates, he developed a stammer and was teased relentlessly. They were difficult years. “I cried a lot, I really didn’t want to go to school,” he recalls.

In the eight years since it opened, LEAP has achieved a remarkable 95% Grade 12 pass rate, with 74% of graduates pursuing tertiary studies. “The aim,” says LEAP founder and director John Gilmour, “is not only to achieve academic results, but also to develop positive, caring young adults with a healthy work ethic who will become future leaders in their communities.”

Taking the leap Things changed in 2004, when a friend encouraged Thembinkosi to enrol at the newly founded LEAP science and maths school, where he was accepted into the first class of Grade 11 learners. LEAP’s long-term vision is to transform disadvantaged communities in south Africa through maths and science focused education. Endorsing this vision from its inception, the old mutual Foundation has invested R14.7 million in LEAP, which has subsequently opened schools serving Langa, Gugulethu and Crossroads (Western Cape); Alexandra and GaRankuwa (Gauteng); as well as Jane Furse (Limpopo). Dr Pandelani mathoma, General Manager of Old Mutual (SA) Corporate Affairs, says “The Foundation’s commitment to investing in the future of our country through education is supported by the work of schools such as LEAP.” LEAP science & maths schools are independent schools registered with The Independent schools Association of south Africa and draw their full-time learners from within township communities; typically children who come from economically disadvantaged households,

achieving success Thembinkosi needed to re-write two subjects before passing Grade 12, but tenacity and perseverance are qualities that LEAP encourages in their learners. In April 2011, he graduated with his National Diploma in Public management and already has plans in place to obtain his degree. “I feel proud because I’m the only one in my family who has passed Grade 12 and gone on to university. Now the children in my community say to me, Thembinkosi, you are an example to us. Thanks to old mutual and LEAP, my school made a huge difference in my life,” he says.

For more information, contact liyanda Manqina of the Old Mutual Foundation at 021 509 3333 or lmanqina@oldmutual.com. *Name withheld

omms 04.2011 T4048/LEAP

CHANGING EDUCATION, ONE PRINCIPAL AT A TIME

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

MACMILLAN TEACHER CAMPUS’S VISION IS TO EMPOWER, MOTIVATE AND DEVELOP ALL EDUCATORS IN SOUTH AFRICA AND TO PROVIDE A LEARNING PATHWAY FOR CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.

Macmillan Teacher Campus is a division of Macmillan South Africa that provides opportuniƟes for educaƟon and training for all members of the educa�on community.

Macmillan Teacher Campus’s mission is to: • offer tailor-made workshops and courses for educators, parents and educa�on department officials • offer curriculum workshops and unit standard aligned courses • provide cu�ng edge training aligned to the needs of the educa�on system and profession • improve quality and competence of teachers in the teaching and learning context • take affordable training and development opportuni�es to the doorstep of the educators • provide educators with a posi�ve training experience and a gateway to career success through lifelong learning • support educators with con�nuous professional development and help them to acquire their PD points as indicated by SACE

All you need to be a dynamic teacher!

Macmillan Teacher Campus offers a variety of workshops and accredited courses to teachers, principals, parents and educa�on department officials. These workshops are aimed at improving the skills, knowledge and values of par�cipants so that they can offer even be�er service to educa�on in South Africa.

Macmillan Teacher Campus oﬀers workshops as well as accredited courses. Workshops for teacher enhancement vary between three hours and three days, and mainly focus on: 1. Subject specic content with the main focus on Mathema�cs, Sciences, Technology and Languages (Grades R to 12) 2. Reading 3. Planning, assessment and modera�on 4. General teacher, parent and district oﬃcial training As curriculum changes occur, like the new CAPS, they are promptly incorporated in the appropriate workshops.

Our teacher-training team is available to assist schools countrywide by running workshops right at the educators’ doorsteps. Schools and Educa�on Departments can nego�ate special packages when training large groups of educators.

Tel: 011 731 3332/3409 | Fax: 011 731 3514/3552 | email: mtc@macmillan.co.za

For more informaƟon on these teacher resource materials and other Ɵtles contact Customer Services: Tel: 011 731 3382 | Fax: 011 731 3535 customerservices@macmillan.co.za | www.macmillan.co.za

Chapter 4

Chapter 4 E-LEARNING IS NOT JUST ABOUT TECHNOLOGY

THE VISION FOR SCHOOLING

FROM TSHIKULULU

“By 2030:

Bertha Phohlela, Tshikululu CSI practitioner working with the Epoch and Optima Trusts, shares the experiences gained while assisting local schools introduce technological advances to their students.

ÆÆ the schooling system is characterised by learners and teachers who are highly motivated; ÆÆ principals are effective managers who provide administrative and curriculum leadership; ÆÆ parents are involved in the schools their children attend; ÆÆ schools are accountable to parents; ÆÆ committed and professional teachers have good knowledge of the subjects they teach; ÆÆ schools and teachers are supported by knowledgeable district officials; ÆÆ the administration of education (including appointment and disciplining of teachers) is the preserve of the government, with unions ensuring that proper procedures are followed; ÆÆ learning materials are readily available; ÆÆ basic infrastructure requirements are met across the board; and ÆÆ high speed broadband is available to support learning” National Development Plan.

Infrastructure backlogs Infrastructure backlogs need to be addressed so that all schools meet the basic infrastructure and equipment standards set by the national Department of Basic Education. This requires targeted action to address the lack of basic infrastructure, such as libraries, books, science laboratories, sports fields, electricity and running water.

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Technology in schools – what we’ve learnt

Technology is a part of our everyday lives, and so it is no surprise that a variety of technological innovations have been introduced in classrooms around the world. In addition to computers, these include interactive whiteboards, video games, virtual worlds, simulations, and mobile telephones. Schools are also looking to network their classrooms and use Skype-similar technology, whereby one teacher can simultaneously teach learners in several different classrooms. The Epoch and Optima Trusts is working with local schools looking to find their place in this transformation, with a primary objective of challenging schools to increase the quality of mathematics passes in the country. Almost all of the Trusts’ 105 partner schools have been equipped with computers, smart-boards, data projectors, clickers, and other ‘smart’ gadgets. Tshikululu and the Trusts acquired some valuable insights from schools and teachers during the process of rolling out this technology. Through this project, we have first-hand experience of the positive effects of technology in classrooms. Most teachers report that the new equipment increases learner engagement in classrooms, thus saving a lot of the time spent in lesson preparation. Some, like clickers and self-tutor computer programs, assist teachers in monitoring student response time and time spent on a question. This gives teachers valuable feedback on learners’ strengths and weaknesses. Very practically, some teachers confided that if felt good not having chalk dust on their hands. So, at what level should technology be introduced in schools? Early childhood development (ECD) practitioners might prefer that technology be introduced to a child at an early age to lay a solid foundation for further learning. On the other hand, having conducted interviews at a primary school that furnished its classes with interactive whiteboards and computers, it was noted that if learners went

E-LEARNING IS NOT JUST ABOUT TECHNOLOGY on to high schools with chalkboards and fewer ‘gadgets’, they found it difficult to focus and concentrate as they were used to more visual stimulation. Although a learner adjusts after a while, there is a concern that the first lessons in these “˜old style’ classrooms have an impact on the remainder of his or her academic life. With this in mind, one approach is to work from the top down: to furnish first secondary, then primary, and finally ECD schools with technology.

What star ted with experiments by psychology professors at Stanford University in the early 1960s has grown into a multi-billion dollar industr y spanning the globe today. Yet, it has only been since the 1990s that e-learning star ted gaining traction. So much so that in 2010, market research agency Ambient Insight forecast that the global market for e-learning would reach $46.9 billion by 2014, up from the $29.1 billion of 2009.

could read from a textbook? Educational opportunities must first be identified and then the appropriate technology needs to be selected to service them.

However, rolling out technology in schools is even more complex than that – how often will computer programs require licence renewal? Is there sufficient training for teachers on both equipment and software? How much classroom renovation is required to make the installation and usage of technology practical? Is there sufficient security to protect the new equipment?

XHEAD = Taking it to the next level E-learning is a multi-faceted discipline. It involves several aspects that are interlinked to ensure its effectiveness as a tool. We have touched on technology which consists of hardware, software, and internet connectivity. There is also content which constitutes the learning material the teachers use to empower learners.

And, crucially, is there buy-in from teachers? Teachers who embraced technology in the classroom, and used it effectively, often are teachers who are consulted before implementation of the tools begins. Some teachers feared that technology was there to replace them in the classroom and needed some convincing that the tools were meant to make their lives easier, assist them with teaching, and enhance learning. Extensive training and demonstration must follow to ensure that teachers are comfortable with the equipment being introduced into their classrooms. It is not ideal that teachers speak of being helped to use new technology by the learners themselves. On-site IT support and a maintenance plan are necessities. Regarding implementation, training and maintenance, we recommend that schools introducing these tools themselves carefully examine their strategies (we’ll take it as understood that those strategies should exist!) to make sure that they are affordable and executable for as long as the technology is in place. Technology is adding a lot of excitement and value to the modern classroom, and we’re anticipating that if used effectively, we will see a different calibre of learners entering university and interacting with the modern, technology-driven world.

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

But for all this growth, there are as many opinions on what e-learning is about as there are suppliers of e-learning solutions. Just do an online search to see the plethora of articles, news, views, and topics on the topic. Some believe that e-learning can only happen if internet connectivity is available while others posit that it requires specific technology. Terms like computer-based training, internet-based training, and web-based training have all been used as synonyms for e-learning. But if one removes all the jargon, I believe that true e-learning is the use of electronic devices to enhance teaching and learning.

XHEAD = E-tail wagging the learning dog? And this lies at the heart of the matter. Often, there is the temptation to focus on the technology instead of what it is there to accomplish. Technology is a wonderful tool and it allows for great things to be accomplished. However, it has very little value if it detracts from the learning experience. Teachers should be able to use e-learning as a way to support what they want to accomplish. The emphasis therefore must fall on the learning part and not on the technology. We refer to this problem as ‘toolishness’ to describe a fondness of tools that transcends purpose and utility. After all, why use computers only to have pupils read from the screen when they

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Another important aspect is teacher training. The greatest barrier to e-learning is the inability of teachers to integrate technology into normal classwork. They need to be shown how to integrate the technology with the curriculum. While it is a great challenge to provide sufficient and appropriate training to the thousands of teachers in South Africa, it is also a great opportunity for e-learning providers. Finally, e-learning requires ongoing support. This support does not only consist of the maintenance of the technology but also to provide teachers with curriculum support in this changing environment. Teachers should not fear that they will be replaced by technology. Instead, they should embrace how e-learning provides them with another component to do what they love most – develop the minds of the future. Kobus van Wyk is the head of e-learning initiatives at Mustek, the largest assembler and distributor of PCs and complementary ICT products in South Africa.

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Chapter 4 ADVERTORIAL / CASE STUDY

MUSTEK COMMITTED TO E-LEARNING

THE KHANYA PROJECT BECAME A SUCCESSFUL TECHNOLOGY-BASED EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT EFFORT. IN JUST UNDER A DECADE, THE TEAM WAS ABLE TO ROLL OUT:

45 000 1340

COMPUTERS

SCHOOLS

27 000

TEACHERS TRAINED

900 000 LEARNERS’ LIVES IMPACTED

As the largest assembler and distributor of PCs and complementary ICT products in South Africa, Mustek is well positioned to play a leading role in supporting government in achieving its Millennium Development Goal of providing unified education for all.

This is specifically relevant when one considers government’s commitment to reducing the digital divide and implementing relevant technology in schools.

To this end, the Mustek e-Learning Initiative was launched last year with Kobus van Wyk as its champion. van Wyk joined Mustek as head of e-Learning in 2011 and will lead technology initiatives within the African education environment by advancing the use of technology to reach learners nationwide.

Under van Wyk’s guidance, the Khanya Project became a successful technologybased educational development effort. In just under a decade, the team was able to roll out 45 000 computers to 1 340 schools, train 27 000 teachers to use modern technology in an educational setting, and impact more than 900 000 learners’ lives.

Having spent decades in the realm of IT and software development as a senior lecturer at the Cape Technikon (now Cape Peninsula University of Technology), and the CEO of Computer System Builders, van Wyk was contracted to manage and facilitate the Khanya Project which focused on using computer technology to solve problems within the education sector. The project ran from April 2001 to March 2012 and included educating teachers on how to use computer technology in their personal capacity, as well as within a classroom setting.

“The main contribution of Khanya is that it proved that technology can be implemented successfully on a large scale on the African content,” says van Wyk. Mustek has been a major supplier of hardware to Khanya, as well as to the Gauteng Online project and to various foundations and donor organisations. Due to the success of these partnerships, the e-Learning environment has become a key focus and growth area for Mustek. Through these projects, Mustek has proved its ability to form partnerships with

public sector and other organisations to implement e-Learning solutions successfully. Furthermore, Mustek assembles and distributes a range of electronic equipment suitable for e-Learning. It has an extensive dealer network and national service and support centres through which all schools in SA can be serviced. “However, hardware is just one piece of the e-Learning puzzle. We are also partnering with other organisations on software and training solutions to complement our core offerings,” says van Wyk. And with the global industry for e-Learning solutions showing no signs of letting up, Mustek is in a strong position to continue driving growth in South Africa and the rest of Africa.

At Mustek we believe in the power of education. We believe in the power that knowledge brings and the doors that it opens.Which is why we build digital literacy and support e-learning in local schools via both hardware and expertise.

By supplying the latest technology and knowledge, we are ensuring that our country develops a network of people that have access to the information and skills that will help them to realise their future.

For more information, visit www.mustek.co.za or please contact us to be referred to a dealer in your area: For more information, visit www.mustek.co.za or please contact us to be referred to a dealer in your area:

Gauteng Western Cape Tel: 011 237 1000 Tel: 021 413 3000 EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

KwaZulu-Natal Tel: 031 534 7000

Eastern Cape Free State Northern Cape Mpumalanga Tel: 041 397 8700 Tel: 051 405 0400 Tel: 053 831 1571 Tel: 013 752 6027 ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

Gauteng Tel: 011 237 1000

Western Cape Tel: 021 413 3000

KwaZulu-Natal Tel: 031 534 7000

Eastern Cape Tel: 041 397 8700

Free State Tel: 051 405 0400

Northern Cape Tel: 053 831 1571

Mpumalanga Tel: 013 752 6027

05 AN OVERVIEW OF THE KEY EDUCATION LEADERS AND INFLUENCERS

SOUTH AFRICA IS A CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY AND OWES ITS ALLEGIANCE TO THE CONSTITUTION. DEBATE ABOUT VARIOUS POLICIES IS NATURAL IN A FLEDGLING DEMOCRACY AND SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED. “IT’S NORMAL IN A FLEDGLING DEMOCRACY THAT YOU WILL HAVE A PLETHORA OF VIEWS, BUT WE THINK WE ARE DOING VERY WELL IN TERMS OF NATIONAL COHESION. WE COME

“The work done last year indicates that if we continue to grow reasonably well, we will begin to write a new story about South Africa — the story of how, working together, we drove back unemployment and reduced economic inequality and poverty” – State of the Nation Address by President Zuma, 9 February 2012.

FROM A PAST WHERE VIEWS WERE NOT TOLERATED, VIEWS WERE SUPPRESSED, SO WE HAVE TO OPEN UP SPACE FOR PEOPLE TO VENTILATE THEIR VIEWS IN PUBLIC. THE TRICK IS KNOWING WHICH VIEWS INFLUENCE POLICY PROCESSES AND HOW POLICY IS ADOPTED” – DEPUTY PRESIDENT, KGALEMA MOTLANTHE, 02 MARCH 2012. GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION SYSTEM.

Source: Taylor, 2011.

Let’s work together as ONE to achieve quality education

Connect with the education leaders on www.ED.org.za or contact Argo on +27 (0)21 865 2813 or info@argo.org.za to be part of the Education Roundtables.

Chapter 5 TIME FOR THE NONPROFIT SECTOR TO CONSOLIDATE

Chapter 5

TIME FOR THE NONPROFIT SECTOR TO CONSOLIDATE

TIME FOR THE NONPROFIT SECTOR TO CONSOLIDATE By tracEy henry

NGOs, just like for-profit companies, should consider mergers, collaborations, in order to “strengthen and expand their areas of exper tise in ways that increase their overall effect”.

In the business world, it is not unusual for companies to be merged, bought and traded. Sometimes, this is how companies survive, albeit in a different incarnation when NPOs are struggling financially, collaboration to the point of consolidation may well be an alternative to closure. When the financial crisis of 2008 hit, we anticipated an immediate and significant negative effect on South Africa’s (SA) nonprofit sector, that vital part of community development. Yet, while a few nonprofit organisations (NPOs) immediately felt the effects of diminished funding, many have weathered the storm over the past two years, often by dipping into reserves carefully built up over many years, and by scaling back their work. The wolf is now much closer to the door and in the past year we noted a significant increase in the financial distress of NPOs, increasing retrenchments and even closures. So while the 2008 recession has in some ways been slow to show its full effect, it has now hit home and in all likelihood will continue to hamper growth in developmental education, healthcare and welfare this year as the world economy braces for a longer and deeper recession. Many NPOs have therefore been considering their sustainability options over the past few years. These have ranged from new fundraising ventures and expanding the scope of services being offered, to focusing on new areas such as enterprise development. Many expansion plans have been curtailed. What remains evident is that funding is tight, from both local and international donors, and

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

that it cannot be business as usual. One thing not considered often enough is that of NPO mergers, an idea whose time has surely come. Indeed, the idea of collaboration in the nonprofit sector has been a topic of discussion for many years. Some organisations have succeeded in sharing knowledge and best practice, although brand identity, funding relationships and intellectual property are often jealously guarded. Now, the option of mergers needs to be considered not only in response to financial constraints but, more importantly, as a way to harness scarce resources and decades of institutional knowledge and leadership to collectively advance the needs of society. Ordinarily, mergers are often only considered when economies of scale create a compelling business case, or when organisations are facing tough economic conditions, as is the case now. However, looking beyond the numbers, mergers also provide a real opportunity for organisations operating in the same sector to come together and to strengthen and expand their areas of expertise in ways that increase their overall efficiency. Mergers are, of course, not walks in the park, nor always the panacea to financial woes. They require careful consideration by the boards of NPOs, including discussions about organisational philosophy, reputation, operating efficiency and governance structures. Often the biggest challenges of mergers are the merging of organisational cultures and personalities, never mind leadership challenges. However, in a sector

that has scarce skills and where the pursuit of leadership expertise is continuing, mergers provide an opportunity to strengthen and keep talent in the nonprofit sector. Mergers should not only be considered at the level of individual organisations but also in the interest of society at large and in view of corporate SA’s real desire to support effective social interventions to scale. As such, when faced with NPO mergers, corporate funders need to become heavily engaged, even considering funding to facilitate effective mergers during the planning phase and after the merge. How NPOs can further their visions, missions and values must be at the heart of any mergers discussion, to the ultimate benefit of their beneficiaries. While difficult discussions about staffing, brand identity and leadership cannot be avoided, the alternative of NPO closures should concentrate the mind like little else.

Tracey Henry is chief executive officer at Tshikululu Social Investments. This article was first published by Business Day. It is reprinted here with the permission of Tshikululu.

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

“Indeed, the idea of collaboration in the nonprofit sector has been a topic of discussion for many years. Some organisations have succeeded in sharing knowledge and best practice, although brand identity, funding relationships and intellectual property are often jealously guarded. Now, the option of “mergers” needs to be considered not only in response to financial constraints but, more importantly, as a way to harness scarce resources and decades of institutional knowledge and leadership to collectively advance the needs of society.”

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Chapter 5 ADVERTORIAL / CASE STUDY

MAKING LIFE FAIR: A CASE STUDY OF INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION TO EMPOWER A DISTRESSED COMMUNITY

Fairness is an essential human value, and when it is disregarded, the consequences can be devastating. Lives can be destroyed and communities fractured. The Rawsonville community in the Western Cape offers an example of how the legacy of unfair labour practices in the wine industry has ravaged the community. Children with Alcohol Fetal Syndrome, domestic abuse and other social symptoms provide sufficient evidence of the impact of injustice. Within the community of Rawsonville, there is also a leading example of how change can happen in the most challenging circumstances, when a team is committed to working together to make a difference. The Fairhills empowerment project is setting the benchmark for the South African Wine Industry.

A collaborative partnership was started in 2005 between local wine producers, Origin Wines and Du Toitskloof Cooperative Cellar and its community of farm labourers and an international partner, The Co-operative (Co-op), which is recognised as the leading community focused retailer in the UK. The motivation for the project was to create a system, where the lives of the farm employees and their families could be improved in recognition of the contribution that these workers made under challenging conditions. The project also aimed at addressing the legacy of the past, by improving the social conditions of the Rawsonville community. Over the past 6 years, this project has invested R4.5 million in upgrading housing on farms, which includes the installation of 380 solar power water geysers, safe and secure electricity supply to 187 houses, the building of 55 new houses and 127 new bathrooms and sewage systems. All houses have been fitted with electric stoves and proper running water. The project has also contracted the services of a medical nurse to provide free medical screening and medicine for children at the Fairhills Day Care centres, and has introduced annual medical screenings for adults. A psychologist has been contracted and an alcohol abuse program has been introduced, where 47 individuals have been treated with a 97% success rate. Weekly AA committee meetings have been started with great success.

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

A domestic violence program has also been introduced and 200 women have been trained in steps to follow in cases of violence against women and children. The community has also organized 5 public marches in the last 2 years against substance and child abuse and a family welfare program is managed with the Department of Welfare to remove children from poor living conditions and starting a foster parenting project. The project has been recognised by the international Fairtrade organisation as the world’s largest Fairtrade project in the wine industry, benefiting 1211 individuals between the ages of 3 months to 92 years (375 Adult Male/354 Adult Female/122 Adult Retired/360 Children under 18years).

“. . . Fairhills project is one of the largest and most successful Fairtrade projects in the world. In my experience it certainly ranks as one of the largest and highest impact Fairtrade projects in Africa and definitely the largest in wine. The project is a model example of what Fairtrade can achieve”. Pieter Cowan Louw FLO-Cert Legal Representative (2005). “Truly a community project which the Cooperative can use as its trendsetter for its ongoing support of Fairtrade and Fairtrade producers all over the world” – Maria Elenor the Co-operative (2007). “The best standard of day-cares that I’ve ever seen or visited within the Western Cape is it

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

rural parts or city” Cameron Dugmore MEC Education W-Cape (2007). The project has also received support from the Government and NGO partners. This collaboration provides a case study of how both the financial and resource investment of private enterprise, guided by community involvement can provide sustainable solutions to address challenging issues. To achieve these results, it is essential that private enterprise commit the resources to understanding the community context and the systemic, social challenges that exist. “Investing in education is equivalent to investing in the bigger democratic project. Yes, in theory we have a democratic society, but in practice this only comes to life when people, all people, are equipped to participate socially, politically and economically in society. Education is the key to that,” says Bernard Fontannaz, CEO of Origin Wine and the founder of Fairhills. More than 1200 people, all living in the Rawsonville community, benefit from various micro-projects, and the community is empowered to make the investment decisions about community development, where they have decided to secure the future first. They have set up three day-care centres, which are staffed by 22 trained Educare teachers, all of them women who previously either worked the vineyards or ran informal day-care centres from home. These centres take care of a total of 170 children from the ages of 3 months to 5 years. The children receive two warm meals per day and weekly medical check-ups to create a supportive learning environment and address any malnutrition issues. Educational musical performances and extra art workshops are some of the tools used to further stimulate young minds and develop self-esteem. The teachers are also constantly encouraged to develop, with two of the teachers completing their Level 5 ECD qualification and seven are still toiling away at Level 4.

“It takes a lot of motivation. Sometimes I know the teachers feel out of their depth with the academic work. However, we understand that we are not just doing this for ourselves, but to offer our children a better quality education,” says Cynthia Peterson, headmistress of all the day-care centres and herself a recent Level 5 ECD-graduate. The feedback from primary schools is inspiring. “The level of school readiness from learners that we deliver into the education system in terms of numeric and literacy skill has improved dramatically over the last five years. Do you have any idea just how proud that makes us? Not just as teachers, but as mothers, grandmothers, sisters and aunts,” says Cynthia. Given the many social challenges in this rural community, teachers are trained by and continue to work closely with the clinical psychologist appointed to the project to identify children at risk and facilitate early intervention. Issues such as domestic violence, fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and abuse unfortunately do still feature. But having the kids in an environment where they are closely monitored by medical and teaching professionals, is slowly changing this scenario. Parents are encouraged to attend workshops on nutrition and hygiene and there is evidence of fewer cased of FAS., and whilst the project can make no empirical claims that it is due to to the alcohol abuse rehabilitation program being run, it does appear that the programme is having a positive impact. They project managers recognise the difficulty of addressing the complex, interwoven issues such as environmental influences on education. The project has also launched the largest adult literacy program in the Western Cape to extend education to adults in the community. The program was presented by the Worcester Community Learning Centre and the Overberg District Municipality. 122 Participants between ages of 19 to 72 years has participated in various categories from

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basic reading-and-writing skills to completion of Grade 12, with 21 Participants completing the N2 diploma in computer literacy. To date 270 individuals have taken part in courses ranging from basic reading and writing skills to curricular subjects. In 2008/2009 the Grade 12 students achieved a pass rate of 75%, the highest in the Western Cape for a project of this nature. An impressive figure, which does not begin to describe the sense of self-worth that has been developed as a result of this work: “The first time I could read my Bible and newspaper fluently brought a joy which, ironically, I cannot put into words, says Frans Willemse (47), a laborer on one of the Fairhills farms. Like so many others in his age group (40 to 60 years) Willemse was at a literacy level of between Grade 3 and 4. For the age groups 30 to 40 years literacy was at Grade 6 level and for those younger than 30 at Grade 10. “We did what our parents and their parents did before them. We became farm labourers. Working with the soil, having a hand in shaping a beautiful thing like a vine, is wonderful. But, being a diesel mechanic could have been something too. I might still do it. I can read properly now, can’t I?” Willemse chuckles. Giving people the power of choice is what was at the heart of the decision to start this project. “There is nothing wrong with working on a farm. But true freedom lies in being able to choose the direction of your life. And we want people to be free,” Bernard Fontannaz, the project founder, says. This explains the motivation for investing in an extensive bursary program to deliver the first generation of youngsters from this community receiving a tertiary education in fields as diverse as engineering, sports management and teaching. 10 Students areparticipating in tertiary education degrees and diplomas in Teaching, Nursing, Engineering and Medical fields.

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Chapter 5 ADVERTORIAL / CASE STUDY

05 continued from page82

Achievements to date: The project manager, Pierre Smit confirms that there were challenges aplenty and the main path to success was mainly blocked on how to overcome these challenges:

ÆÆ Key achievements include the development of education facilities for the community, which includes: ÆÆ The Fairhills Lorraine Primary School, which provides schooling to 85 learners. The project has funded the construction of a grade 3 classroom, a fully equipped kitchen, a new administration office, new bathroom facilities and has secured the appointment of a new teacher.

• Winning the confidence of a work force or community that was previously heavily supressed; • Indicating that this initiative was not only another “white” promise to win over the people; • Alcohol abuse issues.

These challenges were overcome by the endless work and dedication of all the project team, which included representatives from the different stakeholders, to address the basic needs of the people. This included visiting the people in their homes and having a cup of coffee with the family or a meal, to develop an understanding of the underlying issues.

ÆÆ The Usizo Computer Centre, which was built in 2011 and contains 20 computers and provides the community with computer literacy programs. ÆÆ The Fairhills Day-care centre for children aged from 3months to 5 year olds, which involved renovating 3 day-care facilities, which provide care and education to 172 children. The centre also provides secure and safe transport for the children in the Fairhills bus, which was purchased in 2008. The education is aligned to the Department of Basic Education’s requirements. The centre has 3 kitchens preparing 2 meals per day and also provides a medical surveillance program with free medicine to children. Employment at the centre has been provided to 24 women, who previously worked in the vineyards. The centre offers the opportunity for mothers to work and gain additional income for the household. ÆÆ Twelve students from the community are studying the Early childhood development program and 3 students have successfully completed the course; ÆÆ After school care is provided to 64 primary school scholars, who each receive a meal and secure and safe transport from schoolto-home with the Fairhills Bus. Assistance is also provided with homework and projects by trained personnel. Computer literacy training and free medicine and medial attention is also provided. ÆÆ The Adult literacy project ÆÆ The Usizo Library, built in 2011; ÆÆ The community centre was built in 2007, which offers a venue for community training and accommodates the administration of the project. ÆÆ The community has also started their first business venture with the Fairhills craft and coffee shop, which has 3 Crafters, who have part ownership in the craft shop and produce handcrafts for local and export markets.

positive lifestyle in the community. There is also an active women’s club, which arranges various talks and presentations by influential speakers and educational tours. A youth club is also active with 128 members and a youth Band. The project has focused on a more systemic approach and has also improved the community environment, by upgrading the homes of the workers, and developing environmental awareness within the community to encourage sustainability. The workers have been empowered to recognise fairness at work, through the Fairhills minimum conditions of employment program, which includes ensuring a minimum wage, introducing workers committees on each farm, improved health and safety in the workplace, training on the Basic Conditions of Employment. Employee salaries have increased on average of between 5 to 30% above the legal minimum income and 585 employees have been trained in financial management and bank accounts have been opened for employees and pay slips introduced. Medical cover to employees has also been provided (up to 50% of costs); The fairhills vision extends beyond these achievements to expanding the community welfare program, with the implementation of a mobile clinic and the construction of a health clinic and sickroom at the primary school, the construction of 2 more classrooms and the extension of the bursary program to provide 20 bursaries by the end of 2020.

For more info on Fairtrade or Fairhills go to www.fairhills.co.za or phone (021) 865 8100.

ÆÆ The project also encourages extra-curricular programs with a registered sport club for seniors and juniors offering soccer, rugby and netball. The club has undertaken various sporting trips and are actively involved in weekend leagues, which encourages a

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Chapter 5 ADVERTORIAL / CASE STUDY

LIGHTING THE LITERACY FIRE

AND COMPANY LTD

to read. To ensure this, it is imperative that learners experience both success and humour as they learn. In an age in which children experience stress early on in their schooling, Jill aptly asks, “How can children be stressed when they are laughing?” It is equally crucial that teachers love reading and convey this passion when reading aloud. “One cannot light a fire with a damp match”. Most critically, children require access to a wealth of varied reading resources at the appropriate levels to provide repeated exposure to high frequency words with sufficient opportunity to practice at the correct level without getting bored. Jill ascribes much of New Zealand’s success to organised resources that allow for such practice. Instead of having limited book boxes in each classroom, all reading resources are pooled, levelled and organised in a single centralised book resource room for teachers to access. Fundamental here is that teachers need to know each learner’s level and be able to choose the books appropriate to his or her development. Such resources are not restricted to one preferred scheme but offer variety across a range. By pooling resources in this way teachers are able to offer a broader range and depth of levels to enable them to cater for the differing needs in their classroom.

At the beginning of this year South Africa’s poor literacy levels were reaffirmed by the latest set of ANA results. Within the Education system at large, there exist numerous governmental and funded initiatives which seek to address poor literacy performance as a priority concern, correctly so, since inadequate literacy skills impact a learner’s ability to engage with content and instructions across all subject areas including mathematics and the sciences. Understanding best practice in literacy in other par ts of the world can be invaluable in addressing not only our current literacy woes. I was privileged therefore to accompany world renowned New Zealand literacy exper t, Jill Eggleton, on her recent tour around South Africa and to witness first hand her philosophy in action, writes Lynne du Toit, CEO of Juta.

Jill has spent over 20 years focused on literacy improvement as an author and practitioner. She is a sought after keynote speaker on literacy across the globe including in the US, Canada, Australia and Papua New Guinea and, of course New Zealand. She consults on literacy to governmental departments of education in the US, Canada and at home. Her book “Lighting the Literacy Fire” is a handbook for teachers seeking to put her philosophy into practice. I was

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

surprised to learn that, not only does New Zealand have one of the highest literacy rates in the world, but that Auckland, where Jill has practised extensively, is one of the most multicultural cities in the world. Literacy levels in English have been high even in schools where the majority of students do not speak English at home and Jill’s approach has been instrumental in their success.

HL very highly, but as a practitioner her focus is on how the curriculum is interpreted in practice. This is particularly relevant in our context where we are introducing English First Additional Language at the beginning of the Foundation phase for the first time and teachers may need to be exposed to the most recent best practice with respect to teaching reading in English.

I was particularly heartened that Jill rates our new CAPS curriculum for English FAL and

Jill’s “Lighting the Literacy Fire approach” nurtures fluent, life-long readers who love

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

It is evident that the know-how for selecting appropriate readers for their different purposes is fundamental to success. In a successful literacy programme opportunity should be given each day for shared reading, guided reading, independent reading and reading aloud to the class. All resources should be accessed from the centralised resource except for books for reading aloud which are selected from the library.

different emphasis each day: comprehension the one, vocabulary the next, punctuation for fluency the day after and so on — all with a view to building reading with understanding. In Jill’s view, oral proficiency is vital, and activities are integrated to ensure that it is the children doing the thinking and the talking rather than the teacher. Guided reading revolves around a smaller group of students, all at a similar reading level, reading a copy of the same book in a teacher led group. Here they are guided through a process of previewing, viewing and reviewing the text and prompted with higher order questions to dialogue around the content or story. During this time, other learners engage in independent reading of fiction or non-fiction books at their appropriate level or work on activities in different stations around the room where feasible. Finally, Jill maintains that one must not underestimate the impact of reading aloud to children and cites recent research that suggest that if each child was read to three times a day, illiteracy could be eradicated in just 10 years. Reading aloud to a class also needs to be prioritised, drawing on good fiction from an adequately resourced library. Teachers need to be proficient in reading aloud and be assured that reading to a class for half an hour is not a guilty pleasure or a ‘cop-out’ during the day, but a vital, integral, contribution to literacy development. This approach may be familiar to many, but it was the emphasis on humour, the access to appropriately organised and levelled resources, and the adaptability of the approach to classrooms with as many as 70 learners that gave me comfort that, with the appropriate effort, we have the means to address our current literacy challenges. A leading nation is a reading nation and it is imperative that we light the literacy fire to secure our future.

Jill Eggleton is the world Figure 1: The optimal mix of reading activities

renowned literacy expert and author of “Lighting the Literacy Fire” and the “Key

Shared reading engages the whole class with one storybook specially designed for this purpose. It is not just any book blown up big so that everyone can see it, rather it is designed to integrate humour and bright visual appeal, but most importantly, chunks of repetitive rhythmical, rhyming text that children love to read aloud, and vocabulary or “wow words” that extend children beyond their comfort zone. Shared reading uses the same book all week with a

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Links” Readers and Big Books series approved for the CAPS curriculum, both published by JUTA.

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

how capitec bank supports education It all starts with education Capitec Bank’s corporate social investment (CSI) programme focuses on three main areas of support: high school education, financial literacy and donations. “We foster social development in South Africa through educational programmes aimed at supporting maths learners at high school level. We believe that basic numeracy skills are crucial for them to further their studies, find employment and make a meaningful contribution to the economy and their immediate communities. Subjects like maths are at the core of driving economic activity. This initiative is also aligned with the needs of the business world,” says Sbusiso Kumalo, head of Channel Marketing and CSI. This strategy makes us part of the national education community. “We trust that our involvement with the Department of Education, universities, colleges, technicons, schools and specialist education institutions will help to enhance the numeracy skills that this country needs to go forward,” says Kumalo.

The current educational scenario Currently, about one in four adults seeking work is unemployed, and almost half of our young people have not found work. In addition, income inequality in South Africa is among the highest in the world as half of our population survives on 8% of the national income. Social challenges such as HIV/Aids, high crime rates and dysfunctional schools contribute to inequality and economic vulnerability. The government’s approach to employment creation includes measures to encourage investment in further education and skills development programmes. The government’s key spending priorities therefore include improving the quality of basic education and the health of our people, making our communities safer, fostering rural development, creating jobs and investing in local government and human settlements.

As a registered financial services provider, Capitec Bank realises the urgent need for job creation, equality and quality education in South Africa’s transformation programme. We also believe that high school education, which specifically includes maths, forms an important building block in increasing numeracy and literacy levels. Says Kumalo: “South Africa’s progress depends heavily on our ability to improve literacy and numeracy, and on our ability to create jobs and opportunities for young people. To help make this possible, all corporate citizens need to balance their profit, people and planet targets to ultimately create the conditions for sustained economic growth that benefits everyone.” We have therefore identified CSI programmes that support the bank’s vision to foster numeracy skills and improve the matric pass rate. These include financial support for deserving high school learners to finish their schooling, learning support programmes (after school, winter school, etc.), and campaigns and competitions that encourage learners to select maths as a subject.

Ingraining CSI into the way we do business We realise that CSI affects the relationship between us and our stakeholders (including clients, staff, shareholders and the broader community). As set out in the King III Code and the new Companies Act (No. 71 of 2008), we are therefore embedding our CSI function more strongly on all levels by integrating our CSI strategy with our business purpose and strategy. This includes increased board participation, regular communication with internal and external stakeholders, shifting our focus from shareholders to stakeholders, and integrated reporting (reporting both financial and nonfinancial information to stakeholders).

our bursary programme Why this bursary programme? Capitec Bank’s corporate social investment (CSI) programme supports our vision to foster numeracy skills and improve the matric pass rate. This is why our CSI initiatives focus on financial support for deserving high school learners, learning support (afterschool programmes, winter schools), and campaigns that encourage learners to choose maths as a subject. Currently, we focus much of our CSI spend on school bursaries because we believe that high school education with maths will help to increase numeracy levels. Enhanced opportunities for Grade 10 to 12 learners in public schools in the communities we serve will therefore lead to an improvement in the matric pass rate. This, in turn, will lead to job creation and economic growth. Our bursary programme, which targets Grade 10 to 12 learners with maths as a matric subject, was rolled out to 260 high schools in the Western Cape Metro and Winelands education districts during November 2011. These bursaries cover school fees for one year. The key objectives of the bursary scheme, which will expand to other regions in 2013, include:

We encourage the recruitment of employees from the communities surrounding our branches. Learners who do well in maths may even find jobs with the bank, reinvesting their salaries in the communities where our clients and employees live. “Our bursary recipients will also help to create the young face of the brand. We trust that these bursary recipients will be recognised for their strong sense of personal responsibility,” says Sbusiso Kumalo, head of Channel Marketing and CSI.

What are the bursary criteria? Qualifying learners do not have to be the school’s top academic achievers, but they must have chosen maths as a subject for matric. We are therefore looking for maths learners who: • Are steady performers despite financial difficulties • Stand out from the crowd • Will excel with the support of the bursary programme

Applications and more information For more information about the bursary programme, email sponsorships@capitecbank.co.za.

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one simplified solution to banking You get: A transaction account • Earning from 4.75% interest per year

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• Encouraging the mastering of maths to increase numeracy levels • Promoting an awareness of the benefits of technology and entrepreneurial skills • Building relationships with exceptional learners and teachers to inspire other learners capitecbank.co.za

Call our 24hr Client Care Centre on 0860 10 20 43 for more info. Fees include VAT. All information correct at time of going to print, 25/05/2012, and subject to change. A registered credit provider. NCR Reg. No.: NCRCP13 Capitec Bank Limited Reg. No.: 1980/003695/06

Chapter 5 ADVERTORIAL / CASE STUDY

THE POWER OF WORKING TOGETHER – THE EDUCATION ROUNDTABLE

The concept of the Education Roundtable grew out of the apathetic response from the social action campaign that Argo launched in Januar y 2011, calling for social contribution to the “Top 100 ideas to achieve quality education”.

The guiding principles for the process included:

A Common Purpose Achieving quality education for all, not just

involved, and to pool resources and to work together as ONE, towards a common goal: achieving quality education for all. The plan was to mobilise 100 education leaders from different sectors to come together and share their work, perspectives and ideas in a creative space, to: • appreciate the challenges that we face and celebrate achievements; • explore the potential for collaboration;

Diversity The bringing together of different ideas, different skills, different resources, different circumstances, different motivations, different

some of us. By working together, we can

stakes in education – to build something

achieve this challenge. If we could do it for

that benefits all. The best thinking happens

the game of soccer, we believe we can do it

when there are diverse perspectives, when

for something much more important:

the unexpected come together and create

our future.

something new.

The Power of Possibility

Action

Believing in future possibility, whilst building

It is only when you act on ideas that they

on a foundation of reality. New ideas only

start to have an impact. Otto Scharmer

survive if they are given the space to take

speaks of ‘prototyping’ – of taking the begin-

root in a different way.

nings of an idea and trying it out, learning

from what happens, and then reworking, or refining – and so the process continues. We would like the process to be one that encourages and rewards action. Each participant received the latest edition of the Education Handbook, which offered a foundation of the current reality of education, and included the National Department of Basic Education’s vision for Schooling 2025 and the Action Plan for 2014, together with insights from influential education leaders calling for a systemic approach.

• re-energise and develop relationships to sustain our work; • move from a problem-solving approach to a more solutions-focused approach to the education challenges.

The guiding principles

“We want to create the space where people with ideas that are different from the status quo can air their ideas, and connect them with others – we want participants to say ‘Yes, and ’ when they hear each other’s ideas, and build on them to create something wonderful and doable”

John Hunt shows us the power of guiding principles in his description of transformational leadership:

The response to the campaign highlighted that we are entrenched in our thinking about “what’s wrong with education”. A TNS research survey has also indicated that only 50 percent of our society believes in the quality of our education system.

Action and collaboration bring results It was time to take a stand and shift our thinking, so the idea of an education round-

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

table became a reality. The purpose of the first Education Roundtable was to develop and grow collaborative energy across the different education sectors, to support both Schooling 2025 and the Action Plan for 2014. It is based on the assumption that a systemic view is needed, and that no one sector in South Africa can address the challenges we face alone, and the belief that everyone in South Africa has a stake in education. The best way to make a difference it is to get

‘Nelson Mandela electrified a room, not through rhetoric or slick salesmanship, but through integrity of purpose. He had an idea for a whole country and he wanted everyone to help make that float. Often in meetings, he’d listen to people being angry about the past. When they were finished, he’d agree with them. They were right, he’d say. But then, he’d ask that their anger at the past not contaminate the future….” Too often, education conversations deteriorate into a “blame game” fest, which creates defensiveness between sectors, resulting in an entrenched silo mentality. The intention of the Education Roundtable was to encourage collaboration, by recognising that each sector was invested in achieving a common purpose of quality education and the invitation was to suspend judgement of other sectors and listen to each other’s views.

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

Philippa Kabali-Kagwa, co-creator of the process.

Connect on www.ed.org.za and share your insights

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Chapter 5 ADVERTORIAL / CASE STUDY

05 continued from page 6

Feedback from the process facilitators “The idea of having an Education Roundtable was timeous - people were ready, even hungry to have this kind of conversation, even though for some it is very hard to move out of a problem-solving mode.” “The diversity of perspective that came out of the participants in Johannesburg is something that we need to keep going – having people around the table, working on the same issue, from different perspectives, listening to each other is very powerful!“ Philippa Kabali-Kagwa.

Philippa Kabali-Kagwa started out as a teacher and has facilitated in the areas of development, leadership, creativity and learning. She has worked teams and organizations locally and internationally. She works with schools, NGOs, Government departments and Corporate clients.

Thava Govender is a development strategist and an international accredited process facilitator, (ICF/PCC), master coach (IFC) with expertise in corporate (VWSA), financial services (NAC) industries and the UN. She is recipient of the 2004 prestigious Indian ‘Hind Rattan’ Award and board member for Earth Child Institute. She has a proven track record of both local and international clients and is a visiting lecturer at USB-Ed. Thava is a futurist mindfully exploring possibilities to blend infinite reflections in our secular society for our sustainable livelihood.

The ONE campaign will include: • an annual education roundtable, which is designed to encourage more focused, viral education roundtable discussions around the country;

They promised to make sure there would be enough money and that the policies would be in place to make it a reality. Since then many countries have abolished school fees, spending has increased by $4 billion and an extra 40 million children are now going to school.Yet progress is not fast enough. The statistics confirm that South Africa has performed well on achieving access to education – the challenge is now to achieve quality education for all. The ONE campaign focuses on profiling real projects, real people and tracking action over time – rather than being a once off event that lacks follow through.

The campaign draws inspiration from the successful hosting of the World Cup, which offers us a credible example of shifting public confidence from disbelief to the recognition that we have the power to achieve daunting challenges. It also builds on the 1 Goal for Education campaign, which was profiled during the World Cup to draw attention to achieving universal access to education.

•

a real time “mapping” of actual projects, education roundtable events, and a space for educational leaders to keep up to date on education research and events. ED.org.za is a dedicated online education portal, designed to track action across the different levels of the education system.

The Education Handbook will provide an annual review of achievement in the education sector, to provide time pressured education leaders, CSI practitioners and others with a reference guide.

WHO CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN?

T OF EDUC

PO T S UP

CHERS • TE A

EA • T

Y • SOCIE

& DISTRIC

POLIC

OLS

UNIT

O G N

EACHERS • T • T

Connect on www.ed.org.za and share your insights

•

RICT SUP DIST P S &

RNERS

LEA

I N

•

IA O

& DISTRICT SU LS PP O OR O H T C S • • H E S RS • EAC T TE • S A C ER H

CORP

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EDUCATIO

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

VERNMENT P

Charmaine Smith

’S

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& GO

• M

IA ED

Our spheres of influence

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

• to ensure that girls have the opportunity for education at all levels by 2015.

Projects include whole school development, leadership training and mentoring in schools, trauma management frameworks for psycho-social challenges that communities face, enterprise development to sustain communities and provide meaningful employment and youth employment and skills development to bolster the “missing middle”. Her heart lies in empowering people to build our

Please link to Infundo Consulting: www.infundo.wordpress.com for more information.

The ONE campaign places the child back at the centre of education, so that the focus is on creating a better future for all children, not just those who have access to functional schools. The campaign also recognises that education represents a complex system, with many levels and that collaboration is needed between and across these levels, to achieve impact.

• to ensure that all boys and girls complete primary schooling by 2015;

“The process enabled a strong connectedness and there was a good process of shifting awareness and mindsets. The activities were varied and catered for many modalities. Argo played a vital role in synergising the community and creating a space for real collaboration. Cohesive behaviour can be shared and communicated and serve as benchmarks for future preferred behaviours of collaboration; to offset the fragmentation which prevails in the industry.” – Charmaine Smith.

nation, and she is constantly looking for ways to unlock potential in communities across South Africa.

The Education Roundtable is one element of the multi-pronged ONE campaign for achieving quality education, which is intended to bring a wide range of education stakeholders together, using various media strategies to work together as one, and to profile progress to develop the nation’s confidence in the power of education to change our world. The ONE campaign for achieving quality education is an Argo initiative to support Schooling 2025, Action Plan 2014 and the Green Paper for post school education.

EDIA • MEDIA & G

The review of the development process has highlighted the need to develop the structure of the process to ensure a clearly defined process (aim, focus, process, platform, code of conduct, framework and guiding principles) for the next phase of roundtables. Argo has contracted Infundo Consulting to develop the process to ensure that the Education Roundtables offer the space to seek and find solutions; and a place to share and document collaboration and impact, supported by Argo’s multi-media platforms.

Charmaine Smith, Co-founder and Managing Director of Infundo Consulting, with extensive experience in consulting in education development, which is informed by a background of 15 years of teaching. Her experience includes working in school contexts ranging from rural to peri-urban schools, and she has consulted to a diverse range of companies regarding the intentional allocation of their CSI and Education spend in these communities. She has developed strategic partnerships and relationships with a wide network of service providers and the Department of Education, working predominantly in townships and rural areas.

The ONE campaign In 2000, 164 world governments came together to create the Education for All goals, 189 governments also created the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. Two of the eight goals involve ending poverty through education:

Review of the process and plan to move forward

What makes this process different from any other education conference or initiative?

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

06 MOBILISING SOCIETY TO ACHIEVE QUALITY EDUCATION EDUCATION IS THE NUMBER ONE SOCIAL PRIORITY AND IT REQUIRES A COMMITMENT FROM SOCIETY TO MAKE QUALITY EDUCATION A REALITY.

Let’s work together as ONE to achieve quality education

Connect with the education leaders on www.ED.org.za or contact Argo on +27 (0)21 865 2813 or info@argo.org.za to be part of the Education Roundtables.

Chapter 6 MOBILISING SOCIETY TO ACHIEVE QUALITY EDUCATION

MOBILISING SOCIETY TO ACHIEVE QUALITY EDUCATION Education is the number one social priority and it requires a commitment from society to make quality education a reality. One organisation that is taking the lead in mobilising social action is Equal Education (EE), which has developed a range of successful initiatives to suppor t the vision of achieving quality education.

Campaign for Minimum Norms and Standards for School Infrastructure

Since 2009, EE has actively sought to engage government on the issue of minimum norms and standards for school infrastructure and the National Policy for an Equitable Provision of an enabling School Physical Teaching and Learning Environment. EE has worked hard to educate its membership on the centrality of the Minimum Norms and Standards Campaign for achieving tangible improvements in poor schools, and thus moving towards substantive equality in the South African education system. EE has continued to liaise and meet with key government officials and other significant role-players in order to ensure that the Minister’s public commitment to prescribing the minimum norms and standards is not neglected. In this vein, EE has maintained pressure on national government through questioning, presenting and submitting reports to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee for Basic Education. Furthermore, EE has continued to research the state of school infrastructure across the country. In 2011, EE published a new edition of its research into the provision of school libraries; it initiated research into the costing of emergency temporary classroom structures across the country and researched the causal relation between the conditions of school infrastructure and learning performance and outcomes in South Africa.

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

On 21 March 2011, EE led 20 000 South Africans in a march on Parliament to demand that the Minister for Basic Education implement infrastructural regulations by her self-imposed deadline of 31 March 2011. The Minister failed however to meet this deadline, without any adequate explanation. Another highlight of the Campaign was

engagement between delegates; and also understanding and sharing various successful educational campaigning techniques. Delegates travelled from as far afield as Thohyandou and Polokwane in Limpopo, Grahamstown and Umtata in the Eastern Cape, Thembisa and Johannesburg in Gauteng, and KwaZulu-Natal. Fifty NGOs were represented at the Summit, including Sharing to Learn, Vulindlela Reading Clubs, Wordworks, the SHINE Centre, Bulungula Incubator, the Bitou 10 Foundation, Penreach, Ubunye, Ikamva Youth, Upstart, AmandlaEduFootball and City Year. Almost all teacher unions were represented. The Summit programme wrestled with a wide range of topics, including inequality and poor quality in education, quality and equal education for learners with special needs, mother-tongue education, and practical ways in which learners, parents and teachers could take action to improve schools. The Summit was an excellent event which left the diverse range of delegates informed, empowered and connected.

the ‘sleep-in’ protest outside of Parliament in Cape Town in July 2011. For three full days and two nights, EE members picketed, protested and leafleted outside of Parliament. The event attracted significant public and media attention and was reported nationally. It was an empowering and inspiring event for EE’s membership and ultimately successful in drawing the public and government’s attention to the Campaign. At present, EE has instituted legal proceedings in order to secure minimum norms and standards for school infrastructure. Litigation will be used jointly with grassroots and community organising to secure the issuing of these regulations. 02

Summit

Over 400 learners, parents, teachers, activists and researchers attended EE’s People’s Summit for Quality Education from 25-27 June 2011 at the University of Cape Town and Khayelitsha. The goal of the Summit was to initiate the formation of a national consensus and movement around the campaign for equal and quality education. The method of

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

Youth work

Integral to the DNA of EE, is our work with learners from working class schools across Cape Town. It is from working intensively with these learners that EE develops a cadre of leaders and activists capable of campaigning for a just and equitable education. This is amongst the most crucial work EE undertakes each year and an area in which progress and success is critical. To facilitate this work, 2011 saw the continuation of EE’s youth group model, which organises learners from a variety of schools into different youth groups, taking place every week of the school year. As in previous years, youth group members engaged in many issues, ranging from the societal to the educational. Youth group helps expand a learner’s knowledge and grow them personally. Youth group is also the launch pad for all EE campaigns. In 2011, our youth group members ran EE’s annual late-coming campaign, drastically reducing late learners in their schools. They also helped mobilise their peers to participate in EE mass events.

As a result of their hard work, 20 000 people attended EE’s march for minimum norms and standards for school infrastructure on the 21 of March 2011. Additionally, the most committed youth group members participated in EE’s three days sleep-in outside parliament. Furthermore, over the course of the 2011, EE held several camps and seminars for its membership in the Western Cape, Gauteng, Limpopo and Eastern Cape. The topics dealt with varied from discussions and updates on the campaign for minimum norms and standards, and the importance of school infrastructure, to general South African history and an overview of the current education system in South Africa. Moreover, EE ran practical seminars helping final year school learners prepare for their upcoming exams. Using youth groups and seminars is the primary way by which EE conscientises and mobilises young South Africans to work towards improving education in South Africa. 2011 was highly successful in this regard with EE’s membership base further strengthened by this process. 04

Parents’ work

In 2011 Equal Education (EE) began organising parents to advocate for better schools and greater equality within the South African education system. This work is fundamentally about the development of a core group of parent education activists, knowledgeable about the education system and active in efforts to improve this system at all levels. This means parents are active in local schools and communities, but also across the province and country through their involvement in broader EE campaigns. The first BM Section parent workshop took place in June. Over the next five months, a group of 15 parents met for nine Saturday workshops. These workshops expanded the parents’ understanding of the education system, and together with their EE involvement in EE campaigns, served to develop a critical and engaged approach with them. Up until the end of September the workshops were facilitated by staff member NokubongaYawa and parent Andiswa Kolanisi, an EE volunteer since February of this year. In

Connect on www.ed.org.za and share your insights

October, Kolanisi moved to facilitate a new second parents group, which was established in Nonqubela in Site B that month. 05

Bookery

2011 saw nine new libraries being opened by EE’s Bookery project. Thus far, EE has helped to create 14 school libraries and aims to create 10 more in 2012. Once opened, these libraries have become centres of literacy development. All libraries have begun to stimulate a love and passion for reading in the schools in which they operate. A range of extra mural activities take place in these libraries, from reading groups to drama classes. In one of the school libraries the schools teachers have begun a reading group for all staff members. In their unique way, these libraries improve the educational product the schools offer. In 2011 EE trained and deployed seven young community librarians to sustain the libraries EE opened in Khayelitsha. This project is being formalised and a training programme developed in conjunction with the University of the Western Cape, to guarantee long-term sustainability for all libraries the Bookery opens. Additionally, the Bookery itself serves as a vehicle to inform, mobilise and organise a broad range of South Africans from all backgrounds to support the campaign for quality and equality in education.

The general public can participate in the Bookery and the library opening process by: ÆÆ donating books ÆÆ helping to cover books ÆÆ preparing the new library space for use.

2011 saw an influx of the general public, with many giving their time to help support this project.

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Chapter 6

CAPITALIZING POOR PEOPLE IN SOUTH AFRICA

CAPITALIZING POOR PEOPLE IN SOUTH AFRICA SPEECH BY DR MAMPHELA RAMPHELE TO THE DA PARLIAMENTARY CAUCUS (MARCH 2012)

The Premier of the Western Cape pointed out in her recent State of the Province Address that last year there were 600,000 unemployed graduates in South Africa and yet at the same time there were 850,000 vacancies in the high-skilled job categories. It was noted in that statement that over 10% of the graduates (degrees and diplomas) in the Western Cape were unemployed.

We stand at a crossroads as a country. Ours is a well endowed country rich in people and natural resources. With the growing international focus on a green energy future, Africa our continent is in a competitive position with the abundant sun and wind. With Europe and the rest of the Nor thern hemisphere burdened with an increasing propor tion of aged people, Africa’s youthful population is a decided advantage.

Discussion of why we should focus on addressing poverty and inequality should be anchored in internationally recognized reality that people are the greatest asset to combine and re-combine resources and other inputs to create wealth and well being. Success in the competitive global economy of the 21st century is driven by the quality of human and intellectual capital more than the level of endowments in natural resources. In this talk I will address the following points: • Why a focus on lifting poor people out of poverty is a critical success factor in competitiveness •

What are the key levers for capitalizing poor people

•

How can South Africa reposition itself as a Rapidly Growing Emerging Economy

Why the Focus on Poor People? In their recently published (2009) book, The Spirit Level- Why Equality is Better for Everyone, Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett make a very strong case for the priority of equality as being of benefit to all in society – rich and poor. Quoting Frederick Doughlas on the occasion of the 24th anniversary of emancipation, Washington DC, 1886, they make the point that: “Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails and where any one class is made to feel that society is in an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.”

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Wilkinson and Picket base their findings on data obtained from 23 industrialized countries: Japan, Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Greece, Israel, UK, USA etc. The reason for excluding other countries is the non availability of internationally comparable data on income inequality, but they say, and I quote: If we had included poorer countries it would have made little difference to our results. Studies of life expectancy, infant mortality and homicide – for which data is usually available for poorer countries – show that greater equality is beneficial at all levels of economic activity Using data on phenomena which are “more common at the bottom of the social ladder” such as drug & alcohol addiction, life expectancy, infant mortality, obesity, children’s educational performance, teenage births, homicides, imprisonment rates they found that these problems are more common the more unequal the society. In other words there is a high level of correlation between income inequality and indicators of “social failure”. The message is loud and clear: “The transformation of our society is a project in which we all have a shared interest. Greater equality

education system. But some of them have tertiary qualifications and are part of a truly South African tragic phenomenon of unemployable graduates.

In a modern knowledge and green economy such as the kind that the Premier wishes to develop for the Western Cape, employability should be the focus and not simply job creation. As Iraj Abedian notes with regard to the high levels of graduate unemployment

Dr Mamphela Ramphele is the gateway to a society capable of improving the quality of life for all of us and an essential step in the development of a sustainable economic system.” (ibid:237) What are the Key Levers for Capitalizing Poor People? No political party in South Africa disputes that joblessness is a cause for great concern. However, focusing on job-creation without giving attention to the employability of those unemployed would be perpetuating the deception that has prevented us from recognizing that our failure to transform our education system into one that has equity and excellence as its driving forces is the biggest generator of poverty and inequality. Most of you are probably aware of the appalling NEETs phenomenon. In 2007, 2,8m of the 18-24 year old age group (41,6% of the total cohort) were not in education, not employed and not severely disabled; this group of NEETs is growing by 500 000 p.a. (CHET 2009) – making the total now approx. 3.8 million young people. There are of course many factors at play here amongst them is the restrictive labour legislation. By far the largest percentage of these young people has exited the education system with only a NSC or less in a low standard

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

Employers are often reluctant to employ graduates from certain institutions because of market perceptions of poor quality.There is also a difference between occupational competence to do a job and a qualification certificate saying that a person has been able to pass a set of courses This issue of “employability” only touches on the deeper and wider issues with regard to capabilities promoted by Amarty Sen (the Nobel prize-winning economist) and Martha Nussbaum (a philosophy professor who has written extensively on education). Sen and Nussbaum have developed what has become known as the capabilities approach which may broadly be defined as “an approach to comparative quality of life assessment and to theorizing about basic social justice” (Nussbaum). The three key characteristics of the Capability approach are: (a) the focus on freedom, in the form of the promotion of opportunities; (b) recognition that capability achievements are of different qualities and cannot be reduced to a single metric; and (c) Concern about injustice and inequality as public good issues. Essentially capability is what a person is able to do or to be. Thus the combination of certain employability skills and available jobs enable a person to become an engineer, doctor, teacher or policeman. In his two books on the capability approach, Development as Freedom and Inequality Reexamined Sen refers to “substantial freedoms” as a set of interrelated opportunities to choose and to act. A person’s capability is “the alternative combinations of functionings that are feasible for her to achieve”.

This approach is not simply an interesting economic philosophy, this approach formed the basis for the UNDPs Human Development Reports and substantially influenced the report by President Sarkozy’s Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress, published in 2010 (edited by Sen and Stiglitz) How Can South Africa Reposition itself as a credible Rapidly Growing Emerging Economy? A recent Global Competitiveness Report identified Africa as the home of four Rapidly Growing Emerging Economy Countries. South Africa was included with Ghana, Nigeria and Egypt despite our pedestrian GPD growth rate. Major factors in our inclusion is the stock of assets including our superior physical infrastructure , our performance in critical areas such as Financial services management and regulation, Banking services, Audit and Risk management, as well as Corporate governance where we score either 1or 2 in the world. Contrast that with our performance in education and health services where we are 133 in the world! We are the only country in the world that has accepted deception in the measurement of our outcomes in education against a set of standards that would be laughable if they were not so tragic. Prof Jonathan Jansen rightly labeled the announcement of the 2011 School Leaving Certificate results as the “Matric Razmatazz”. There was great fanfare around the historic 70% pass-rate but as Prof Jansen pointed out the results were deceptive in many respects. To name one: to pass the Senior Certificate examination in this country, a pupil merely needs 40 percent in a home language, 40 percent in two other subjects, and 30 percent in three subjects. As Prof Jansen says, “The requirement for passing is so low in SA that pupils really have to put in a special effort to fail”. South Africa’s opportunities lie in tackling the tolerance for mediocrity in our performance in the social sectors and in the professionalism of public servants. If we can be competitive in the tough areas where hard skills are needed why have we failed in the soft areas of health and education? The simple answer is that we did not attach enough importance to the imperative of investing in human and intellectual capital as an essential platform for competitiveness. Citizens like you and I who could afford to do so largely bought ourselves out to the failing public system, leaving poor people to fend for themselves. We are now reaping

Connect on www.ed.org.za and share your insights

the costs of growing inequality in our society that is undermining our competitiveness. There is a fundamental malaise that is holding South Africa back from becoming the great nation it could become: it is the “woundedness” of its people. These wounds were carried into the new South Africa from the old: they are the wounds of oppression – based on race, gender & class discrimination and exploitation - that were embedded in our distant past, both cultural and colonial – and were exacerbated by the institutionalized racism of Apartheid. This left black South Africans with an “inferiority complex” (selfdisrespect and self-hate) and white South Africans with a “superiority complex” (a false belief in the veracity of their own propaganda). This woundedness is both a causal factor and a component of our very unequal society, which is currently the most unequal country in the world as measured by the Gini coefficient when applied to earnings. Unless we understand and deal with this “woundedness” no policy measures will enable us to “cure’ the ills of our society. Our failure to promote excellence and equity in education, starting with universal access to early childhood education that has been recognized globally as a key success factor in promoting cognitive development in the 3-9 year olds, is robbing us of the talent pool that could make us a phenomenal society. There can be no better social leveler and healer of our divisions than educating all our children to their highest potential. Conclusion: South Africa’s future success rests on leveraging its rich diversity of people, languages, and cultures to exploit its natural and mineral resources. Our potential to grow into double digits for 10 or more years is held back by our lack of imagination to seize the opportunities offered us by our place and space in today’s world. Let me close with Wilkinson and Pickett’s words: “To sustain the necessary political will, we must remember that it falls to our generation to make one of the biggest transformations in human history.” Are you ready?

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Chapter 6 SUSPENDING JUDGEMENT AND DEVELOPING UNDERSTANDING

SUSPENDING JUDGEMENT AND DEVELOPING UNDERSTANDING Insights from David Wylde

In 1976 I was watching the Soweto news on TV in England with a new wife, who was English; and I said to my mother in law, that is my home, that is where we are going to live.

Three months later when I said goodbye to the staff at Manchester Grammar School, clutching a biography of Abraham Lincoln given me as a present, I expressed the hope that one day, my country South Africa, would have its own Abraham Lincoln. Little did I know. No one in the world can be more deeply blessed than those of us who have lived the last 36 years in South Africa. What have I learnt about education in South Africa, as teacher/educator, HOD, deputy, principal, rector, and especially in the last three years working in rural schools amongst the poorest? Firstly, you never stop learning. Secondly, a sense of service is the key driver whether you are serving a class of learners, a team of teachers, a school, country, God, you develop a deeper integrity the more you realise it is not about you. A calling to teach comes from a strong need to serve. Teachers who are called are those who transform the lives of others, by giving them the space to become fully themselves. It’s mainly about the others: you can’t lead if you don’t develop other people in your team; you can’t lead without a team; you develop a team by listening and being aware and by being aware you understand context which is both about geographical place, history, and culture. One example: three years ago I went to coach and mentor principals in rural no fee paying schools in villages created by apartheid dumping, full of aids and poverty and immigrants; believing naively that if I helped get the leadership right everything else would follow. After nine months one of the principals observed that, “you have

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Communities of schools also work. Where schools collaborate the learnings for each school are significant. Where one school is a model C/Independent and the other a rural school the learnings for each build our country’s empathy and alignment. Sharing and growth takes place between learners/parents/ educators. We have to breakdown our silos in South Africa to build our new nation.

I have learnt “The past isn’t dead and buried. In fact it isn’t even the past” (William Faulkner).

Communities of learners in schools is also a power: peer to peer, each one teach one. We have magic stories of how matrics teach each other to succeed.

By helping each individual child to participate, have a sense of belonging, and through teaching to read and to think, we can overcome deprivation. The many individual stories of success are evidence of this.

developed me as a team leader but what about the team?” Awareness of context is important, because without it we can fall into a rut. The greatest learning I have had in the last three years was by getting out of my white ghetto/silo and understanding poverty, fear, desperation; the effect of our segregated past on damaging the psyche, rendering people wounded, which leads to apathy and self-destructive behaviour. I have learnt that we are a damaged nation with a huge sense of inferiority, and we need to address this individual by individual, community by community. Inexpensive ways of addressing inferiority for the next generation is by creating cultures of care through establishing effective rhythms into dysfunctional schools. One example is a registration period in tutor groups before the school day starts. After introducing the house system in his school another of my principals observed that, for the first time in his 14 year tenure as principal a teacher asked to go to the home of a learner. The girl had been absent for a week and a half. The teacher discovered a child headed household. The girl who was head of the household was sick. There was no food. The teachers from the school then made food. When the girl came to school she was given lunch by the teachers (this was before school meals in high schools in Mpumalanga). She felt a sense of belonging because the school cared. Lo and behold her maths results improved. We have the opportunity to build communities/teams in our schools that care, which in itself harnesses the positive power of the community in which the school finds itself. Our experience at

Penreach running community Lekgotlas and working in a pipeline of interventions, with volunteer teachers keen to upgrade their skills, from Early Childhood Development to Primary to High Schools in the same community with the Education Department, Welfare, SAPS, Health, /churches, creates a sense of belonging, pride and ownership and addresses that past culture of dependency.

Getting health and police and welfare and agriculture and churches and schools all working together in a community has great positive momentum in my experience. (The Mission Schools got this right in the 19th Century.) Equally, just as a principal needs a team, so do a team of principals need a team leader in their circuit and district. Developing teams of SMTs, SGBs, Principals, Circuits together, each with their own specific role but the same vision of service, in communities of schools in neighbourhoods that are aligned to be safe and secure is in my experience the way forward for us in South Africa.

“I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crises. The great point is to bring them the real facts” Abraham Lincoln

The answer to education in this country must be comprehensive from the first thousand days of the child’s life to a safe environment in which to work and grow. Finally, lest this sound like individuals don’t matter, I have learnt that focus and vision and energy are the key factors in leadership in education. If you are not focussed on what you want to achieve and a go getter in the sense of being energetic and generating energy through positive thought and dedication, you will remain a cog in the wheel, not a hand on the tiller giving a sense of direction and pace. But your focus needs to be well located in your context, understood by your team. Anything can be achieved with resilience and a creative mind set.

David Wylde

“A calling to teach comes from a strong need to serve. Teachers who are called are those who transform the lives of others, by giving them the space to become fully themselves.”

“I have learnt that we are a damaged nation with a huge sense of inferiority, and we need to address this individual by individual, community by community.”

“By helping each individual child to participate, have a sense of belonging, and through teaching to read and to think, we can overcome deprivation. The many individual stories of success are evidence of this.“

““The past isn’t dead and buried. In fact it isn’t even the past” William Faulkner

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

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Chapter 6 THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA IN EDUCATION

Supporting education by providing excellent teaching and learning resources.

THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA IN EDUCATION

In 1953 Nelson Mandela said: “...you must make every home, every shack, every rickety structure a centre of learning for our children.”

By Chris Moerdyk - Media & Marketing Analyst

The education of our children has always been emotive and when the mass media is added to the mix, volatility is inevitable.

Hardly a country in the world is spared controversy in education, but when one looks behind the sometimes anarchic scenes, there is a lot about which to be optimistic and hopeful. Traditionally, the mass media and education have enjoyed a love-hate relationship. On one hand television and newspapers particularly, have provided extensive and extremely useful education content. On the other, however, their newsrooms never seem to hesitate when controversy rears is ugly head. In theory, it is absolutely vital for the mass media to keep an eye on the way in which governments administer and develop education, but it has to be said that in this day and age of a battle for survival within the mass media industry, the watchdog does tend to become somewhat rabid at times. Like most businesses the mass media often takes a line of least resistance when problems occur and a first step always seems to blame the trades union movements. In South Africa, the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) inevitably faces tremendous criticism from the mass media when its members protest the enormous challenges and deprivations they face in the classrooms. Many of those challenges having very little to do with actual teaching. Regrettably, the relationship between the mass media and education involves a lot of indulgence in blame-games and reaction by both sides to superficial symptoms. There is undeniably an urgent need for the education authorities and the mass media to join together in improving the lot of our youngsters and young adults.The media cannot just be a watchdog and nothing else and the national and provincial education departments cannot work in isolation or out of the public eye.

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It is no good the mass media simply reporting on “delinquent learners burning classrooms” without delving into the underlying causes. Understanding perhaps, that after years of promises for proper school buildings to replace dilapidated, unhealthy, decades-old temporary structures, the only option left was to destroy the old building so that a new one would have to built. There is no question that the only way in which the mass media can continue to perform its role as an education watchdog but at the same time become involved in helping build an efficient education system is through improved communication. This probably sounds extremely glib, but when you think about it, bad or non-existent communication has been the cause of everything from wars between countries to divorces between married couples. In simple terms, this communication would mean the mass media and the education departments talking to each other a lot more. I have to say, though, that this is a wild hope and probably entirely over-optimistic. However, I believe that two innovations will force this essential communication to take place. The first is the involvement by private sector companies in the education environment and the second is new media. Argo, for example, is a good example of a private sector media company that is successfully creating bridges between education authorities, unions and affiliated and non-affiliated teachers. Companies such as these are becoming vital links in improved communications among stakeholders. The private sector is pioneering the use of new media, specifically social media in the education environment with for example, websites such as ED.org.za and increasing

activity on inter-active social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Mxit. The importance of social media among education authorities, educators, unions, private sector stakeholders as well as schools, pupils and parents, cannot be emphasised enough.

Mindset, a South African based non-profit organisation, launched in 2003 by Nelson Mandela, was created to do just what Mr Mandela asked for. Mindset Learn develops and distributes high quality, contextually relevant educational content for schools in video, print and computer-based multimedia formats.

Communication is one thing, it is a vitally important thing, but it is not enough. Conversation is what is going to ensure increased collaboration by all players in education and the beauty of the social media conversation is its endemic role as watchdog. Not a one-sided watchdog but one that has sufficient information at hand to ensure an even-handed approach. It would be a grave mistake for anyone in the education sector to assume that things like FaceBook, Twitter and Mxit were strictly for children or young adults. They are extremely efficient creators of conversations among all parties, providing not only information and advice but most importantly able to address misconceptions and wrong perceptions almost immediately. As technology makes farther inroads into education, as the iPad has already done in private school classrooms, the ability for pupils, teachers, parents along with education authorities to communicate instantly will be an absolute boon in terms of increasing the efficiency and efficacy of education. There are those that might feel that all this might be a little too transparent and instant. But, when you think about it, the future of education rests on being as transparent as humanly possible. And it will be the private sector that leads the way - Twitter, YouTube, FaceBook, Mxit, online forums and pioneers such as Argo.

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

ClaSSroom reSourCeS

Mindset Learn has developed more than 300 hours of video content for use by teachers in the classroom. • Grade 4, 5, 10, 11 and 12 Mathematics • Grade 4 and 5 Natural Sciences and Technology • Grade 10, 11 and 12 Physical Sciences • Grade 10, 11 and 12 English First Additional Language • Grade 10, 11 and 12 Mathematical Literacy • Grade 10, 11 and 12 Information Technology (with CAT to follow by 2013) All videos are supported by teacher video guides and notes for teachers and learners. These classroom resources have been designed to support and improve the classroom experience by • Inspiring and empowering teachers to use highly effective and innovative learner-centred teaching approaches • Bringing experiences from the realworld into the classroom • Using highly impactful visual techniques to describe and explain difficult or abstract concepts.

learner Support learn Xtra

Learn Xtra provides additional support for learners. More than 600 hours of Learn Xtra video is currently available with another 600 planned for 2012. learn Xtra live: • Live TV shows from 4 - 7pm Monday - Thursday for grade 10 - 12 Mathematics, Physical Sciences, Natural Sciences and Maths Literacy learners. Weekend School: • Learners can join in weekend school from 9am-5pm Saturday and Sunday, for gr 10 - 12 Mathematics, Physical Sciences, Natural Sciences and Maths Literacy. • Supporting worksheets available for free download from www.learnxtra.co.za • Kits available for schools, community organisations or individuals. exam revision: • Grade 12 Mathematics, Physical Sciences, Natural Sciences, Maths Literacy, Geography, Accounting, English, Business Studies and Economics • During the July and October holidays as well as the final exam period • Live shows, topic discussions, exam and study tips • Supporting workbooks available for free download from www.learnxtra.co.za Helpdesk: • Free helpdesk for all FET learners • Questions submitted via Facebook, MXit, PEPtxt, email, website and phone.

Visit learnxtra.co.za for more info.

teaCHer Support

Mindset has developed more than 50 hours of specific teacher development materials focusing on • Curriculum planning • Lesson planning • Lesson implementation and delivery • Assessment • Reflection and review teacher talk: Every Monday-Thursday at 3pm, during Teacher Talk we discuss how to tackle the curriculum, innovative teaching methodologies, assessment and a host of other inspirational topics. Teachers can participate in the conversation and share their views and ideas.

Coming soon: Videos of ordinary teachers sharing their extraordinary tips and lesson ideas.

HoW to get it

There are a host of ways to get Mindset content: • Free download from the Mindset Learn or Learn Xtra websites www.mindset.co.za/learn or www.learnxtra.co.za • DStv channel 319 • Toptv channel 319 • Mindset free-to-air channel 1 • DVDs and books - visit www.mindset.co.za/learn/DVD for more details Mindset can also offer an end-to-end technology installation and support service to schools and community centres. classroom resources @ www.mindset.co.za Follow Learn Xtra on Facebook and Twitter.

Chapter 6 ADVERTORIAL / CASE STUDY

IMSIMBI TRAINING

Imsimbi Training was initiated 5 years ago in response to the growing need for values-based skills development in the South African economy.

YOUR PARTNER IN EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT

From our experiences in these communities we have discovered that when a team of educators unite with their managers and focus upon the challenges before them, transformation begins as: restore a sense of purpose by reflecting on their values base, and once 01. People again, work towards making these the foundation of their education system;

02. 03. Educators restore a sense of self-confidence and commitment to their learners; 04. Learners have faith in their future as their results begin to improve; 05. Parents take pride in their children’s achievements and are active in their schools. Managers communicate with and believe in their team of educators;

Our country’s greatest asset is our youth and they deserve the brighter future which is only possible with the solid foundation of a good education. We have a dedicated and experienced team of professionals who are focussed upon turning the tide of despair and developing a critical mass with a focus on inculcating educational excellence in South Africa. Imsimbi Training is a fully accredited training provider with the Services Seta, accreditation no. 2147. Imsimbi Training is a Level 2 BBBEE Contributor.

IMSIMBI TRAINING 2012 COURSE LIST

All our courses below are accredited by the Services Seta and ETDP Seta. • A dvanced Monitoring & Evaluation • Advanced Project Management Incl. MS Projects • Advanced Report Writing • Assertiveness • Assessor Training • Call Centre Telephone & Customer Service • Communication and Presentation Skills • Conduct a Disciplinary Hearing • Conflict Management and Negotiation Skills • Corporate Governance & the New Companies’ Act • Customer Service Systems Design & Management ISO aligned • Data & Records Management • Diversity Management • Effective Business Writing Skills • Effective Disciplinary Hearings • Effective Sales • Emotional Intelligence and Personal Mastery • Ethics • Facilitator Training • Finance for Non-Financial Managers • Frontline Customer Service • HIV/AIDS Peer Educator

As we have grown through the training of adults employed in both public and private sectors, we have become increasingly concerned about the skills gap between what is required by industry and what is produced by our school system. To this end we have been involved with educators to reawaken a commitment to the values which form the foundation of our young democracy through a variety of projects. These projects are skills based training projects as well as systemic educational development projects in partnership with Infundo. ÆÆ Imsimbi has trained educators and administrators in a variety of skills on behalf of Provincial Education Departments; ÆÆ We have tackled the challenges involved in providing a quality education within informal settlements through training school managers in a Management Development Program which has seen educators cooperating more effectively with SMT’s;

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ÆÆ Imsimbi has delivered skills within rural communities. By engaging in educational systemic change programmes these schools have shifted psycho-social dynamics and enabled community ownership once more. We conducted workshops for School Management Teams, School Governing Bodies and Learner Representative Councils. Together we have impacted change in a number of rural Eastern Cape schools which resulted in improving learner results by up to 267% within an 18 month period; ÆÆ We have cooperated with Teach SA nationally to support and enable young graduates working in disadvantaged situations as educators to become more strategic in their commitment to transformation; with a particular focus on becoming change agents in their schools.

ÆÆ Finally we are collaborating with Mathew Goniwe to engage communities and learners to take ownership of their education in dysfunctional, underperforming schools

EDUCATIONAL COURSES

UNIT STANDARDS

Management Development Programme National Certificate : General Management

SAQA ID 59201/60269 NQF L5 163 Credits

NO. OF DAYS

• HIV/AIDS Workplace Management • Human Resource Management • Labour Relations & Effective Discipline

12 month programme 6 modules x 5 days

• Leadership Development for School Management Teams • Life Skills • Management and Leadership Development • Meeting & Minute Management • Mentoring and Coaching

Leadership Development for School Management Teams

14667 L4 credits 10 15224 L5 credits 4

3 days

• Moderator Training • Monitoring and Evaluation • Municipal Governance • Office administration

Strategic Planning and Change Management 15219 L5 credits 4 for School Management Teams 115407 L5 credits10

3 days

• On the Job Coaching • Performance Management • Personal Assistant • Problem Solving

Educator as a change agent

115407 L5 credits10

1 day

• Project Management • Public Finance Management • Public Governance • Quality & Customer Service

Public Finance Management for principals

242810 L4 credits 6 252040 L5 credits 8

3 days

• Recruitment and Selection (Competency based Interviewing Skills) • Report Writing • Self Management & Emotional Intelligence

Leadership Programmes for learner representative councils

Weekend workshop

Motivation and goal setting for learners

Per class/grade

2 days

• Strategic Planning and Change Management • Stress Management • Supervisory Management

1 day

• Team Building • Team Leader • Telephone Etiquette • Time Management

Eastern Cape Educators workshop

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

• Women in Management

Connect on www.ed.org.za and share your insights

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Chapter 6 ADVERTORIAL / CASE STUDY

BRIDGE - A SYNOPSIS

THE BRIDGE VISION: To link the key leverage areas in the system with working innovations, and where necessary to create working innovations, in a way that optimises diversity, values and differences so that the whole is bigger than the sum of the parts.

Bridge’s objectives are as follows: common purpose, peer a) Creating support and trust among stakeholders

b) Maximising resources effective practice horizontally c) Spreading across the system

Bridge’s communities spread successful practice by sharing critical lessons about what works and what does not work. It continues to maximise resources through the use of a collaborative space for the group on the Bridge online network (see www.bridge.org.za) so that stories of working practice and resources can be shared. The continued sharing among Bridge’s members demonstrates the development of trusting relationships and a willingness to offer peer support, as well as the growing belief this community has in its work. This community includes stakeholders with differing expertise and in four provinces in South Africa, all of whom are willing to contribute to meetings via the technology available or through writing papers and giving feedback on the documents that are generated by this group. Bridge is also firmly entrenched in the social media space where regular tweets and updates are fed live by @Bridgeprojectsa so that innovators and practitioners who cannot attend all the meetings can remain connected.

Contributing to change at a systemic level

Vertical linking of practice to policy creation and implementation

Bridge fulfils its role in 3 main activities: ÆÆ Convening and facilitating communities of practice utilising a specific facilitating methodology; ÆÆ Monitoring and evaluation of the communities’ activities against specific outcomes; and

BRIDGE Portal www.bridge.org.za

BRIDGE Online Network www.bridge.org.za/WF_Bridge

BRIDGE’S SCHOOL LEADERSHIP COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE

TEACHERS UPFRONT – A DIALOGUE SERIES

meet with each principal individually and a

Teachers Upfront is a dialogue series

Bridge’s School Leadership community of Practice focuses on the vital area of school principal mentorship. It interacts closely with the DBE, which has used Bridge’s 2010 research process and national dialogue to inform the department’s thinking on mentorship for school leaders specifically and the professional development of school leaders generally. A draft plan and guidelines on school mentorship were drawn up by the community at the department’s request, which has indicated that a key priority is that the department needs urgently to start working through districts to improve performance at schools, although this does not exclude direct work with schools. As a result, the community’s mentorship focus group is helping the department to draft a district plan with this in mind. The crux of the plan will be improving curriculum delivery, and the plan aims to be sustainable and pitched at a national level.

resulting from a partnership of the Wits

purpose and peer support developing in the

This Bridge community’s task team has formed technical and research teams in order to take its processes forward. A mapping process is currently being done which will ensure the immediate harnessing of members’ synergies. Involvement with key stakeholders such as the Matthew Goniwe School of Leadership and Governance and the ETDP SETA ensure that role-players work systemically.

School of education, the University of Johannesburg education faculty, the Bridge education network and the Mail & Guardian. Public discourse about teaching and teachers is enriched though these dialogues and

cluster of principals on a monthly basis and there is already a good sense of common communities. This process is proving to be useful as principals, despite their obvious time constraints, are actively involved in meetings, which shows a commitment to bringing about change.

then profiled in the Mail & Guardian. 6 such dialogues and profiles were held in 2011-2 in the inaugural Teachers Upfront Dialogue series which focussed on teacher issues. The follow-up series focuses on Language in Education. It started on 9 May with the topic: “Academic Literacy and Language in Higher Education”.

The key outcome of this project is to facilitate the development of district-based professional learning communities wherein school principals collaborate on how to improve teaching and learning in their schools through ongoing informationsharing.

BRIDGE’S THREE PROVINCE SCHOOL LEADER SUPPORT PROGRAMME Bridge’s Three Province School Leader Support Programme is currently engaged in a pilot programme in three provinces (Gauteng, the North-West and Western Cape provinces). Bridge sees the principal as the hub between two systems: District and SMT. Bridge is testing its theory of change to begin the process of helping principals to improve teaching and learning in their schools. These communities allow for meaningful

Teachers upfront

dialogue about subject improvement planning, curriculum management, instructional practice, and instructional leadership.

BRIDGE Facebook page www.facebook.com/BridgeProjectSA

In each province, Bridge works with an existing group of principals, a local partner, district representation, and a fieldworker.

BRIDGE Twitter page www.twitter.com/#!/BridgeProjectSA

Bridge is working with Adopt-A-School in the North West cluster and with the

ÆÆ Knowledge Management.

Bitou10 Foundation in the Western Cape. Bridge has gathered questionnaires from Bridge has focused on key leverage points in the education system, namely school leadership, teacher development, learner support and materials.

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the principals in order to understand their information requirements. Fieldworkers School leadership

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

for the North West and Gauteng provinces

Teachers upfront

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Chapter 6 ADVERTORIAL / CASE STUDY

06 continued from page 108

THE SOUTH AFRICAN EXTRAORDINARY SCHOOLS COALITION (SAESC) Bridge has been appointed Lead Agency of a new coalition of schools: The South African Extraordinary Schools Coalition (SAESC). Begun in 2010, the SAESC is a collection of independent and public schools (third sector schools that provide high-quality and low-cost education to disadvantaged and vulnerable learners) and partner organisations committed to transforming the lives of children disadvantaged by the socio-economic realities of poverty and social exclusion. A recent national workshop at the Dominican Convent focused on two key programmes of action for the Coalition: a peer review process and the effective implementation of instructional leadership and classroom practice for these schools. Some key strategic streams of action necessary for 2012 include the refinement of the Coalition’s memorandum of understanding, fundraising, identifying financial models for schools in the Coalition, unpacking common understandings of socioeconomic disadvantage and exploring school-wide solutions for supporting vulnerable learners.

BRIDGE’S WESTERN CAPE COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE Bridge’s Western Cape Communities of Practice have 4 active communities:

Early Childhood Development

Teacher Development

Creating Educational Opportunities for Children Living in Difficult Economic Conditions

The most significant development is the developing relationship between the After-Hours Tutoring community and the Western Cape Education Department (WCED): starting and maintaining close working relationships with Western Cape districts’ curriculum advisors and districts; holding a debriefing and strategy session in response to a WCED event at Livingstone High School; and working with WCED to create an Educational NPO and Education Service Provider Database which will ensure that community organisations can access much-needed information for future collaboration. The database project is seen as a stepping stone and Bridge and the WCED have discussed future collaborations, projects and research (such as an NGO/WCED call centre), all aimed at enhancing effective practice so that each child’s learning experience can be more meaningful.

The SAESC

School Leadership

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

After-Hours Tutoring to Learners from Cape Town’s Township Communities

The SAESC

Collaborations with the Instructional Leadership work stream and a group of MBA students from Yale University continue in parallel processes. The Coalition’s next phase will see some consolidation of these various activities with action plans from the coalition.

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ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

Zanele Twala has been appointed as the new executive director of Bridge. She brings vast experience and deep commitment to Bridge, which looks forward to strengthening and growing the work of the organisation under her leadership.

Western Cape Community of Practice

Connect on www.ed.org.za and share your insights

BARBARA DALE-JONES Barbara Dale-Jones is Chief Operations Officer of Bridge. She has widespread experience in e-learning, publishing and education as well as expertise in materials development and designing learning environments. She has an in-depth knowledge of the South African education and skills development landscape.

Western Cape Community of Practice

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Chapter 6 ADVERTORIAL / CASE STUDY

SANGARI INSTITUTE (F1 IN SCHOOLS) Designing and racing your own Formula One cars might not sound like schoolwork. But for thousands of learners around the world it’s been just that. F1 in Schools is an international competition for learners (aged 11–22), in which groups of 3 - 6 students have to design and manufacture a miniature “race car” out of balsa wood using CAD/CAM design tools and state-of-the-art CNC machines. Software called F1 Virtual Wind Tunnel was designed specifically for the challenge. The F1 Virtual Wind Tunnel or F1 VWT even accesses Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to simulate air resistance on the “cars” designed/manufactured utilizing the latest industry-leading CAD/CAM technology. The cars are powered by CO2 cartridges and are attached to a track by a thin wire. They are timed from the moment they are launched to when they pass the finish line by a computer. Teams are judged on Compliance with Regulations, Engineering, Portfolio & Pit Display, Verbal Presentation and Racing.

In South Africa, F1 in Schools is proudly facilitated by Sangari Institute (Reg.No. 110034802). Established with the main aim of promoting STEMI amongst learners, Sangari Institute promotes a number of Science and Technology projects.

Integrate these innovative, exciting and enjoyable solutions to teach STEMI subjects into your existing programs. For professional advice please contact Robert Nossner – National Coordinator F1 in Schools robert@sangari.co.za or call 011 466 1440.

The competition is currently hosted in over 30 countries. The competition was first introduced in South Africa in 2003.The competition’s aim was, and still is, to introduce younger people to engineering in a more fun environment. The competition is held annually, with regional and national finals. The winners of the national finals compete in an international final. Since inception during 2003, over 500 South African Schools registered over 1000 Teams to participate in the national championships of the F1 in Schools Challenge. Of 1000 + team members, 652 learners furthered their studies at university (65.2%). 211 (32%) studied in an engineering or science field. Many team members furthered their studies and are currently enrolled at universities and technical colleges both in South Africa and abroad.

Lewis Hamilton at the 2009 World Finals

Utilizing the unrivaled appeal of Formula OneTM, F1 in Schools develops and nurtures talent amongst learners in the disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Innovation (STEMI), whilst building life skills and entrepreneurship.Teams prepare business plans, develop Budgets and raise sponsorship.Teams are encouraged to collaborate with Industry and forge business links. International experience clearly indicates that F1 in Schools is very popular with female learners, who strive in this competitive environment and are on par with their male counterparts.

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Learners enjoy F1 in Schools!

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

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Chapter 6 ADVERTORIAL / CASE STUDY

iBox the ultimate interactive Classroom Teaching Appliance TM

amplified

OW N LL OUR ER! A C FF R FO AL O I EC P S

57 Kyalami Boulevard, Kyalami Business Park, 1685 Kyalami Business Park, PO Box 30202, Kyalami 1685, Johannesburg, South Africa. 370B Main Road, Observatory, Cape Town, 7925. P.O. Box 13772, Mowbray, 7705 113

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

+27 11 466 1440 â&#x20AC;˘ www.sangari.co.za

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

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07 TOWARDS A SKILLED WORKFORCE AND THE ROLE OF FURTHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING (FET)

“YOUNG PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE THE CAPABILITIES AND CONFIDENCE TO GRASP THE OPPORTUNITIES OF A BRIGHTER FUTURE. THE PLAN SEEKS TO DEVELOP PEOPLE’S CAPABILITIES TO BE ABLE TO IMPROVE THEIR LIVES THROUGH EDUCATION AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT. IT REQUIRES SHIFTING FROM A PARADIGM OF ENTITLEMENT TO A DEVELOPMENT PARADIGM THAT PROMOTES THE DEVELOPMENT OF CAPABILITIES, THE CREATION OF OPPORTUNITIES AND THE PARTICIPATION OF ALL CITIZENS.

“Approximately three million young people between the ages of 18 and 24 are not accommodated in either the education and training system or the labour market. This is an appalling waste of human potential and a potential source of serious social instability” – The Green Paper for Post School Education and Training.

Let’s work together as ONE to achieve quality education

UNLESS WE WORK TOGETHER, SACRIFICING SHORT-TERM GAIN FOR LONGER-TERM PROSPERITY, NO SINGLE PART OF SOUTH AFRICAN SOCIETY CAN ACHIEVE ITS OBJECTIVES. MOST ASPECTS OF THIS PLAN ARE AIMED DIRECTLY AT IMPROVING THE LIFE CHANCES OF TODAY’S CHILDREN AND ITS YOUTH” – National Development Plan.

Connect with the education leaders on www.ED.org.za or contact Argo on +27 (0)21 865 2813 or info@argo.org.za to be part of the Education Roundtables.

Chapter 7 TOWARDS A SKILLED WORKFORCE AND THE ROLE OF FURTHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING (FET)

The post-school sector needs to meet the wide range of education and training needs of people over 18. Together with the higher education system it will play a significant role in producing the skills and knowledge the country needs to drive its economic and social development. It also needs to be an inclusive system that provides oppor tunities for social mobility, while strengthening equity, social justice and democracy.

is demonstrated by the four percent throughput rate in 2009 of the cohort that started the new National Certificate Vocation in 2007. The drop-out rate in colleges is estimated to range between 13 and 25 percent per annum, the highest dropout levels are in Level 2 of the National Certificate Vocation. Source: Department of Higher Education and Training, 2011.

“The 12% pass rate for those studying for the National Certificate (vocational) shows why an FET college is rarely the first choice for a matriculant, and why despite the excessive demand for university places there are still 50000 vacancies for firstyear study at SA’s 50 FET colleges”

The reality is that many parts of the FET sector are severely underperforming. There are not enough public institutions providing learning opportunities, despite the millions of young people who are eager to learn. Although there are some strong institutions, the college sector is small and weak. In 2010, the total headcount enrolment was 326 970 students, enrolled in various programmes. For the 2011 academic year, the projected headcount enrolment was 359 000 students. Public colleges enrol an equivalent of one-third of the learners enrolled in higher education when ideally the situation should be the other way round. The Minister of the Department of Higher Education, Blade Nzimande, believes that South Africa possesses a “distorted” higher education system that is overly focused on universities and the three to one ratio of university students to FET college students needs to be reversed.

K. Gernetzky, Business Day, 13/01/2012. Education plan to help SA reach jobs target.

The National Planning Commission recommends that the FET sector needs to offer clear and meaningful educational and training opportunities for young people:

Private institutions, including nongovernmental organisations, are also struggling to operate in the post-1994 policy environment due to lack of funding and the existence of a regulatory system that does not support the development of institutions.

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

• adults who left school early or had no access to education; and • older people who wish to develop their skills.

Colleges should provide people between the ages of 18 and 45 with ongoing access to learning opportunities and qualifications. These courses should correspond with higher education, the National Senior Certificate for adults, and high school for those who have started high school and wish to complete the National Senior Certificate. Technical high schools have a key role to play in addressing the needs of young people who leave school at grade 9 and wish to pursue a vocation: the National Certificate Vocation is for those who choose not to undertake a technical Senior Certificate. Curricula need to be designed to respond to the specific learning needs of these different groups in order to help them develop their life opportunities. A diverse set of private, workplace and community-based providers should be supported to offer targeted work-based training, as well as community and youth development programmes. This will require strong regulatory bodies that analyse demand, ensure a suitable range of courses is available, and monitor quality. Source: Allais, Lolwana & Marock, 2011.

ÆÆ who have obtained a low pass in the National Senior Certificate; ÆÆ between the ages of 16 and 20 who have completed grade 9 and left school.

The success rate of students in the FET colleges is extremely low. This

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The sector also needs to offer opportunities to:

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

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Chapter 7 THE SECTOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING AUTHORITIES (SETAS)

Chapter 7

THE SECTOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING AUTHORITIES (SETAS)

LGSETA - Local Government SETA

Despite spending large amounts of money, the SETAs (which are funded by the skills development levy imposed on businesses) have not made a major contribution to resolving the problems in skills development. Fur ther problems include fragmented data systems, which lead to poor planning, and the lack of reliable information on the number of private providers and their output. There are also governance problems in some of the SETAs. The SETAs should play a more effective role in the production of skills that are required to meet the immediate needs of employers.

MAPPP - Media, Advertising, Publishing,

Telephone Number(s): (011) 456-8579/456-8562 Email Address: sidwellm@lgseta.co.za Website Address: http://www.lgseta.co.za

Printing and Packaging SETA Telephone Number(s): (021) 910 3001/ (011) 234 2311 Email Address: sekgana@mappp-seta.co.za Website Address: http://www.mappp-seta.co.za MERSETA - Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Telephone Number(s): (011) 544-1316 Email Address: info@merseta.org.za Website Address: http://www.merseta.org.za

AgriSETA - Agricultural Sector Education Training Authority Telephone Number(s): (012) 325 1655/24/43 Email Address: info@agriseta.co.za Website Address: http://www.agriseta.co.za BANKSETA - Banking Sector Education and Training Authority Telephone Number(s): (011) 805-9661

ETDP - Education Training and Development Practices SETA Telephone Number(s): (011) 628 5000 Email Address: enquiries@etdpseta.org.za Website Address: http://www.etdpseta.org.za FASSET - Financial and Accounting Services Telephone Number(s): (011) 476-8570 Email Address: fasset@fasset.org.za Website Address: http://www.fasset.org.za

MQA SETA - Mining and Minerals Sector Telephone Number(s): (011) 630-3500 Email Address: info@mqa.org.za Website Address: http://www.mqa.org.za PSETA - Public Service Sector SETA Telephone Number(s): (012) 314 7490 Email Address: chauker@pseta.gov.za Website Address: http://www.dpsa.gov.za

Email Address: sandrad@bankseta.org.za Website Address: http://www.bankseta.org.za CETA - Construction Education and Training Authority Telephone Number(s): (011) 265 5900 Email Address: sandrad@bankseta.org.za Website Address: http://www.ceta.org.za CHIETA - Chemical Industries SETA Telephone Number(s): (011) 726 4026 Email Address: frichard@chieta.org.za Website Address: http://www.chieta.org.za

FIETA - Forest Industry SETA Telephone Number(s): (011) 712 0600 Email Address: mail@fieta.org.za Website Address: http://www.fieta.org.za FOODBEV - Food and Beverage Manufacturing Industry SETA Telephone Number(s): (011) 253 7300 Email Address: info@foodbev.co.za Website Address: http://www.foodbev.co.za HWSETA - Health and Welfare SETA Telephone Number(s): (011) 607 6900 Email Address: hwseta@hwseta.org.za Website Address: http://www.hwseta.org.za

CTFL - Clothing, Textiles, Footwear and Leather SETA Telephone Number(s): (031) 702 4482/3/4 Email Address: info@ctflseta.org.za Website Address: http://www.ctflseta.org.za ESETA - Energy SETA Telephone Number(s): (011) 689 5300 Email Address: reception@eseta.org.za Website Address: http://www.eseta.org.za

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

INSETA - Insurance SETA Telephone Number(s): (011) 544-2000 Email Address: laureld@inseta.org.za Website Address: http://www.inseta.org.za ISETT - Information Systems, Electronics and Telecommunications Technologies Telephone Number(s): (011) 805-5115 Email Address: oupa.mopaki@isett.org.za Website Address: http://www.isett.org.za

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

SAS SETA - Safety and Security SETA Telephone Number(s): 086 110 2477 / (011) 347 0200 Email Address: aadriaanse@sasseta.org.za Website Address: http://www.sasseta.org.za SERVICES SETA Telephone Number(s): (011) 715 1801 Email Address: bonitab@serviceseta.org.za Website Address: http://www.serviceseta.org.za TETA - Transport SETA Telephone Number(s): (011) 781-1280 Email Address: info@teta.org.za Website Address: http://www.teta.org.za THETA - Tourism and Hospitality SETA Telephone Number(s): (011) 803-6010 Email Address: theta@theta.org.za Website Address: http://www.theta.org.za W&RSETA - Wholesale and Retail SETA Telephone Number(s): 0860 270 027 / (012) 676-9000 Email Address: wrseta@wrseta.org.za Website Address: http://www.wrseta.org.za

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‘Offering ‘Offeringworld-class world-class ‘ Offering world-class services services which which exceed exceed services which exceed customer customer expectations’ expectations’ ‘‘Offering ‘Offering Offering world-class world-class world-class customer expectations’ services which exceed services which exceed services which exceed ‘Offering world-class customer expectations’ customer expectations’ customer expectations’ services which exceed customer expectations’ ‘ Helping ‘ Helpingour ourstakeholders stakeholders achieve achieve their their training traininggoals’ goals’ ‘ Helping our stakeholders ‘ Helping ‘‘Helping Helping our stakeholders stakeholders achieve their training goals’ our our stakeholders achieve their training goals’ achieve achieve theirtheir training training goals’ goals’ ‘ Helping our stakeholders achieve their training goals’

Chapter 7 RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION 

Produce 30 000 artisans per year

One of the targets set for 2014 in the delivery agreement signed by the Minister of Higher Education and Training is to produce 10 000 artisans per year. This target can be met with concerted effort and adequate funding. A target of 30 000 is proposed by 2030, subject to demand. The Department of Higher Education and Training has recently signed a Skills Accord with unions and the private sector. One of the elements of the accord is a commitment by businesses to provide more internship opportunities. This is one of the areas that have constrained the production of artisans. Training providers and FET colleges have very weak relationships with workplaces, leading to inappropriate or incomplete training. It is estimated that approximately 65 percent of college students are unable to find workplace experience, which is valuable for all students and a requirement for completing N diplomas.



new enrolments. Improved quality – particularly through more effective training of college managers and academic staff and improved student support – will, in any case, improve throughput rates and expand the numbers of qualified people entering the workforce. Improving the quality of the FET colleges will entail the development of appropriate programmes; upgrading lecturer qualifications; capacity building for management and governance; improved learner support; utilising appropriate information technology systems for both learning and management; and building strong partnerships between colleges and employers in both the public and private sectors. Private further and higher education institutions are disparate in terms of quality, and our quality assurance system is not yet able to regulate them all effectively. This will need to be remedied. By 2030, the Department of Higher Education (DHET) aims to have four million enrolments (approximately a 60% participation rate) in colleges or other post-school institutions such as the proposed community education and training centres discussed below. The DHET must build, resource and support this expanded system.



Public and private provision of adult education is very weak. Most public adult learning centres do not have their own premises or full-time staff, and enrolments are low. In 2011, 312 077 students were enrolled in public adult education centres. Workplace-based training is diverse, with excellent training opportunities in some places, but in general, few opportunities for workplace experience.

Increase graduation rate of further education and training colleges to 75 percent 

The graduation rate was about 40 percent in 2010, which is unproductive and frustrating for learners. Improving the graduation rate to 75 percent by 2030 would have a major impact on the nation’s skills profile. Lifelong learning also needs to be promoted to complement further education. All sectors of society need to set up lifelong learning initiatives to ensure that citizens have ample opportunities to develop their skills and gain a deeper understanding of the ever-changing environment in which they live.



Increase participation rates in further education and training colleges to 25 percent

About three percent of 20 to 24 year olds participate in further education and training. This is very low given the large number of young people who are neither employed, nor in education or training institutions. There is a high unmet demand for learning opportunities. A participation rate of 25 percent would accommodate about 1.25 million enrolments compared to the current 300 000.



An additional one million learning opportunities per year

Private providers already play a significant role in post-school education and training. The Department of Higher Education and Training proposes establishing Community Education and Training Centres which will incorporate the current public adult learning centres. These institutions, combined with enrolment in workplace-based programmes, should meet the target of one million learners. This will increase the participation rate in post-school education and training (excluding higher education) above 40 percent.



The Green Paper on Post School Education and Training

The Department of Higher Education and Training has identified the need to massively increase learning opportunities after school. The Green Paper proposes ambitious expansion of the FET sector and creating different types of institutions to meet the high demand for education and training. This vision is supported by the National Planning Commission, which proposes that improving the performance of the post-school system will result in far greater gains than merely increasing the number of learners.

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Adult based education and training (ABET)

Community Education and Training Centres (CETCs) for adult based education

The department of Higher Education and Training is proposing to establish Community Education and Training Centres which will incorporate the current public adult learning centres, to address the needs of out-of-school youth and adults. The existing public adult learning centres will be absorbed into this category of institution. The college sector also includes other public colleges, such as nursing, agricultural, police and other colleges. The DHET will engage other government departments with a view to finding ways to build these colleges into a coherent and accessible system which is well-aligned both internally and with other post-school institutions. Options for how to ensure better coordination with regard to these colleges are outlined in the Green Paper.



South African Institute for Vocational and Continuing Education and Training (SAIVCET)

An important initiative proposed by the Green Paper is the establishment of a South African Institute for Vocational and Continuing Education and Training (SAIVCET) as a key part of a long-term strategy to build institutional capacity. It is noted that a study will be done soon to further conceptualise and make specific recommendations for the Institute. The Institute’s main function should be to strengthen the vocational and continuing education sector by playing a supporting role to existing institutions, especially the FET colleges and the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs). A central problem which the Green Paper addresses is the lack of coherence within the post-school system as a whole, between basic education and the post-school system, and between the post-school system and the labour market. There is inadequate information about labour market needs and future growth possibilities, and this makes planning and targeting of provision difficult. The levy-grant institutions – the (SETAs) and the National Skills Fund (NSF) – are poorly coordinated with public provision, and very little of the skills-levy funding has been used to pay for education in the public universities and colleges. Our educational institutions must work more closely together and support each other. Levy grant institutions must fund and support provision in public FET colleges and universities, especially universities of technology. SETAs must also play a crucial role in building relationships between education and the labour market. Improving relationships between education institutions and employers is a priority. The DHET will work to strengthen collaboration between the private and public sectors where appropriate.

The focus for expansion must be the public further education and training (FET) college sector. Strengthening and then expanding the colleges will play a central role in building a larger and more vibrant college sector. The first step in expanding the FET colleges will be to focus growth in institutions which are already strong while we focus on improving the quality of the weaker ones. This will be followed by phased and more rapid expansion and diversification throughout the sector. Expansion will be undertaken with care, ensuring that institutions are not overwhelmed by

The foundation of any planning process is the existence of comprehensive, accurate, integrated and effectively analysed data. The Green Paper recognises that improvements are needed in accessing information at sectoral and national level to inform future investment in skills and human resources. The DHET faces a number of challenges in this respect. The existing data on educational institutions is not always accurate, is not comprehensive and has not been organised as part of an integrated system. The DHET has now embarked on establishing an integrated system of data management among all institutions in the higher education and training system, including data from universities, colleges and adult education facilities, levy-grant institutions, the Quality Councils, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), and the National Student Financial Aid Scheme. In addition, systems for analysing and using this data on an ongoing basis must be developed and put into effect.

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Chapter 7 RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION

07 continued from page 10



Building a strong and streamlined quality assurance and qualification system

The National Planning Commission confirms that the National Qualifications framework is inappropriate for the sector’s learning and training needs. This has resulted in formal education and training institutions using their old qualifications, which have officially been rewritten into an outcomes-based format. A strong and simple quality assurance and qualification system is essential to support public provision and to enable and regulate private provision. Improvements need to be made to the configuration and roles of regulatory institutions, including the three quality councils and the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). The quality councils are the primary bodies with a direct role in governing curricula, assessment and certification. The Council for Higher Education, Umalusi, and the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations are responsible for defining three sub-frameworks of the National Qualifications Framework, and checking the quality of the provision, assessment and certification of qualifications, as well as maintaining a database of learners’ achievements. The levels on the National Qualifications Framework cause ongoing confusion. They could be simplified by replacing the framework’s levels with clearly designated qualifications, such as national certificates, diplomas and degrees. The relationships between key qualifications could be clarified by mapping the qualification types against each other. This could be done without substantial changes to the three current sub-frameworks. A simpler organisation of qualifications would make it easier to clarify the configuration of quality councils, which is problematic and needs to be re-examined. If levels on the National Qualifications Framework are removed, there should be no problem with Umalusi quality assuring post-school qualifications that are not part of the university system. If levels on the National Qualifications Framework remain, the demarcation of quality assurance bodies does not need to be confined to these levels.

The regulatory system must be streamlined, to ensure that accreditation and quality assurance requirements strengthen educational institutions, without becoming barriers for them. Non-formal educational provision targeted at specific community needs, as well as on-going professional development, need not always lead to qualifications or be provided through accredited providers. Proposals have also been made to strengthen the levy-grant institutions to make them more effective and improve their articulation with the post-school system as a whole. These proposals largely build on the ideas of the National Skills Development Strategy III, which are currently being implemented. Clarification of the mandate of the SETAs is a key priority. Options are presented for improving the use of the levy-grant system and for ensuring that the work of the NSF complements that of the SETAs. Addressing these key problem areas will contribute to addressing the ongoing inequalities with regard to socio-economic status, race, gender, geographical location, age, disability, and HIV status. This would also ensure that the post-school system contributes to changing the economy to one that relies more on the value-adding skills of its people than on easily replaceable and cheap unskilled labour. Source: Department of Higher Education and Training, 2012.



Collaboration between government departments

In order to establish a credible national institutional mechanism for skills planning, the integrated DHET data system needs to be further integrated with data from other government departments, such as the Departments of Labour, Home Affairs, Trade and Industry, Science and Technology, Basic Education, Public Service and Administration, Rural Development and Economic Development, as well as Statistics SA, through a specialist information system. This is a major undertaking, and a model for comprehensive skills planning on a national basis is currently being developed by the DHET and a consortium of research institutions. A truly integrated education system implies that institutional growth paths are aligned to South Africa’s overall development agenda with direct links to various development strategies such as the New Growth Path, the Industrial Policy Action Plan 2, the Human Resource Development Strategy for South Africa 2010-2030, and South Africa’s Ten-Year Innovation Plan.

Regardless of the configuration of quality councils, the approach to quality assurance needs to change. There should be external assessment for all national qualifications. Quality councils should provide quality assurance for this assessment, and accredit assessment bodies where appropriate. Quality councils should not accredit or register individual assessors, nor should they use individual moderators and verifiers to provide quality assurance for assessment decisions.

Response to the Green Paper for Post School Education and Training

The Green Paper also recognises that the existing regulatory system is complex and difficult to understand. The regulation of post-school education in South Africa is governed by an array of legislation and statutory bodies. There is duplication, overlap and, at times, incoherence and inconsistency in the functioning of parts of our system. We must overcome these challenges and the Green Paper outlines key proposals and options in this regard. An important starting point is simplifying the National Qualifications Framework; clear options are outlined.

Graeme Bloch, visiting adjunct professor at the University of the Witwatersrand’s Graduate School of Public and Development Management, says regardless of the feasibility of the Green Paper’s goals, the paper’s vision of what the post-school education system ought to become is important. Prof Bloch says much of the FET system is very inefficient, and the R1,9bn spent last year on additional resources for the colleges had largely disappeared into “thin air”.

Our qualifications and quality assurance framework is complex, with overlapping directives and ongoing contestation between different quality assurance bodies in various areas of operation. The primary bodies with a direct role in quality assurance are the three Quality Councils – the Council on Higher Education, Umalusi, and the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations. Options are proposed for clarifying their respective areas of jurisdiction. Proposals are made in the Green Paper for the strengthening of these bodies, including their roles in standards, quality assurance of assessment, and certification where applicable. Some quality assurance bodies have adopted overly complex systems with little to show in terms of safeguarding quality. In some instances there has been a tendency towards ‘contractualisation’

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leading to short-term thinking and a tendency towards a ‘contract compliance’ culture which reinforces the focus on quantity and throughput rather than on learning and impact.

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO, Neren Rau, says the government was becoming “increasingly honest” in acknowledging the challenge inherent in creating an education system that meets the needs of students and the economy. Source: Gernetzky, 2012.

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Chapter 7 ADVERTORIAL / CASE STUDY

THE GREEN PAPER FOR POST-SCHOOL EDUCATION AND TRAINING

BY GABA MALATSI

BY JOHN PAMPALLIS, SPECIAL ADVISOR TO THE MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

There are nearly 4.3 million people who are unemployed. Most of them have few skills and little training. There is an estimated figure of between 6,000 and 7,000 unemployed graduates. This ranges from those who want to run their own businesses; people with disabilities, and those whose current skills provide them with barely enough money to survive. All need and can benefit from skills development.

South Africa has three million young people between the ages of 18 and 24 who are not in employment, education or training – and probably a similar number between 25 and 35 years. This represents a shocking waste of human potential, a major injustice and a serious threat to social stability. At the same time our private and public sectors face a severe shor tage of skilled labour.

According to Career Planet, there are millions of people who need to learn new skills. Some are already in jobs and need to improve their skills or learn new ones. Each year there are thousands of young people who finish their education and are looking for jobs. More than 50% of Grade 12 learners leave school without basic skills to seek work. It is because of these millions of people that the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) developed an internship programme, and throughout the years has challenged itself by increasing the number of yearly intakes, to continuously empower people, change their lives and create a skilled nation. A large number of students have walked through its doors and many are now revered professionals in various sectors of the media industry. However this does not mean the internship program only covers broadcasting - which is the core business of the corporation – it also extends to various areas such as Human

“We at the SABC do not only want to entertain and inform the citizens of this country, but we also want to give them training and education. With all these various initiatives that we have, it is our way of giving back to South Africans and in helping build this great country of ours” SABC Group Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Lulama Mokhobo

Resources, Broadcasting Engineering, Finance, Information Technology and LegalAffairs within the SABC.

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SABC LEADS THE PACK IN TRAINING OF STUDENTS

Last year saw the SABC had its biggest student intake with over 250 students ac-

Although internships account for the bulk

cepted for training and development, making

of student intake, there is also the learner-

the intake one the largest in the country.

ship program, which offers both learning and

This achievement was made possible with

experiential training to matriculants. This is

the support and sponsorship from the Media

ideal for those with no formal qualifications,

Information and Communication Technology

but are fast learners with great potential.

Sector Education and Training Authority

The corporation’s commitment to educa-

(MICT SETA), The Department of Higher

tion and citizen empowerment does not end

Education and The National Skills Fund,

there. It also has a bursary scheme for staff

which is a leading example of the power of

and their children, who may want to pursue a

collaboration in addressing the skills develop-

career in the broadcasting industry.

ment challenge.

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

“It was impor tant for us as SETA to par tner with employers par ticularly the SABC. In terms of rolling out this internship as training is ver y impor tant to us.” MICT SETA, Chief Executive Officer, Oupa Mopaki Over R12 million was spent last year on the project. Those who benefitted from it had this to say: “This internship has been an eye opener for me. I have learned so much and I think, I can even start my own small community radio station.” “It has just opened doors for me and has been an amazing experience. I have worked on stories involving high profile people from the president to mayors.” Although it was impossible to employ all the interns, financial efforts were made to absorb at least 18% of the students. Given the high quality of training received, those students who were not employed by the corporation have been equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to gain employment in different industries.

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

What this means is that we must expand both jobs and opportunities for education and training. The government’s economic growth and industrial policies and the new infrastructure programme all have job creation as a major objective. Training people to fill the jobs a key task of the new Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) which has responsibility for universities, FET colleges, adult education institutions and the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs). The Green Paper published by the DHET in January presents a vision for an integrated, coherent and well-articulated system of postschool education and training in which the Department and all universities, colleges and SETAs work together for the common good of their students and the country as a whole. Public comments on the Green Paper will be considered and a White Paper developed. By 2030 we propose to expand university enrolments almost 70% to 1,5 million students and enrolments at colleges and other post-school institutions to approximately 4 million students. A new institutional type, provisionally called Community Education and Training Centres, will be established to provide youth and adults with a variety of training opportunities. Public institutions will be at the core of the post-school system, but private providers will play an invaluable role in expanding provision and filling niches that the public sector cannot adequately fill. The SETAs will continue to provide training for those in employment (or preparing for employment) in their sectors and will be expected to spend increasingly more of their resources on full occupational training programmes rather that just on short courses.

The Green Paper sets out policy for improving the quality of education in colleges and universities. It also aims for an improved system of articulation so that students who want to can move easily from college to university. Steps are being taken to increase opportunities for college and university students to get workplace experience and, later, jobs. Universities must train college lecturers and conduct research on the colleges and on the labour market. All education should contain elements of education for citizenship, including the study of the humanities. Steps will be taken, particularly through the revision of funding mechanisms, to expand and improve university-based research as well as the quality of teaching. Artisan training is being revived and employers encouraged to take on trainees, through apprenticeships, learnerships and internships. More trainees will be taken on by government departments and, especially, state-owned enterprises. The government has decided that all its infrastructure projects should include training for artisans, technicians and professionals.

John Pampallis

Our major challenge as a country now is for all stakeholders to work together to ensure that South Africa reaches its full potential through the optimal development of the skills and talents of all its people.

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Chapter 7 ADVERTORIAL / CASE STUDY

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ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

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08 DEVELOPING FUTURE THINKERS – IT’S AN ART

“BY 2030, WE AIM TO RAISE UNIVERSITY ENROLMENTS TO 1 500 000 (A PROJECTED PARTICIPATION RATE OF 23%) AS OPPOSED TO THE 2011 ENROLMENTS OF 899 120 (A 16% PARTICIPATION RATE)” – GREEN PAPER FOR POST-SCHOOL EDUCATION AND TRAINING, EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.

Let’s work together as ONE to achieve quality education

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Chapter 8 DEVELOPING FUTURE THINKERS – IT’S AN ART

Universities are an integral part of the post-school system, but are also the apex of the education, training and innovation system. School and college teachers are often products of the university system. The schooling, colleges and higher education systems should be better articulated and allow for mobility of learners and staff between these different parts of the education system. Highlights from the National Development Plan and the Green Paper for post school education and training provide an overview of the key challenges and focus areas for developing higher education, specifically for universities and institutes of technology.

The ART of Developing Achievers

Universities are key to developing a nation, as they:

Build lasting relationships to reduce dropout rates and increase students’ performance.

01. Educate and train people with high-level skills for the employment needs of the public and private sectors.

For more than 13 years, Argo has published multi-media solutions to build lasting relationships, improve achievement and support achievers to reach their full potential. Our range offers leading institutions the opportunity to attract and retain the right students, and also transform their behaviour to perform at their best.

the dominant producers of new knowledge, and they critique information and find new lo02. Are cal and global applications for existing knowledge. Higher education is the major driver of the information/knowledge system, linking it with economic development. Quality higher education needs excellence in science and technology, just as quality science and technology need excellent higher education. Good science and technology education is crucial for South Africa’s future innovation.

ATTRACT

norms and standards, determine the curriculum, languages, and knowledge, ethics and phi03. Set losophy underpinning a nation’s knowledge-capital. Education is important for good citizen-

SASTUDY.CO.ZA

ship and enriching and diversifying life and the humanities are important for understanding some of the difficult challenges the country faces such as transformation, violence, corruption, education, service delivery, innovation, the gap between the rich and the poor, and the issue of race.

The sastudy website is for students that want to make the most of their student life. It is South Africa’s most comprehensive database of all undergraduate qualifications and guides them in making the right decisions about what to study, who to contact, where to stay and what’s needed for a successful student life.

The National Development Plan highlights the need for government departments to work together to develop a broad enabling framework and policy that encourages world-class research and innovation. It also recommends that each university should have a clear mission that sets out its unique contribution towards knowledge production and national development. Universities need to

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

identify their areas of strength and develop centres of excellence in response to the needs of their immediate environment, the African region and global competitiveness. Institutions need to be efficient, characterised by higher knowledge productivity units, throughput, graduation and participation rates. In 2030, 75 percent of university academic staff should hold PhDs. PhD graduates, either as staff or post-doctoral fellows, will be the dominant drivers of new knowledge production within the higher education and science innovation system. There needs to be a coherent national plan for higher education that includes the promotion of innovation and the development of knowledge. This needs to be developed in

collaboration with higher education institutions, science councils, SOEs, private industry and research institutes. The plan should be appropriately funded, including funding for poorly resourced institutions. It should also be closely linked to the nation’s long-term needs in terms of human resources development and knowledge production.

ACH I E V E R S

Source: ASSAF, 2011.

South Africa needs knowledge that equips people for a society in constant social change. Higher education provides opportunities for social mobility and it strengthens equity, social justice and democracy. In today’s knowledge society, higher education underpinned by a strong science and technology innovation system is increasingly important in opening up people’s opportunities.

Source: Allais, Lolwana & Marock, 2011.

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

Get up close and personal – help them make the right career and lifestyle choices and promote effective time management.

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The higher education system should be diverse so that each institution can build on its strengths and expand areas of specialisation. This differentiation should be enabling and developmental based on a recognition that higher education has to fulfil many functions.

Attract the right students to the right courses by providing teachers and bright learners with the right support and advice when they need it most.

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The ACE Matric guide aims to become the all-in-one source of information for topics matrics can relate to. These include all the information they need to know about Universities, Universities of Technologies and FET Colleges. It also offers information on bursaries, student loans, and learnership options. Suitable careers and Gap Year opportunities are also be featured. Build and sustain relationships with your students by helping them to manage their time effectively. Q-ONE STUDENT DIARY The diary is distributed to over 145 000 students in South Africa. The diary provides students and young working adults with a simple and effective system to develop practical habits for achievement. Some of the biggest tertiary institutions in South Africa have been using the diary religiously for almost 12 years.

F o r m o re i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t A rg o a n d o u r r a n g e o f m u l t i - m e d i a s o l u t i o n s , p l e a s e v i s i t o u r we b s i t e o r c o n t a c t uon s dwww.SASTUDY.CO.ZA i re c t l y. + 2 7 (0 )2 1and 8 6 5share 2 8 1 3your | in f o @ a rg o . o rg . z a | w w w. a rgo . o rg . z a HANDBOOK 2012 134 Connect insights EDUCATION

Chapter 8

Any relevant undergraduate degree or diploma

Postgraduate Certiﬁcate in Education

Bachelor of Education

Honours Bachelor of Education

3-year Diploma in Education

The future of education c safe in our hands The University of South Africa’s College of Education previously operated as the School of Education under the College of Human Sciences and was formed to provide a dedicated service in terms of training teachers that would: • Address needs of the schooling system • Support government initiatives aimed at improving the quality of teaching and learning in South African schools The establishment of the College as a separate entity is part of Unisa’s response to a clarion call for public and private institutions to play an active role in national efforts to ﬁnd lasting solutions to the country’s education challenges.

Leadership and vision The newly formed college of education aims to “reimagine the research, teaching and study of education as a discipline” as it seeks to produce top quality

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teachers for the country. The college has approximately 68 000 students. Its large footprint means that the college is responsible for the professional education and training of close to 50% of all teachers in South Africa. The College of Education provides both initial professional education of teachers and continuous professional teacher development. Programmes are offered for educators across the different school phases spanning from Early Childhood Development (ECD), Grade R, Foundation, Intermediate and Senior phases across to Further Education and Training (FET) and Higher Education (HE) bands. Speaking during the official launch of the College, Unisa Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Mandla Makhanya said, “We have a common goal – and that is the growth and development of South Africa. Clearly we need to produce more and better teachers – and a large number of the existing teaching staff in our schools need to improve their qualiﬁcations and their expertise. Unisa is ideally positioned in terms

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

10000362JB

College of Education

Master of Education

Doctor of Education

(Research/coursework)

Advanced Certiﬁcate in Education

of our infrastructure and reach and our unique ODL mode of delivery to make a major contribution to the production and up-skilling of large numbers of teachers, and it was with this in mind that we decided to establish the College of Education”.

Focus areas The College of Education is placing special emphasis on the training of teachers in the ﬁelds of: • Mathematics • Science and Technology • Environmental • Inclusive Education • Adult Education and Youth Development • Language • Early Childhood Development

Research projects The college has a range of projects aimed at improving teaching and learning: Dynamics of violence in schools This is a major research project that explores the underlying reasons for occurrence of violence, identifying the types of violence, looking for initiatives which can help to prevent this. The overarching motivation is to assist in providing violence-free schools to society where quality education can be achieved. Researchers from CEDU participate in this international project

together with their peers i.e., the United Kingdom, Brazil and Pakistan. In South Africa, the project is being carried out in six provinces.

Flagship initiatives: Unisa Centre for Early Childhood Education (UCECE) UCECE is a centre of excellence for Early Childhood Education. The centre serves Unisa’s community and the community at large by providing schooling for close on 200 pre-school children. Secondly it ensures that Unisa plays a role in striving to meet the 2015 Millennium Development Goals to provide quality education for all children in Early Childhood Education and Development. Hence the centre will be used as a research site for improving Early Childhood Education.

Short learning courses Centre for Continuous Professional Teacher and Community Education and Training This centre provides opportunities for individuals to gain access to training and community development opportunities. It offers certiﬁcate courses and programmes which provide speciﬁc practice-oriented, career and in-service education and training aimed at: • The education and training of practitioners in industry, organisations and institutions • In-service training for practicing teachers • Short courses of interest to the general public

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Chapter 8 INTERNATIONAL RANKING OF SOUTH AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES

INTERNATIONAL RANKING OF SOUTH AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES The Shanghai JiaoTong Academic Ranking of World Universities 2008 placed South African higher education between 27 and 33, along with the Czech Republic, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Ireland. For a developing countr y, this is an exceptional rating, but it can do better and is underperforming in a number of key areas. There are some institutions within the system that continue to show signs of instability and dysfunction. Source: Badsha & Cloete, 2011.

The World Bank characterises the South African higher education system as a mid-level performer in terms of knowledge production, with low participation and high attrition rates and insufficient capacity for the level of skills production that is required. Globally, Africa’s proportion of publication output is declining, although South Africa is still the dominant producer on the continent. However, as is the case with ICT connectivity, South Africa’s lead is being eroded, particularly by North Africa. Source: World Economic Forum & Thompson Reuters, 2010.

KEY CHALLENGES IDENTIFIED The National Development Commission has identified the following key challenges: low participation rates;

While knowledge production is the rationale of higher education, high-quality knowledge production cannot be fully realised with a low student participation rate, a curriculum or an environment that is alienating and does not articulate the vision of the nation, and academic staff that are insufficiently qualified (only 34% of academic staff hold PhDs). Massive investments in the higher education system have not produced better outcomes in the level of academic performance or graduation rates. While enrolment and attainment gaps have narrowed across different race groups, the quality of education for the vast majority has remained poor at all levels. Higher education therefore tends to be a low-participation, high-attrition system. African student numbers grew by an average of 6.2 percent per year between 2000 and 2009, against 1.1 percent for white students. Two-thirds of all students in higher education in 2009 were African, compared to only 32 percent in 1990. The participation rate for African and Coloured students is still only at 13 percent. The National Plan for Higher Education has set a goal of 20 percent participation by 2016. Graduation rates remain unacceptably low and below the benchmarks set in the National Plan for Higher Education. At postgraduate level, graduation rates are declining.

The following targets are proposed by the National Planning Commission for the higher education, science and technology sector: 

Increase university science and mathematics entrants to 450 000

By 2030, science and mathematics should be revitalised through the increased number of school leavers who are eligible to study science and mathematics-based subjects at university. The number of people embarking on careers in science and technology should be at least three times the current levels.



Increase participation rates to more than 30 percent

Enrolments in the higher education sector including private higher education will need to increase to 1 620 000, from 950 000 in 2010. This is a 70 percent increase. The planned new universities in Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape and the new medical school in Limpopo will contribute to the expansion of capacity in the higher education sector.



Produce more than 100 doctoral graduates per million per year by 2030

South Africa produces 28 PhD graduates per million per year. This is very low by international standards. In comparison the University of Sao Paulo has 90 000 students and produces 2 400 PhD graduates per year. To achieve the target of 100 PhD graduates per million per year, South Africa needs more than 5 000 PhD graduates per year against the figure of 1 420 in 2010. If South Africa is to be a leading innovator, most of these doctorates should be in science, engineering, technology and mathematics. South Africa needs to increase the percentage of PhD qualified staff within the higher education sector from the current 34 percent level to over 75 percent over 20 years; double the number of graduate, postgraduate and first-rate scientists and increase the number of African and women postgraduates, especially PhDs to improve research and innovation capacity and normalise staff demographics. A learning and research environment needs to be created that is welcoming to all, eliminating all forms of discrimination and other intolerances within the system. A few world-class centres and programmes should be developed within both the national system of innovation and the higher education sector over the next 20 years. These should be in areas of comparative and competitive advantage, including indigenous knowledge systems. Efforts should be made to establish South Africa as a hub for higher education and training in the region capable of attracting a significant share of the international student population.

high attrition rates; a curriculum that does not link to the economy; the absence of an enabling environment that allows every individual to express and reach full potential; and poor knowledge production that often does not translate into innovation.

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ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education



Increase graduation rates to more than 25 percent by 2030

Achieving a 25 percent graduation rate will require an increase in the number of graduates from the combined total of 167 469 for private and public higher education institutions to a combined total of 425 000 by 2030. As part of this target, the number of science, technology, engineering and mathematics graduates should increase significantly.

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Chapter 8 FUNDING OF UNIVERSITIES

Chapter 8 INNOVATIVE PROGRAMMES IN STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF THE FREE STATE

FUNDING OF UNIVERSITIES The Ministerial Committee for the Review of the Funding of Universities is considering revisions to universitiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; funding framework. Such revisions should be based on the needs of a differentiated system, with adequate provision for both teaching and research.

INNOVATIVE PROGRAMMES IN STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF THE FREE STATE Insight from Mr Rudi Buys: Dean of Student Affairs Gateway First Years College

As the quality assurance and monitoring system matures, greater emphasis should be placed on incentivising graduate output. Such a shift would be in line with the international trend towards greater emphasis on outputbased funding. The higher education department would have to put measures in place to ensure that the risk of this approach discouraging universities from taking students from deprived backgrounds is reduced.

bursaries to cover the costs of tuition, books, accommodation and other living expenses. Students who do not qualify should have access to bank loans, backed by state sureties. Both the National Student Financial Aid Scheme and bank loans should be recovered through arrangements with the South African Revenue Service. Service-linked scholarships should be available in areas such as teaching and social work.

All students who qualify for the National Student Financial Aid Scheme should have access to full funding through loans and

Consideration should be given to extending the National Student Financial Aid Scheme to qualifying students in not-for-profit registered

private colleges as an incentive for private sector expansion. When resources allow, access to financial aid and bank loans could be extended to students qualifying for other registered private colleges. Funding for higher education as proportion of GDP has declined marginally over the last few years from 0.76 percent in 2000 to 0.69 percent in 2009. To preserve the quality of higher education, additional funding will be needed to support an increase in participation and knowledge production.

OVERVIEW OF SOUTH AFRICAN PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN 2009 Institution

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Headcount Student Enrolments

Black Students as Proportion of Headcount Total (%)

Female Students as Proportion of Headcount Totals (%)

Proportion of Contact and Distance Headcount Enrolments in Major Fields of Study (%)

Contact

Distance

Total

Contact

Distance

Contact

Distance

SET

Business

Humanities

Cape Peninsula University of Technology

30883

30958

University of Cape Town

23787

n.a

Central University of Technology, Free State

11944

261

12205

Durban University of Technology

24026

n.a

University of Fort Hare

10016

n.a

University of the Fress State

23656

3585

27241

University of Johannesburg

49315

n.a

University of KwaZulu-Natal

32113

6751

38864

University of Limpopo

16299

n.a

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

22107

3390

25497

North West University

26853

23736

50589

University of Pretoria

41620

14114

55734

Rhodes University

7012

n.a

University of South Africa

775

262784

263559

University of Stellenbosch

25693

n.a

Tshwane University of Technolgy

51133

1555

52688

University of Vanda

11125

100

n.a

Vaal University of Technology

19407

n.a

Walter Sisulu University

25275

25356

100

University of the Western Cape

16186

16203

University of Witwatersrand

29234

n.a

University of Zululand

13291

100

n.a

Mangosuthu University of Technology

9680

100

n.a

TOTALS / AVERAGE

521430

316349

837779

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

The UFS this year introduced the signature Gateway College that holistically focus on the successful adjustment of first year students to university life. For two weeks prior to the beginning of classes, first-years participate in the Gateway College programme, which consists of a series of lectures, student mentoring, guided tours and student life events. The Gateway lectures guide students to grasp the nature and demands of university life and address factors for study success and personal wellness. First-years are registered and connected with senior students and university staff in wellness mentoring programmes. Student leaders take first-years on guided tours of important sites and facilities on campus and in town. The programme furthermore introduces students to community service, cultural and sporting events, student associations, leadership development and faith-based events in student life. The major contribution of the college programme is the integrated adjustment of students to all aspects of university life, thereby ensuring well-adjusted students able to graduate ready for the world of work.

college and so have greater access to study space, computer labs and dining facilities. Commuter and campus residence students also together establish teams to run student mentoring and advising programmes and to participate in annual programmes for community service, arts and culture and recreational sport. Students access development programmes such as career advice and leadership development in colleges-communities. The colleges enable more students to achieve greater success by accessing support services and adjusting to university life required to do so.

The core curriculum assists students to learn more about themselves, confront the boundaries in their thinking and to promote social cohesion among students from diverse backgrounds. UFS101 has been specially developed as an exciting learning experience to create a new kind of Kovsie graduate that will stand out amongst other South African graduates. It is also unique in the sense that no other South African university offers a similar course on such a big scale.

UFS101 First-Year Core Curriculum The UFS this year introduced a newly designed core curriculum module called UFS101. The module is compulsory to attend for all first-time entering mainstream students registered for a first degree or diploma. UFS101 teaches students to look at local and global challenges from different perspectives and engage critically with the newest thinking nationally and internationally in fields such as law and history, nanotechnology and astronomy amongst others.

Student Life Colleges The UFS this year introduced LivingLearning Colleges to ensure that greater numbers of commuter (off-campus) students gain access to on-campus resources and achieve greater study and leader success.

Mr Rudi Buys: Dean of Student Affairs

Each of the current five Living-Learning Colleges consist of a group of campus residences and a city residence that share resources and together participate and compete in campus life programmes. During the day commuter students stay on campus and make use of the communal facilities of campus residences of their

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Chapter 8

The Maths, Science, Accounting and Technology (MSAT) Project. Cell C Technology Challenge.

THE POWER OF EDUCATION.

141

Cell C has always had a keen eye on the future, and to ensure that it is as bright as possible for all South Africans, we strongly believe that empowerment begins with the education of our youth. That is why we support and run a number of CSI initiatives aimed at developing skills and putting the power to realise dreams into the hands of our up and coming leaders.

ensuring that this can continue in a sustainable manner. Some of the projects we invest in are:

Through our CSI initiatives, we are helping to address poverty, skills shortage and unemployment, while at the same time

The world belongs to our children, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s empower them.

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Education

2. Gender Development

Take a Girl Child to Work Dayâ&#x201E;˘.

3. School Connectivity and Mobile Learning

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

For more information on, or to get involved in one of our CSI Programs, please log onto www.cellc.co.za Connect on www.SASTUDY.CO.ZA and share your insights

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

142

9 CONNECTING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

THE DEPARTMENT OF BASIC EDUCATION (DBE) HOSTED A WORKSHOP ON THE DRAFT DBE RESEARCH AGENDA 2011-2014 ON 14 SEPTEMBER 2011. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE WORKSHOP WAS TO OPEN A CONVERSATION WITH THE EDUCATION RESEARCH COMMUNITY ON A RESEARCH AGENDA FOR THE BASIC EDUCATION SECTOR. Research on school education in South Africa is undertaken in the context of serious shortcomings in the quality of teaching and learning and persistent inequalities in school conditions and outcomes. The Minister’s Delivery Agreement with the President, the DBE’s Action Plan to 2014: Towards the Realisation of Schooling 2025 (2011) and the department’s Strategic Plan, 2011-2014 document the department’s determination to work with the provincial education departments (PEDs) and stakeholders to reverse the decline in school education and enhance the quality of the school experience and learning outcomes for all young South Africans. The workshop provided an opportunity for participants to critique the draft research agenda; reflect on the complex relationship between knowledge production and knowledge utilisation; discuss researchers’ and departmental views of research priorities; share plans for undertaking major research; and consider how to enhance research funding, advocacy and capacity building.

Let’s work together as ONE to achieve quality education

Connect with the education leaders on www.ED.org.za or contact Argo on +27 (0)21 865 2813 or info@argo.org.za to be part of the Education Roundtables.

Chapter 9

CONNECTING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Chapter 9

CONNECTING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

If we had to ask Joe Public about the state of education in our countr y we would get answers about the inability of our education system to produce adequate skills to make our youth employable. By Charmaine Smith We would get passionate diatribe about our high rates of unemployment juxtaposed to our lack of marketable high level skills in professions and trades. Most social ills flourish in the absence of a successful education system. A better educated society begets lower unemployment, which leads to less poverty and a decrease in crime. So if we all know that something has to be done why are we not getting any traction and change? South African Annual National Assessments (ANA’s) are moderated tests set at Grade 3 and 6 levels for primary school learners assessing levels of numeracy and literacy, with a further view to aligning educational policy strategies to improve these. Across the 9 Provinces in SA numeracy and literacy results at Grade 6 average out at 29% for literacy and 30% for mathematical numeracy. It is obvious to any outsider, much less an educational practitioner, that these kinds of results at primary levels of education cannot and will not sustain meaningful skills transfer in secondary school.Young people are faced with the commensurate consequences of unmarketable skills, lack of job opportunities for unskilled labour and, if they are fortunate enough to be given employment, the paltry financial gains cannot sustain anything other than a low level quality of life. And the cycle continues for the next generation. South Africa’s global educational context is sobering. According to the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) in 2006, South Africa attained well below the international PIRLS standard in each of the 4 benchmarks: advanced, high, intermediate and low (http://timss.bc.edu/PDF/P06_IR_Ch2.pdf). This finding is disheartening, given the billions of Rands that the government allocates to education every year.While access to education should remain a priority, we must acknowledge that continued retention AND success within the educational pipeline require urgent attention. The TIMMS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) tests Grade 8 learners against benchmarks at advanced, high, intermediate and low levels. SA ranks in the category for really below average countries at Grade 8 level.This does not bode well for our future economic stability. Our country cannot build an economy when our skills are in the lowest categories of achievement. Dr Ramphele and Prof Jansen have been publically scathing about the lowering of standards to accommodate a higher matric

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pass in what Prof Jansen calls the “Matric Razzmatazz”. Minister Angie Motshekga and her Department of Basic Education remain surprised at this reaction whilst they celebrate higher matric pass rates across the country in most provinces. Yet with these celebrated increased in the matric pass rates year on year we still have high levels of unemployment and unemployed graduates are a sad indictment of the inability of our education system to produce new possibilities for our children. There is no lack of private or national will to improve educational output. It is obvious that, therefore, that despite masses of positive intention the entire systemic pipeline is failing our children; and a new approach is needed. Systemic change appears to be the buzzword of the moment. Organisations are encouraged to work systemically rather than implementing ad hoc approaches with little impact or worse yet; unintended consequences leading to more dire and serious consequences for the entire system. So what is meaningful systemic impact? First we have to understand some of the complexities of systems. Systems are composed of complex, interdependent sub-systems in continuous interaction. Deploying an intervention in one sub-area, without taking the systemic interdependencies into account means that the effectiveness of that intervention, however expensive, and however well deployed, will always be blunted and undermined by the unresolved shortcomings in adjacent areas where sub-systemic interfaces cause blockages and systemic friction.This often ends up causing more harm than good, despite passionate well run programmes, as the unintended consequences of intervention implementation build up and escalate.The only sustainable solution is to conduct a comprehensive, systemic diagnosis (identify the underlying factor(s) that has caused the entire system to malfunction) and then implement a coordinated, collaborative, structured and facilitated approach to find the road to long term impact and change. Argo believes fervently that we can collaborate; share; learn and create a national groundswell of change to affect education positively in our country. Much as we were able to mobilise the country (begrudgingly and cynically at first and later very enthusiastically) for the World Cup to be the success it proved to be; we believe passionately; optimistically and realistically that we can work together to achieve quality education in our country for all our children.

The Education Handbook has focused its chapters on the aspects which are accepted as systemic pillars in the pipeline of education.The articles mirror these themes; each elaborating on a different part of the system for change. This reflects something for me. Every NGO, corporate donor, project and programme; NGO; funder reflects a different urgency; each brings with it a passion for that specific part of the system.There are passionate and committed NGO’s who deliver phenomenal programmes; often unsung; under-funded; and yet totally focused on delivery to their constituents and the promise of a more meaningful future. Yet the only way in which we can achieve systemic change is for these dedicated NGO’s and funders to collaborate; minimizing the systemic drag; communicating to ease the systemic interactional friction and to enhance the system as a whole. Each activity can then be complementary to adjacent ones; in a systemic impact model of change. Success stories are present in so many areas; what remains is to weave these into a cohesive and impactful whole. So what are those systemic drivers? And who is championing this cause already? Martin Prew, Director of CEPD, reminds us that we have distracted ourselves with peripheral issues when our focus needs to be on delivery of education to the people it is meant to serve: children. Reflecting and encouraging an understanding of systemic change Martin goes on to share a pivotal area of change in the system, that of Districts.These are the interface between provincial departments and every school in the country; hence building capacity within these structures would leverage massive change across the system.This was presented at the Basic Education Conference to a forum by FPD and Martin; as partners in the process of District change. Bridge; an NGO specifically focused on bridging new innovations for systemic change, has mobilized a community of practice which is partnering with the DBE to assess and build policy for this exact nodal point. New Leaders Foundation is demonstrating this District leverage point through Gauteng Districts for knowledge sharing in the future. John Pampallis (Special Advisor to Minister of Higher Education and Training Blade Nzimande) speaks of the systemic impact in higher education; elucidating the call for “an integrated, coherent and well-articulated system of post school education and training” shared in their green paper published in January 2012. DHET, too, recognises the need for a systemic collaborative approach to post-school

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

study and employment: including workplace experience; artisan training with apprenticeships; learnerships and internships.This call encourages all stakeholders to do their bit to transform our employment landscape. David Wylde of Penreach, and formerly of St Stithians College speaks lucidly about lifelong learning; service above self; leadership and healing in his rural settings. He understands that we first have to dismantle many of our own ideologies to be able to commune with and then heal the legacies which apartheid have left on our psyche; and which often lead to self-destructive behavior and apathy (sometimes misconstrued as laziness or unwillingness). Dr Ramphele also names this woundedness as the part which has affected our capacity to rise to our responsibilities as citizens. “This woundedness is both a causal factor and a component of our very unequal society, which is currently the most unequal country in the world as measured by the Gini coefficient when applied to earnings. Unless we understand and deal with this “woundedness” no policy measures will enable us to “cure’ the ills of our society“. To address this woundedness Dr Ramphele has founded a movement called the Citizens’ Movement for Social Change (CMfSC). “Underpinning this is a change in the mindset of participants from Woundedness to Dignity. When the vicious cycle of woundedness that links all the characteristics found in ‘subjects’ (dependency, low self-esteem, apathy supplication) is broken, a virtuous cycle of dignity and self-esteem emerges with all the potential of becoming a citizen and servant leader”. “The importance of partnerships for development is becoming more and more evident. We know of many partnerships in Africa that work and change people’s lives, but not enough of them are replicated or brought to scale.” Kofi Annan According to an article by John Kania & Mark Kramer in the Standford Social Innovation review of Winter 2011 (http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/ collective_impact), there are 5 conditions of collective success: ÆÆ A Common Agenda ÆÆ Shared measurement systems ÆÆ Mutually Reinforcing activities ÆÆ Continuous Communication ÆÆ Backbone Support Organisations

Argo inspires a common agenda in this Education Handbook. By sharing leaders’ insights and publishing stories about successes and systemic thinking; we hope to show that systemic change is possible; and also by elucidating ways in which to inculcate as much success in all our endeavours as possible. “Leadership cannot emerge from a confusion of visions.The orchestra without a conductor may contain great musicians but each will interpret the musical score in his or her own way, producing cacophony.” http://reuelkhoza.co.za/blog/leaderless-revolutions/South Africans will recognise the distinction between community of purpose and a set of arbitrary alliances.

By aligning to a common vision and our own passionate offerings with others who offer complementary and equally important areas of change we can start: • sharing our measurement systems (many organisations are already working well in this collective space including organisations such as Sasol Inzalo who run a leadership forum as part of Bridge where separate programmes are evaluated using a single measurement tool; not only to compare such but to solidify thinking using distinctive and innovative measurement; and where findings are communicated to the group and further afield for systemic learning and impact); • performing mutually reinforcing activities (in its infancy but certainly being encouraged in communities of practice across multiple areas convened by Bridge and inspired by the Dinokeng Scenarios which showed us clearly that the only way to make change is to walk together); • communicating actively: something this Handbook is designed to do by informing education stakeholders about all the systemic levers which can bring about change as well as policy changes to be aware of and sharing success stories for replication or collaborating with; already seen on twitter in the #edchatsa; forums such as the dialogue circles which Bridge and GIBS hold regularly; and the Education Roundtable which brought 100 top education leaders together in 2011 to talk about systemic education reform. • What of backbone support organisations – the last condition of collective success? We have various support mechanisms in place already: Bridge communities of practice; social media space; Argo’s Handbook which reflects the changes and informs stakeholders of the nuances of the industry with Ed.org.za which runs a digital platform of communication; Trialogue who run the annual CSI conference and publish CSI handbooks to inform practitioners and funders. And a myriad of informal groupings of NGO’s and funders who convene regularly to talk; share; commiserate and celebrate.

Connect on www.ed.org.za and share your insights

Bridge has worked systemically in horizontal as well as vertical strata; encouraging change at implementation and at policy level. Bridge further changes mindsets through their online platforms which have seen NGO’s sharing documentation and methodologies. Ed.org.za is another digital platform which encourages collaboration; whilst face to face interaction in the Education Roundtable and Bridge’s communities of practice ensure that digital natives meet implementers; and that both offer valuable spaces for changes in mindsets; increases in innovation and thus more systemic impact. Argo’s Education Roundtable started a vision which is being enhanced in 2012/13 with a replicable scaleable process into smaller subgroups of intense debate around systemic issues involving specialists in that field; and for these to become virally released as debates start to inspire and grow new ways of thinking. The Foundation for Professional Development (FPD) held their inaugural Basic Education Conference (co-chaired by the Head of the Sasol Inzalo Foundation Mpho Letlape and Head of DBSA Mary Metcalfe; yet another collaborative pairing) where practitioners presented alongside educators and principals; where funders and implementers shared space and learning. Each grouping has a distinct understanding of their specific part of the system; and constant communication across these pillars allows each partner in collaboration to learn; evolve for more impetus into the systemic improvement we all desire. NBI and their collaborative partners; DBSA with Mary Metcalfe and their Partnerships model; Bridge and their communities of practice at various levels; Argo’s media presence and support at systemic junctures and Dr Ramphele’s CMfSC are all focused on improving the system through collaborative efforts in reducing duplication; improving impact across the system; encouraging sharing of resource without re-inventing the wheel; for the ultimate aim of improving the delivery of quality education to our children. I am an African and proud of it. The values of Ubuntu, or African humanism, were instilled in me from an early age and I strive to live by the precepts of my forebears. From each unto all of us: from the individual to the community and back again; my being depends on yours and our being, together, is a product of the collective. Umuntu ngumntu ngabantu – I am because you are; you are because we are. Dr Reuel Khoza from his blog www.reuelkhoza.co.za in which he writes in his personal capacity.

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Chapter 9

CONNECTING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Chapter 9

OVERVIEW OF EDUCATION SYSTEM

“Leadership cannot emerge from a confusion of visions. The orchestra without a conductor may contain great musicians but each will interpret the musical score in his or her own way, producing cacophony.” reuelkhoza.co.za/blog/leaderless-revolutions/

South Africans will recognise the distinction between community of purpose and a set of arbitrary alliances. By aligning to a common vision and our own passionate offerings with others who offer complementary and equally important areas of change we can start: ÆÆ sharing our measurement systems (many organisations are already working well in this collective space including organisations such as Sasol Inzalo who run a leadership forum as part of Bridge where separate programmes are evaluated using a single measurement tool; not only to compare such but to solidify thinking using distinctive and innovative measurement; and where findings are communicated to the group and further afield for systemic learning and impact); ÆÆ performing mutually reinforcing activities (in its infancy but certainly being encouraged in communities of practice across multiple areas convened by Bridge and inspired by the Dinokeng Scenarios which showed us clearly that the only way to make change is to walk together); ÆÆ communicating actively: something this Handbook is designed to do by informing education stakeholders about all the systemic levers which can bring about change as well as policy changes to be aware of and sharing success stories

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for replication or collaborating with; already seen on twitter in the #edchatsa; forums such as the dialogue circles which Bridge and GIBS hold regularly; and the Education Roundtable which brought 100 top education leaders together in 2011 to talk about systemic education reform.

implementers shared space and learning. Each grouping has a distinct understanding of their specific part of the system; and constant communication across these pillars allows each partner in collaboration to learn; evolve for more impetus into the systemic improvement we all desire.

ÆÆ What of backbone support organisations – the last condition of collective success? We have various support mechanisms in place already: Bridge communities of practice; social media space; Argo’s Handbook which reflects the changes and informs stakeholders of the nuances of the industry with Ed.org.za which runs a digital platform of communication; Trialogue who run the annual CSI conference and publish CSI handbooks to inform practitioners and funders. And a myriad of informal groupings of NGO’s and funders who convene regularly to talk; share; commiserate and celebrate.

NBI and their collaborative partners; DBSA with Mary Metcalfe and their Partnerships model; Bridge and their communities of practice at various levels; Argo’s media presence and support at systemic junctures and Dr Ramphele’s CMfSC are all focused on improving the system through collaborative efforts in reducing duplication; improving impact across the system; encouraging sharing of resource without re-inventing the wheel; for the ultimate aim of improving the delivery of quality education to our children.

Overview of Education System CURRENT STATISTICS (2010) 30 586 Education Institutions ECD 279 476 (2.2%)

439 394 Educators

Public 11 810 224 (93.4%)

Argo’s Education Roundtable started a vision which is being enhanced in 2012/13 with a replicable scaleable process into smaller subgroups of intense debate around systemic issues involving specialists in that field; and for these to become virally released as debates start to inspire and grow new ways of thinking.

Independent 449 875 (3.6%)

Special Schools 104 633 (0.8%)

Primary: 5 992 863 Combined/Intermediate: 2 445 473 Secondary: 3 821 763

GRADE 1

“I am an African and proud Bridge has worked systemically in horizontal as well as vertical strata; encouraging change at implementation and at policy level. Bridge further changes mindsets through their online platforms which have seen NGO’s sharing documentation and methodologies. Ed.org.za is another digital platform which encourages collaboration; whilst face to face interaction in the Education Roundtable and Bridge’s communities of practice ensure that digital natives meet implementers; and that both offer valuable spaces for changes in mindsets; increases in innovation and thus more systemic impact.

12 644 208 Learners (89% Enrolment)

1 116 899

HIGH DROP OUT

of it. The values of Ubuntu, or African humanism, were

GRADE 12

instilled in me from an early

579 384

Of which 537 543 wrote NSC & 126 371 achieved university entrance

age and I strive to live by the precepts of my forebears. From each unto all of us: from

PASSED NSC

the individual to the commu-

364 513 (67,8%)

2011: 348 117 (70.2%) / 24.3% university achieved entrance / 7.7% of schools achieved 100% pass

nity and back again; my being depends on yours and our

FUTURE GOALS

being, together, is a product of the collective. Umuntu ngumntu ngabantu – I am because you are; you are because we are.” Dr Reuel Khoza from his blog www.reuelkhoza.co.za in which he writes in his personal capacity

The Foundation for Professional Development (FPD) held their inaugural Basic Education Conference (co-chaired by the Head of the Sasol Inzalo Foundation Mpho Letlape and Head of DBSA Mary Metcalfe; yet another collaborative pairing) where practitioners presented alongside educators and principals; where funders and

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

< 10% OF TOTAL SCHOOL ENROLMENT

Higher Education (HE) 837 779 (2009) | 950 000 (2010)

FET Colleges 420 475

Contact 521 430

ABET 297 900 (2010) 312 077 (2011)

Distance 316 349

First Year Students

??? ** (120 000 in 2005)

FET Colleges 1, 250 000* 25% Participation rate by 2030 4 million in colleges*

INCREASE HE ENROLMENTS BY 70% TO: 1 620 000.*

35% Drop-out (HESA) | 15% Complete in designated time, | 20% Drop-out 2nd & 3rd year. (Brier & Mabizeia: 2007:281)

HE Graduates

167 469 (current)* 74 000 (1994) 127 000 (2007)

INCREASE GRADUATION RATE 25% 425 000 BY 2030.*

Source: Higher Education & FET Statistics from: 2009 Hemis database, August 2010 * From Green Paper on Post School Education Training (2012) / ** Please contact us at info@argo.org.za if you know this statistic.

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

148

Chapter 9

STATISTICS IN SOUTH AFRICA 2010

Chapter 9

STATISTICS IN SOUTH AFRICA 2010

Over 1, 5 million children out of school

Published by the Department of Basic Education, February 2012 and available at: http:// www.education.gov.za/EMIS/StatisticalPublications/tabid/462/Default.aspx

The Depar tment of Basic Education (DBE) collects, processes and integrates educationrelated data obtained from the nine provincial education departments (PEDs). The DBE then analyses these data on learners, educators and institutions throughout the education system and repor ts on the outcome of the analysis.

The sources of data used in the 2010 review include:

Number of schools

ÆÆ Ordinary schools – 2010 SNAP Survey conducted on the 10th school day.

In South Africa in 2010, there were 30 586 established public and registered independent education institutions, of which 25 850 were ordinary schools and 4 736 were other education institutions – namely, ECD centres and special schools.

ÆÆ National Senior Certificate examination – Report on the National Senior Certificate Examination Results 2010, DBE (January 2011).

The figure of 25 850 for ordinary schools comprised the following:

ÆÆ Annual National Assessments (ANA) – Report on the Annual National Assessments of 2011, DBE (June 2011). The 2011 Grade 3 and 6 Verification Annual National Assessment report, HSRC (November 2011).

ÆÆ 14 456 primary schools, with 5 992 863 learners and 187 520 educators; ÆÆ 6 231 secondary schools, with 3 821 763 learners and 142 181 educators; and

ÆÆ ECD and special school sectors – 2010 Annual Surveys. ÆÆ Population figures – 2010 Statistics South Africa estimates published in July 2011.

In summary, there were 12 644 208 learners who attended 30 586 education institutions and were served by 439 394 educators.

149

11 810 224

Ordinary Independent Schools

449 875

ECD Centres

279 476

Special Schools:

104 633

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Male drop-out rates higher

system may be requested

Gender parity has been achieved in seven of the nine provinces, with the strongest deviation in the FET band, where there were more female learners than male learners in the school system. For a variety of reasons, female learners remain in the system longer than male learners.

the following members

Learner-educator ratio (LER)

Basic Education and the Directorate: Education

Director: EMIS

The average LSR for ordinary schools in South Africa was 474:1 in 2010, ranging from 357:1 in the Eastern Cape to 794:1 in Gauteng. In three provinces (Gauteng, Mpumalanga and the Western Cape), the ratio was higher than the national average.

Educator-school ratio (ESR) In 2010, the average ESR for ordinary schools in the country was 16.2:1, ranging from 12.0:1 in the Eastern Cape to 28.3:1 in Gauteng. This ratio has improved from 15.1:1 in 2007. In 2010, the highest proportion of learners in ordinary schools was located in the foundation phase (30.9%), while the FET band comprised only 20.1 percent of learners. The proportion of learners in the pre-grade R phase was very low (0.4%). By comparison, the percentage of learners in independent schools was the highest for pre-grade R (34.8%).

National Senior Certificate (NSC)

There was a decrease in the number of candidates that wrote both maths and science: 2009

2010

Maths

290 407

263 034

Science

220 882

205 364

System (EMIS):

Mr Siza Shongwe Department of Basic Education 222 Struben Street, Pretoria Postal Address: Private Bag X895, Pretoria, 0001 Tel.: 012 357 3676 Fax: 012 323 0380 Email: shongwe.s@dbe.gov.za General Enquiries Ms Lerato Masipa Secretary: EMIS Tel.: 012 357 3676 Email: masipa.l@dbe.gov.za Queries/Data Dissemination/Data Analysis/Publications Mr Johannes Malebye Assistant Director: EMIS Tel.: 012 357 4295 Email: malebye.j@dbe.gov.za Senior Certificate Examination Results

Maths: from 29.4 to 30.9 percent

Dr Rufus Poliah Chief Director: National Assessment and Public Examinations Tel.: 012 357 3900 Email: poliah.r@dbe.gov.za

Science: from 20.6 to 29.7 percent.

National Assessment

The percentage of candidates that achieved over 40 percent increased for both maths and science from 2009 to 2010:

Mr Qetelo Moloi Director: National Assessment Tel.: 012 357 3834 Email: moloi.q@dbe.gov.za

2,2% 0,8%

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

of the Department of

Learner-school ratio (LSR)

7.7 percent (approximately 502) of the 6 516 schools obtained 100 percent pass rates, which is higher than the 6.6 percent of 2009. The percentage of schools that scored a pass rate of 80 – 100 percent also increased from 24.7 percent (2009) to 32.9 percent in 2010.

3,6%

( preferably by email) from

Management Information

Number of learners

93,4%

sectors of the education

In 2010, the average LER for ordinary schools in the country was 29.3:1, ranging from 27.5:1 in the Free State to 30.5:1 in KwaZulu-Natal and the Northern Cape. This compares favourably to the 2007 ratio of 31.5:1.

A total of 537 543 learners wrote the National Senior Certificate (NSC) in 2010 and the pass rate was 67.8 percent, with more females writing the exam than males. However, the national pass rate for males was 69.3 percent, compared to the female pass rate of 66.5 percent.

NUMBER OF LEARNERS IN BASIC EDUCATION SYSTEM Ordinary Public Schools

Information on different

ÆÆ 5 163 combined and intermediate schools, with 2 445 473 learners and 88 408 educators.

12 644 208 learners and students enrolled in all sectors of the basic education system in 2010, 11 810 224 (93.4%) were in ordinary public schools and 449 875 (3.6%) were in ordinary independent schools. Of the learners in other institutions, 279 476 (2.2%) were in ECD centres and 104 633 (0.8%) were in special schools.

and students in the basic education system,

The gross enrolment rate for 2010 was 89 percent (92% for grade R-9 and 80% for grade 1012), which has declined from 91 percent, despite increasing enrolment in grade R.

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

150

STATISTICS IN SOUTH AFRICA 2010

Chapter 9 STATISTICS IN SOUTH AFRICA 2010

Gaining financial wisdom

omms 04.2012 T4048/Rmm

Chapter 9

PROVISIONAL REVIEWS Comparing number of learners, educators and schools in the ordinary school sector, by province, from 2007 to 2010 Province

Learners

Educators

Schools

2007

2008

2009

2010

2007

2008

2009

2010

2007

2008

2009

2010

Eastern Cape

2136713

2079994

2076400

2052386

66163

66536

69620

69018

5834

5825

5809

5742

Free State

680777

670588

651758

654704

23570

23383

23741

23850

1744

1675

1595

1488

Gauteng

1883538

1894027

1903838

1974066

63216

64307

66351

70340

2397

2405

2390

2485

KwaZulu-Natal

2848652

2771420

2827335

2806988

88042

86983

89377

91926

6057

5938

6091

6147

Mpumalanga

1054085

1051531

1035637

1036432

32276

33644

35221

34575

1973

1959

1934

1939

Northern Cape

265647

265866

267709

269392

8580

9019

9115

8846

613

617

North West

747248

779260

777285

759114

25701

26620

26697

26006

1780

1784

1768

1701

Western Cape

968327

962008

980694

1000616

31908

33378

34382

35354

1527

1550

1597

1625

South Africa

12401217

12239353

12227963

12260099

394225

400953

413067

418109

25065

25875

25906

25850

•

Between 2007 and 2010, learner numbers showed a net decrease of 1,1% (12 401 217 to 12 260 099), and educator numbers showed a net increase of 6,1% (394 225 to 418 109).

•

The number of schools decreased by 0,8% (26 065 to 25 850) in the same period.

The Old Mutual Foundation is committed to socioeconomic transformation in rural and peri-urban communities throughout South Africa. By creating opportunities to bring marginalised people into the mainstream economy, we invest in the future of our country and our company. However, research shows that poor financial planning habits are still at the root of poor money management, and that many South Africans do not know what they have to do to achieve financial security. It is for this reason that all socio-economic initiatives implemented by the Old Mutual Foundation are supported with financial literacy skills for our beneficiaries. In May 2007, Old Mutual launched a Financial Education unit, which aligns directly with the South African government and the Financial Sector Charter’s call for education initiatives to improve the economic prospects of ordinary South Africans. The programme is provided free of charge by trained education facilitators and non-sales people within Old Mutual, to deliver financial literacy programmes. The critical importance of this programme is further highlighted by the Credit Bureau Monitor (September 2010), statistics showing the credit standing of South African consumers:

Comparing the share of learners in ordinary independaent schools, and learners-educator ratio (LER), learnerschool ratio (LSR) and educator-school ratio (ESR) in the ordinary school sector, by province, from 2007 to 2010

■ ■ ■ ■

Independent

Public and Independent

18 350 000 credit-active consumers. 13.8% (2 500 000) consumers have judgments and administrative orders against them. 15.8% (2 800 000) consumers have adverse listings. 17% (3 100 000) consumers are in arrears of three months or more.

Province Learners in independent Schools as% of All Leaners

151

LER

LSR

ESR

2007

2008

2009

2010

2007

2008

2009

2010

2007

2008

2009

2010

2007

2008

2009

2010

Eastern Cape

1,7

2,0

2,1

2,4

32,3

31,3

29,8

29,7

366,0

357,0

11,3

11,4

12,0

Free State

2,1

2,2

2,4

28,9

28,7

27,5

390,0

400,0

109,0

440,0

13,5

14,0

14,9

16,0

Gauteng

9,1

9,4

9,6

9,9

29,8

29,5

28,7

28,1

786,0

788,0

797,0

794,0

26,4

26,7

27,8

28,3

KwaZulu-Natal

1,8

1,6

2,2

32,4

31,9

31,6

30,5

470,0

467,0

464,0

457,0

14,5

14,6

14,7

15,0

Limpopo

1,6

2,1

2,7

33,2

30,9

29,2

29,3

439,0

428,0

416,0

13,2

13,8

14,3

14,2

Mpumalanga

1,3

1,6

1,8

2,2

32,7

31,3

29,4

30,0

534,0

537,0

535,0

16,4

17,2

18,2

17,8

Northern Cape

1,1

1,0

1,1

31,0

29,5

29,4

30,5

433,0

431,0

434,0

437,0

14,0

14,6

14,8

14,3

North West

1,6

1,7

1,6

1,7

29,1

29,3

29,1

29,2

420,0

437,0

440,0

446,0

14,4

14,9

15,1

15,3

Western Cape

2,2

2,5

3,7

4,1

30,3

28,8

28,5

28,3

634,0

621,0

614,0

616,0

20,9

21,5

21,8

South Africa

2,8

3,0

3,2

3,7

31,5

30,5

29,6

29,3

476,0

473,0

472,0

474,0

15,1

15,5

15,9

16,2

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

The aim of Old Mutual’s Financial Education programme is to help the nation break the cycle of generational poverty and debt, by showing people how to use the financial resources at their disposal, to realise their goals and dreams. Old Mutual’s On The Money financial wellness programme helps participants to: ■ ■ ■ ■

Understand the importance of managing their personal finances. Acknowledge their current “money personality”. Understand the importance of changing their financial behaviour. Break old habits that get in the way of financial stability and establish new, healthy habits.

The key success of the On The Money programme is that participants realise that creating wealth is not determined by earning ability, but rather by sensible attitudes and habits around money.

Connect on www.ed.org.za and share your insights

The Old Mutual Foundation is committed not only to bringing about wealth-creating opportunities in order to alleviate poverty and improve quality of life; but also to ensuring that the socio-economic transformation brought about through our initiatives is maintained through financial health and wisdom.

For more information on how to attend or organise a free workshop, email financialeducation@oldmutual.co.za, or visit www.oldmutual.co.za/financialeducation.

EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

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Chapter 9

HOPE FOR BASIC EDUCATION IN SA THROUGH BETTER SHARING AND COLLABORATION

Chapter 9

HOPE FOR BASIC EDUCATION IN SA THROUGH BETTER SHARING AND COLLABORATION

HOPE FOR BASIC EDUCATION IN SA THROUGH BETTER SHARING AND COLLABORATION The recent South African Basic Education Conference (SABEC) held in Durban, brought teachers, principals, academics, NGOs and government delegates together for three days to discuss the state of education in South Africa. The purpose of SABEC was to provide a platform where academics and practitioners could share their experiences, stimulate debate, collaborate on solutions and identify best practices that will contribute to quality basic education for all.

Melinda Van Zyl Save the Children

Strengthening Our Schools in the Free State: Championing quality education through community and child participation

Background and objectives: Schools in rural areas that serve large numbers of vulnerable children face a mammoth task when attempting to improve education outcomes. This abstract draws on successes and effective practice from

challenges and provide constructive support. Ultimately, the project has as goal to make a contribution to improving the implementing environment for South African education policy.

Results: ÆÆ School communities arranged in clusters are super-effective, mutually supportive and empowered to advocate services from local government.

Each study:

ÆÆ Communities can own and drive school improvement and mobilise resources locally.

ÆÆ Showcases examples of additional school improvement initiatives.

the Strengthening Our

The importance of collaboration and sharing of resources and knowledge was emphasised throughout the conference proceedings and was tracked by SABEC as one of its key targeted outcomes. In the conference evaluation, 96% of delegates reported that SABEC helped them develop partnerships and 93% reported that they are likely to implement one or more of the innovations learned from SABEC in their work.

rural Free State to show

Conclusion: Sharing the approach

how South African children

The conference purpose - shared by the almost 700 delegates who attended - was that by working together we can and will improve the quality of basic education in South Africa.

mobilised to lead education

with other districts and communities is an important next step to improve daily education experiences for more children.

Schools programme in the

reform from the ground up.

01. Improved classroom teaching, environments that are 02. School caring and conducive to learning and active participation, and school manage03. Improved ment and governance. The district DBE is strengthened to sustainably understand the schools’

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

ÆÆ Sketches the context of each school as a backdrop to its achievements.

ÆÆ Highlights examples of improved learner results.

Results:

Scalability: The project model is very ac-

Improvements achieved by the project schools within two years are explained. These include:

cessible, and approaches or the entire model could easily be widely replicated.

ÆÆ Self-esteem and self-confidence

Method: In 2010, Save the Children facilitated a participatory planning project in ten impoverished school communities in the rural Free State to encourage children, teachers, parents and school management to identify the factors obstructing education quality in their schools. Since then, school communities have been implementing a joint plan of action, innovatively engaging a diverse group of local state and non-state actors in a collective drive to drastically improve education outcomes for every child. School communities identify strategies to address three objectives on an ongoing basis:

features of the School Support Model, which aims to support District Officials to enable schools to meaningfully implement curriculum and related policies. The body of the workshop features case studies that illustrate how significantly under-performing schools can improve within just two years, if they receive regular attention that balances support and accountability.

ÆÆ When children are involved in planning school improvement, plans become attuned to children’s learning needs and responsible parties are held accountable.

The number and quality of submissions made to present at the conference (350) highlighted the phenomenal initiatives underway in education, achieving significant positive impact.

and communities can be

Method: The introduction reviews key

ÆÆ Individual and group agency

David Langhan Maskew Miller Longman Foundation Success stories from disadvantaged, under-resourced and under-performing schools: Case studies that demonstrate the need for District Officials to enable schools to fulfil policy requirements before monitoring for compliance

ÆÆ School leadership, management and administration ÆÆ Curriculum management ÆÆ Use of teaching and learning resources ÆÆ Teaching methods ÆÆ Learner participation ÆÆ Learner results

Background and objectives: This workshop focuses on good news stories about improvements that underperforming schools have achieved in response to a School Support Model that emphasises enabling support over compliance monitoring.

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Conclusions: The conclusion provides concrete recommends about how to enable District Officials to support other disadvantaged schools to achieve similar improvements. Scalability: The only cost involved in taking this project to scale will be the costs associated with developing the capacity of the officials. All other aspects of the project fall within the parameters of existing provincial and school budgets.

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Chapter 9

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Chapter 9

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9 continued from page 154

Gail Campbell

Conclusions: The SDP provides an in-

Zenex Foundation

novative model for providing comprehensive support to school communities in gateway subjects, which is showing initial indications of success. The preliminary results of the extensive evaluation programme will also be discussed in the paper.

The Zenex Foundation’s School Development Programme – piloting innovative approaches to improving education quality

Background: In 2006 the Zenex Foundation initiated its first comprehensive School Development Programme (SDP) with a group of 47 primary and secondary schools in four provinces. The project, implemented in collaboration with district officials and external service providers, sought to provide schools (managers, teachers and learners) with integrated support that would raise the quality of mathematics, science and language teaching from Foundation Phase through to the end of the FET Phase.

Methods: The SDP was implemented in clusters of primary and secondary schools with established feeder patterns, creating the potential to improve learners’ educational experiences from Grade R to 12. In 2010 the project was redesigned and logic models used to identify clear links between inputs and desired results. Support was offered to all teachers teaching key subjects, using workshop-based training, coaching and mentorship.

Results: The process of implementing the programme has provided a number of useful insights into the process of promoting effective change in schools. The paper will consider the role of external funders in promoting educational change, as well lessons learnt in the implementation of the programme (including rationale for and success of the narrower programme focus, implementation models and school selection processes). Early evaluation results are showing that the programme has resulted in a positive change in teaching and managerial practices.

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012

Scalability: The SDP has been implemented as a pilot project. The issue of replication is explored in relation to the capacity required by districts to adopt similar approaches to school support.

Annamarie Mostert Culture of Learning Association Increased learner performance in academic literacy through assessment

Background and objectives: The objective of this practice-based paper is to describe the results of a professional development project that uses graded assessment activities to increase Grades 1 to 6 learners’ performance in academic literacy. This project aligns internal assessments with provincial, national and international external assessments in the Foundations for Learning Programme.

Methods: A baseline survey conducted in 2010 in Free State primary schools indicated that teachers needed support in formulating, analysing and using their assessment activities to increase their learners’ performance in internal and external assessments. Three modules were developed and piloted in collaboration with provincial and district officials in response to these needs. ÆÆ The first module links developing learners’ higher order thinking skills and their academic literacy through an understanding of Bloom’s taxonomy.

ÆÆ The second provides examples of international assessment frameworks and creates guidance and opportunities to apply Bloom’s taxonomy to their own assessments.

ÆÆ focus on either leadership or management and sometimes both;

ÆÆ The third focuses on error analysis, intervention strategies and developing an academic improvement plan.

ÆÆ assigning a mentor versus a coach to work with the school leaders;

ÆÆ creating networks of school leaders versus working with communities;

ÆÆ assigning a business partner versus former school leaders as mentors; In 2011 teachers in 100 schools participated in three hands-on workshops and in four follow-up support visits. They also action researched project impact.

Results: Teachers’ action research show increased learner performance as evidenced in a case study to be presented. The facilitators’ guides and modules will be made available to all Free State primary schools in 2012 by the department. Fifty teachers will participate in a North-West University accredited course in 2012.

Conclusions: The project has added value as it forms part of the Free State response ANA results. It is supporting teachers, HODs, subject advisors and provincial officials to align internal and external assessments. Scalability: The clear project content on using assessment to improve learner performance in academic literacy could be replicated in all provinces.

Marietjie Vosloo Sasol Inzalo Foundation A Longitudinal Research Study of Educational Leadership Development Programs in South Africa Based on the conviction that school functionality depends on the leader, various school leadership development programmes have been designed by the Department of Education, University Business Schools, Private Sector and NGOs.

The focus, aims and indicators of success of these programmes vary substantially: ÆÆ which school leaders participate;

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

ÆÆ working with district support versus assigning own regional managers; ÆÆ focusing on management of the infrastructure versus influencing learning positively, and many more variables.

Ten (10) programmes have partnered to design a 5 year longitudinal study into the long term functionality of the schools that have participated in the programmes. This paper presents the distinguishing features and indicators of success of the different programmes. The second part of the paper looks at the research design of the longitudinal study and its aim to understand the real challenges that school leaders, irrespective of the leadership development programme, face in their everyday activities, probing how the development programme has equipped and prepared them to face such challenges. A suite of school functionality instruments have been designed for the project, combining both qualitative and quantitative, narrative and objectively verifiable data. A brief overview of the methodology and the learning clinic approach, where joint sense-making by all the participating programmes is facilitated, is given and initial lessons are highlighted.

Martin Prew Centre For Education Policy Development The Soshanguve school and district development story This is the story of a very dysfunctional township education environment in a Gauteng education district which moved from last in the Gauteng Matric rankings in 1997 to first by 2000 and has remains in the top

three today due to a successful department/ service provider intervention. The project used an organisational development approach through the district office so it could respond effectively to school development plans, plan engagement with schools based on the capacity of the district, support teachers in their classroom based on need and mobilise the community around each school. The project developed organically as needs and challenges arose that needed solving and as the commitment and excitement in the district grew. This paper examines this intervention and tries to elucidate how and why this project improved schools across a whole district in a way that is unique, has been sustained and can be replicated. It explores the conclusions that the key elements that made this intervention so effective are the involvement of the district as the key partner, an OD support approach in the district, restructuring of the district to focus on servicing schools (and not province), involving communities in schools through community based income generation (generating 1000 new income generating opportunities across 96 schools and R500,000 per year extra school income) and not pedagogical related activities, and working with SADTU shop-stewards as project leaders in schools. The results were improved results, increased enrolment (as learners came back from urban schools), reduced teacher/ learner absenteeism, almost complete end of violence and vandalism and schools being opened to their communities. The innovations were sustained because of the holistic multi-level approach; targeted training; supportive district engagement with school management and class-teachers; political, community and district commitment; SADTU involvement; and most important pride and success – success bred success.

Agatha Lebethe Mathematics Education Primary Programme

Background and Objectives: The aim of this paper is to give voice to the experiences of first time teacher teaching Intermediate Phase Mathematics and their mentors. The first time teachers are participants (as mentees) in the Joint Mentorship Project. The programme was developed jointly by PSP and MEPP and offer support as mentors in Science and Mathematics.

Methods: The research methodology used was developed jointly with UWC. The model is an action research model involving several cycles over a period of two years. The following data was collected: questionnaires to principals, questionnaires to mentees, mentors’ narratives, and notes from focus group reflective sessions and log sheets for each classroom visit.

Results: Preliminary results have shown that the mentees are not teaching the Learning Areas that they have majored in and as a result do not feel competent or confident to teach Mathematics.

Conclusion: In this paper the mentees will articulate their key challenges in the mathematics classroom and influences and contexts from outside the mathematics classroom that affect their teaching. The narratives will contain; communicating about the pedagogy of mathematics, assessment practices, resourcing, discipline, management and organisation and above all teacher development. The conversations between mentor and mentee are often also about expectations, assumptions, learner perceptions, purpose and timing of mathematical activities, order and progression of the content.

Teaching Mathematics for the first time - the experiences of First Time Teachers

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9 continued from page 156

Kaizer Makole South African Democratic Teachers Union The Perceptions of South Democratic Teachers Union Members on Teacher Professional Development Challenges and the Need for Training Intervention in South Africa The question of teacher professional development has recently become a priority for government, teacher unions and other educational organisations in a quest to improve their education system. The South African educational system has undergone dramatic changes in the past decade, thereby impacting heavily on the roles and work of teachers in the classroom. Based on Shulman’s theoretical framework, teachers need to master two types of knowledge: learning, also known as “deep” a) Content knowledge of the subject itself, and

Knowledge of the curricula development.

The South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) is currently conducting teacher training needs analysis which aim to inform teacher professional development strategies for its members in four provinces of South Africa as a pilot research project. The aim of the research project is to identify teacher professional development challenges in rural and poor areas based on their contextual factors. The first phase of the research project has been completed in Mpumalanga province. 95 teachers and 18 principals in 20 schools, both primary and secondary, were interviewed through focused group discussions and openended interviews to solicit views and/or perceptions on teacher professional development challenges and to advise the union of what constitute effective intervention strategies based on their critical reflection. The pilot research project discovered interesting factors that need to be considered when teacher professional development training strategies are developed. Some of the teacher professional development challenges that are being experienced by teach-

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ers in Mpumalanga province that should be addressed in the envisage professional development strategies by SADTU Teacher Professional Development Institute are language challenges, content learning, classroom management, learner support and discipline at impoverished schools, training on the development of lesson plan, better teaching methodologies, and team building and leadership skills for both teachers and school management teams.

Nompumelelo Fidelis Dube

700-1190 during Winter School Revision to 2933 during Exam Revision. From June 2011 Mxit followers increased up to 2000 and currently 4000 Peptxt groups exist. LearnXra twitter currently has 212 followers and is following 350. The responses to our IMM are rapidly growing and Learn Xtra has introduced a FAQ to structure the process and ensure queries are logged and responded to. Since the use of interactive multi-media Mindset Learn website has significantly increased in its page views.

Mindset Network

Nicholas Diana

Interactive Multi-Media (IMM) – a learning tool: A review of the Mindset Network’s Revision School a preparation for Matric examination 2011

The Ridge School

In 2010 Mindset Learn launched an innovative support programme for Grade 12 learners called Learn Xtra; to promote the use of various ICT platforms for education, including broadcast television, social media and print. The revision programme aims to support learners in obtaining better results in their preliminary and final examinations by providing quality learning opportunities in a way that compliments their school-based instruction. In turn the programme seeks to promote Mindset Schooling and its products to learners, teachers, schools, Provincial departments and the general public. 622,026 Matriculants nationally are enrolled for writing their final examination for the year 2011. 42% is made up of the following subjects; Accounting 140,940, English 424,360, Geography 203,786, Life Science 270,528, Mathematic Literacy 281,348, Mathematics 229,706 and Physical Science 184,108.

The need to develop future-minded learners who have the capacity to think independently and interdependently has come to the forefront of the educational debate in South Africa. We wanted to reassess our current curriculum and place the notion of a “Thinking Curriculum” at the centre of our planning. We drew on a number of different pedagogies including the International Baccalaureate PYP and the work of Bloom, Hyerle and Costa.

Mindset has brought the social media and educational broadcasts worlds together, using ICT through integrated marketing. The use of interactive multimedia, redirects learners to the Lean Xtra website with references made to the exam question papers and memorandum. The responses are filtered and analysed using Google analytics. There was a significant increase from 87, 166 to 102,621 Learn Xtra website viewers from the 26th September to the 27th of October 2011. The numbers attribute to the Mindsets Learn Xtra ICT mediums. Learn Xtra Facebook page grew from

Developing a ‘Thinking Curriculum’ in Middle Primary

In Grade 5, we created a interdisciplinary unit of inquiry about Superhero’s which explored the concepts of narrative construction, characterization, role models and masculine identity. Our planning involved three discrete sections: the use of ICT’s (using iPod’s, MacBooks and ComicLife software), the use of Thinking Skills/Tools (Habits of Mind and Dr Hyerle’s Thinking Maps) and the use of an inquiry planning framework, inspired by the IB PYP. Learners were challenged to define a fictional role model using Costa’s Habits of Mind using Thinking Maps as a template for guiding their thinking to create a hero for their own comic book. After planning comics using a number of frameworks including Story Graphs, they worked interdependently to capture, frame by frame, their comic strip using iPods. Captured media was transferred to MacBooks and edited using ComicLife. We planned an exhibition evening where the boys were able to publish, share and sell their comic to support a charity.

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

Boys too demonstrated a more independent and self-moderated style of learning which challenged their thinking and allowed them to “go deeper”. The unit help to develop an understanding of the imperative of positive role models in their lives and challenged them to consider what it was they defined as “positive”. A “thinking curriculum” leads children to deeper levels of understanding and fosters independent learners. The implementation of Thinking Tools/Skills is eminently replicable in any curriculum planning/framework.

Brad Brockman Equal Education Community Organising for Quality Education

Background: This paper documents Equal Education’s (EE) approach to community organising and its experiences over the past four years of doing this work.

Methods: Started in 2008, EE is a community and membership-based organisation which organises the people most affected by the education crisis - learners, parents and teachers - to advocate for better schools and greater equality in the education system. The basis of EE’s organising work is a political education programme, which the organisation runs for learners and parents. The programme builds an understanding of the education system, politics, law, human rights and activism. EE uses non-violent civic action including mass mobilisation, lobbying and litigation. The movement makes policy submissions to Parliament and the Department of Basic Education, produces fact sheets on the education crisis, as well as leaflets, petitions and reports related to specific issues and campaigns. It also maintains a public profile through its engagement with journalists and a broad network of public media.

Results/Conclusions: EE understands that inequality in the education system is structural and is linked to broader social and economic inequality, and that these inequalities can only be overcome by educating communities and building their power to advocate for equality and social justice.

Hamsa Venkat Wits School Of Education Research-based professional development in mathematics across the Numeracy/Mathematics Chairs @ Wits

Background and objectives: In this presentation, we make a case for researchbased professional development based on experiences drawn from the Numeracy and Mathematics Chair research and development projects at Wits University.

ÆÆ Practical tools encompass the kinds of practices, strategies, and relationships that teachers can enact in classrooms as they strive to accommodate the needs of students and challenge them with intellectually rigorous content.’

We share examples of our development of practical tools for classroom use linked to conceptual tools derived from the literature. In particular, we focus on early number sense development in Foundation Phase, and developing algebraic competence in the Senior Phase. Each of us shares details of the professional development models we have used. We conclude by discussing the common elements across our professional development models and what we feel they are leveraging in terms of early number and algebra teaching.

Jerome Joorst University Of Stellenbosch In search of educational success: a qualitative analysis of selected students’ educational navigations in an impoverished rural school location

Description of projects: Both projects are focused on developing numeracy/ mathematics teaching and learning in ten schools – primary schools in the Numeracy Chair project and secondary schools in the Mathematics Chair project. Across both projects, professional development activities are deliberately planned from an explicitly theorized research base linked to empirical findings within project schools.

Results / lessons learned / scalability: Our work is underpinned by Grossman et al’s (1999) call for the centrality of practice, featuring both ‘conceptual and practical tools’.

Grossman et al (2008) describe the differences between these tools as follows: ÆÆ Conceptual tools facilitate teachers’ framing and interpretations of practice, but they do not offer specific solutions for negotiating the dilemmas that arise in interactions with students.

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Abstract: In the post apartheid South African educational environment, the annual matric results are generally regarded as a key barometer of the quality of education in schools. The overall view, although decontextualised, is that rural schools in working class communities, with poor infrastructure are generally dysfunctional and produce poor results . What is less known and less celebrated is the good achievements of some learners from these rurally – based school environments.

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The largest annual educational gathering in Africa

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The study explores selected high school learners’ navigation of home, community and school environments in their quest for educational aspirations. I assert that global influences, changing home, community and school environments have particular influences on learners’ educational aspirations as well as their socialization and schooling practices. For this purpose I utilise the theoretical lenses of field, capital and habitus to argue that youth in this study are not passive recipients in the midst of global influences and changing environments, but active agents in the shaping of local realities. Based on ethnographic work, the paper explores the multiple locations, sources and educational materials that these youth employ to help them with successful navigation of their educational aspirations, especially their success in the national senior certificate exams. The study is motivated by the position that qualitative research can offer a view of the intersections of fast changing macro-community processes and their micro-lived dimensionalities, thus throwing the spotlight on how students succeed educationally in deprived circumstances

Nokukhanya Ngcobo

shows that ‘optimal first language education provides a rich cognitive preparation for the acquisition of a second language and that the literacy skills already acquired in the first language provide easy transition to the second language medium education’. This paper has an advocacy stance in that it wants to argue for the implementation of Mother-Tongue Based Bilingual Education (MTBBE) in South Africa, especially at the formative years of schooling. It draws from a number of successful projects of MTBBE in some African countries. What is of prime importance is that most of these countries are not economically stable and strong as South Africa and yet they have been able to provide sound education systems for their populace, at times even better than South Africa. The paper is two-pronged, first it advocates for African learners to use their mothertongue as a medium of instruction from grade R to grade 6 and do English as a subject. Secondly, it also calls for non mothertongue speakers of African languages to study an African language as a subject from as early as grade 1.

Logamurthie Athiemoolam

University Of KwaZulu-Natal

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

Successful literacy development in African countries: Lessons for South Africa

Empowering rural teachers to conduct action research in their classes

Kembo (2000, pg 286) argues that ‘if the people of Africa want to give themselves a realistic opportunity to develop to their full potential educationally, economically, and politically, and to contribute to the resolution of their many problems, the issue of language in education must be addressed”. This statement urges one to recognize the role of the language in education and the importance of choosing the right one which will benefit the citizens. For Africa this means that the issue of African languages as languages in education should be taken seriously. Literature has revealed that the cognitive, affective, and social development of young people, can only take place effectively through a language that is well known. Cummins (1984)

Co-located with:

teachers, representing all school phases, were required to register for one of the modules namely action research (P323) in their second year. The module exposed the teachers to the processes involved in conducting action research in their classes and how to write up their research findings. They were required to conduct an action research project in any of their classes and to present their findings to their peers at a mock conference.

Results: The teachers felt empowered by conducting action research in their classes as it enabled them to reflect on their own teaching thereby motivating them to bring about meaningful change.

Conclusions: The conclusion drawn from this project, based on a module, is that action research could lead to the development of the practitioner’s reflective skills. The positive findings suggest that the promotion of action research over a wider spectrum of schools could lead to positive outcomes in teaching and learning thereby contributing to the development of a more engaged, goal directed and reflective teacher.

African Education Week is a fundamental contribution to education and development on the continent, the status of the summit is confirmed by the level of representation present, ranging from our own teachers and academics, to accomplished scholars and policy-makers from the African continent. This event, on the African continent, shows Africa’s commitment to finding African solutions for Africa’s and we are grateful to the organisers for bringing us here to interrogate these issues of quality necessary for building a better Africa Honourable Angie Motshekga, Minister of Basic Education, South Africa

In 2013, African Education Week will take its place on the annual educational calendar from 24 – 26 June 2013, Johannesburg, South Africa, bringing together all education stakeholders not only from South Africa but will be calling all African educational stakeholders, vendors, departments to participate and help transform the education status in Africa.

Scalability: The module could be repli-

Nearly 70% of all South Africans are under the age of 35

cated as part of a short learning programme that could be offered to in-service teachers to empower them with skills to conduct action research in their classes.

You will experience

About three million young South Africans aged between 18 and 24 are neither employed nor involved in education or training

• Training workshops, government and private sector debates, case studies • New technologies and solutions providers for education challenges • Hands on demos and technology insights • International experiences and funding • Industry experts opinions and assistance • SETAS assistance • Learners feedback

Background and objectives: The abstract provides an outline of the processes involved in empowering rural teachers to conduct action research in their classes and the outcome of their exposure to action research.

South Africa’s schooling system faces serious challenges including unacceptably low numeracy and literacy levels, inadequately trained teachers, poor management, and a lack of basic resources in poor schools. African Education Week masterminds the collaboration of public and private sector resources in order to build a level of education that not only helps bridge the skills gap but that uplifts the education climate to reduce unemployment. Join us in pursuing the goals to a better future for all Education matters be part of it - all under one roof, in one city, with one goal

Method: The ACE-LLT programme of study was presented to a group of 28 teachers in Qumbu and 20 teachers in Bizana as part of the NMMU’s off-campus Faculty of Education’s programmes. The in-service

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Chapter 7 ADVERTORIAL / CASE STUDY

REFERENCES

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Allais, S., Lolwana, P. & Marock, C. 2011. Further Education and Skills Development. A report prepared for the National Planning Commission.

ASSAF. 2011. The state of the Humanities in South Africa: Status, prospects and strategies. Pretoria: Academy of Science of South Africa.

Badsha, N. & Cloete, N. 2011. Higher Education: Contribution for the National Planning Commission’s National Development Plan.

Biersteker, L. & Motala, S. 2011. National Development Plan. [Online] Available: http://www.npconline.co.za/medialib/downloads/home/ NPC%20National%20Development%20Plan%20Vision%202030%20-lo-res.pdf.

Bill of Rights. 1996. Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 108, 7-39. [Online] Available: http://www.info.gov.za/documents/ constitution/1996/a108-96.pdf.

Clarke, A. 2010. Best school? It’s the teachers who count. [Online] Available: http://mg.co.za/article/2010-09-10-best-school-its-the-teacherswho-count.

Department of Basic Education. 2011. [Online] Available: http://www.info.gov.za/speech/-DynamicAction?pageid=461&sid=19525&tid=36106.

Department of Higher Education and Training. 2012. Green Paper for post-school education and training, January.

Department of Higher Education and Training. 2011. Green Paper for post-school education and training. Republic of South Africa.

10. Gernetzky, K. 2012. Green paper targets six-fold enrolment rise at underutilised colleges. Business Day, 13 January. [Online] Available: http://www. businessday.co.za/articles/content. 11. Govender, K. 2012. Government Communication and Information System. BuaNews, 19 February. [Online] Available: http://www.buanews.gov.za/ news/12/12021912251001. 12. Government Communication and Information System. 2012. Big spend on communication. BuaNews, 22 February. [Online] Available: http:// www.buanews.gov.za/news/12/-12022214151001. 13. Lang, A. Insight kindly provided.

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EDUCATION HANDBOOK 2012 LIST OF REFERENCES

14. Maluleke, M. 2011. Statement issued by SADTU General Secretary, 13 November. 15. Motshekga, A. 2011. Highlights from a statement on the release of the Annual National Assessments Results for 2011 by the Minister of Basic Education, Union Buildings, 28 June.

You must be able to study at the University of Cape Town or Stellenbosch.

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16. News24. 2012. Children on social grants up 13-fold. [Online] Available: http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Children-on-social-grantsup-13-fold-20120118. 17. Republic of South Africa. 2006. Children’s Act no. 38 of 2005. Government Gazette, 492(28944), 261-279. 18. Taylor, N. 2011. A five year plan for South African schooling. A report commissioned by the National Planning Commission, 15 October.

021 509 4861 | om28064@oldmutual.com 011 217 1707 | sncube@oldmutual.com

19. Taylor, S. 2011. Uncovering indicators of effective school management in South Africa using the National School Effectiveness Study. Stellenbosch Economic Working Papers No. 10/11.

www.oldmutual.co.za/careers

20. Van der Berg, S., Taylor, S., Gustafsson, M., Spaull, N. & Armstrong, P. 2011a. National Development Plan. National Planning Commission. 21. Van der Berg, S., Taylor, S., Gustafsson, M., Spaull, N. & Armstrong, P. 2011b. Improving quality education in South Africa. A report prepared for the National Planning Commission. 22. World Economic Forum & Thompson Reuters. 2010. Web of Science.

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NGO PROFILES AND PROJECTS

Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work together as ONE to achieve quality education

Connect with the education leaders on www.ED.org.za or contact Argo on +27 (0)21 865 2813 or info@argo.org.za to be part of the Education Roundtables.

Chapter 10 NGO PROFILES & PROJECTS

African Scholars Fund

Bulungula Incubator, Eastern Cape

The future of our countr y lies with its youth. We want to give our youth hope, we want to equip them with skills for life and to help them become responsible citizens of this wonderful countr y.

The Bulungula Incubator is a non-profit organization established in 2007 in Nqileni Village on the Wild Coast of the Eastern Cape. The organization works with communities in the six villages that make up the Xhora Mouth Administrative Area – with a population of around 10,000 people.This is one of the most remote areas in one of the poorest districts in South Africa. The aim of the organization is to be a catalyst for the creation of vibrant and sustainable rural communities.

Mission Statement

ÆÆ We pay awards via the school, awards are made on the basis of mid-year and December reports. Learners sign for and collect their awards from the principal or designated bursary representative at the school.

The African Scholars’ Fund, through awards and guidance, assists promising young schoolchildren from desperately poor homes to complete their secondary or FET college education.

Purpose The ASF prepares scholars for adulthood by ensuring that they are able to complete their education at high school. Though independent of the State, the ASF supports learners in the State education system. Our areas of operation are the Western, Eastern and Northern Cape and parts of the North West from where we select those who are academically capable, but very poor. The core mandate of the ASF will always be that of ensuring that children from under resourced homes, who show academic promise, are given an opportunity to complete their secondary schooling and be assisted when they move on to the FET level. We encourage, care for and award our learners a little money (min R700 – max R1500p/yr) that goes towards the school fund, for uniforms, transport and other necessities. Individual letters are written, giving as much counsel as we can. Advice booklets are made available specifically to our grade 9 and 12 learners summarizing vital information and offering these learners guidance that leads to more informed decisions being taken during these critical school years – this is supported by workshops. FET skill-training is one of our top priorities and these bursaries are being managed by our fund as an entity distinct from the school bursary work. Student support workbooks, supported by 2 x 3hr workshops are presented to our students at FET colleges (specifically in the Eastern & Northern Cape).

ÆÆ We follow up school progress and current problems, Special direction is given to learners in Grades 9 & 12 regarding their future plans. ÆÆ We link donors to recipients - we have an efficient sponsor system where detailed feedback is given on the learners sponsored by each donor. To date the ASF has given awards to well over 40 000 learners at high school and just over 1600 students at FET level. For more information contact Eliza James on 021 689 9094 or email her on office@asf.org.za.

Our whole intention is focused on the learners, for their care and their benefit: ÆÆ We identify learners, through schools and social workers, from Grade 7 to 12 who are poor. Reports are checked for academic progress and social workers check the home background where it is found that many of these children are reliant on a grandparent’s pension or some or other child support grant. In fact, we do not have anyone with a total monthly household income exceeding R5000. A large number of our recipients find themselves in childheaded homes (no parents).

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How does the Bulungula Incubator make a difference in education? The Bulungula Incubator has a strong emerging education focus - to facilitate access to quality education and improved life opportunities for rural children. Activities to date have focused on two key areas: rehabilitation of the local government 01. The school. The rehabilitation of the local government school began with the building of emergency classrooms, after the original structure collapsed in a storm. In partnership with the community, we have successfully constructed two classrooms and nearing the completion of a third (a large school hall). The Bulungu Incubator also runs a food garden and feeding programme at the school that feed 200 learners each day.

makes it difficult to establish a strong school governing body and suitably qualified staff. The greatest obstacle to the successful rehabilitation of the local primary school has been the absence of an effective principal at the school. The school has been without a principal for most of the past 5 years.

How can these challenges be overcome? In partnership with traditional leaders in the area, the organisation has adopted a strong advocacy role, to try to address issues of poor road access, water and health care services. The Bulungula Incubator is also in the process of piloting several exciting micro-enterprise initiatives to create employment opportunities and reduce migration of residents and educators to other areas. Urgent measures are needed improve the Department of Education’s processes for the appointment of school principals, especially in crisis schools.

establishment of an Early Learning Centre 02. The in the area. The need for an Early Learning Centre became evident through our work with learners, educators and parents at the primary school. Very few villagers have completed schooling and as a result, it was difficult to motivate community members to demand quality education for their children. The Early Learning Centre (ELC) will provide this remote rural community with a dynamic preschool, a school mentorship programme and an after-school tutoring programme.

What are the challenges currently faced by the Bulungula Incubator? There are numerous practical challenges associated with working in remote rural communities without access to a road, potable water, electricity or basic health care. The area is characterised by high rates of illiteracy and migration of residents to cities to seek employment

Telephone: 021 689-9094 / Email: office@asf.org.za / Website: www.asf.org.za

Telephone: 047 577 8908 / Email: rejane@bulungulaincubator.org / Website: www.bulungulaincubator.org

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Chapter 10 NGO PROFILES & PROJECTS

Hantam Community Education Trust

Childline

Childline is an NGO with offices in each province and a national office which even provides web-based counselling. Their services include a toll-free crisis telephone counselling line; child abuse prevention and education programs in schools, communities, and other contexts; training of volunteers to assist Childline with their ser vice provision; networking and coordination of services with par tner NGOs and government bodies to children; and advocacy on children’s rights.

In addition, some of the provincial offices provide additional services that vary from other provincial offices due to resource availability.

These services include: ÆÆ Treatment services to abused children and their families ÆÆ Court preparation services

that such a child may appear to be day dreaming, marks and general performance may deteriorate. However attending school is an important and normalising activity and children who have experienced trauma recover more quickly when their daily routines are re-instated and they are treated normally – the usual rules should apply – both to behaviour and the educator’s expectations.

ÆÆ Safe emergency care for children in need of immediate removal

Helpful responses

ÆÆ Offender rehabilitation

ÆÆ Accept that you are not the child’s therapist.

Definition of child abuse

ÆÆ Shouting at the child, calling attention to their behaviour in front of peers, and a punitive approach will increase the child’s inability to cope.

‘ABUSE’ in relation to a child, is defined as “any form of harm or ill-treatment deliberately inflicted on a child, and includes ÆÆ Assaulting a child or inflicting any other form of deliberate injury to a child;

ÆÆ It is helpful to be accepting of a drop in performance. ÆÆ If necessary and if you have the time, offer some extra tuition where the child has not grasped something or link them to a fellow learner who might be willing to help with the gap in learning.

ÆÆ Sexually abusing a child or allowing a child to be sexually abused; ÆÆ Bullying by another child; ÆÆ A labour practice that exploits (takes advantage) of a child; or ÆÆ Exposing or subjecting a child to behaviour that may harm the child psychologically or emotionally. The term child abuse therefore includes not only the physical non-accidental injury of children, but also emotional abuse, sexual abuse and neglect.

Managing a child who has experienced abuse or trauma in a classroom environment Educators must be clear about their role in the classroom environment – which is that of providing and supporting opportunities for learning. Children who have experienced abuse and trauma may find learning and concentration overwhelmingly difficult. It is likely

Support for teachers, tips when they have to deal with traumatic situations in class ÆÆ Firstly get support for yourself as the “leader” in the classroom. Traumatic “contagion” is common and where the educator is not coping, the learners will find it more difficult to cope. ÆÆ Allow for talking – let children talk about the traumatic experience even if this is initially repetitive. ÆÆ Ensure that children do not accept unnecessary responsibility for what has happened – for example if a child is stabbed in a classroom, some children might feel guilty that they were too scared to intervene and try and protect the victim. ÆÆ Bring in an independent trauma debriefer – e.g. from Childline or Lifeline who will assist in the trauma debriefing.

ÆÆ Try and normalise your classroom a.s.a.p. – even if you and the children find it difficult to concentrate – which they will – accept this as normal. Also allow for periodic re-visits of what happened. ÆÆ Some children may have anxieties re-entering the classroom – or even the school. This may require the intervention of a therapist/ trauma debriefer. Refrain from telling the child that they are being “silly”! Also consult with the children – are there small changes you could initiate in the classroom that would make children feel safer – e.g. re-arranging desks, seating arrangements etc. ÆÆ Accept that recovery takes time and this will differ for each educator and child. Research informs us that children are more likely to report abuse to an educator than a parent – for a variety of reasons. An educator should not assume that the parent/child relationship is poor if the child does not report first to a parent or is reluctant to have the educator report to the parent. The response to the first disclosure is critically important for the child, and should be supportive and empathic and without over reaction. For example labelling the father who is an abuser as bad may well be confusing to a child who may have a very loving relationship with that person in other aspects of their life. If a teacher is the first person to whom a child discloses sexual abuse it is essential that the teacher note down the content of the disclosure and the child’s demeanour and appearance/manner during the disclosure as this information could be required for legal purposes later. The teacher’s first responsibility is to ensure the immediate safety of the child and ensure that appropriate referrals are made for this purpose.

The Hantam Community Education Tust (HCET) was established in 1989 to respond to the needs of farm communities in the Hantam district of Colesberg. The Trust has developed into a holistic rural development project. The activities of the Trust encompass six main components: a school (from Pre-school and Grade R to Grade 9), teacher development programme, skills training programme (for youth and adults), bursary programme and a primary health clinic and pharmacy. The Trust services 22 farms in a radius of 50 Km, providing quality education, training, development and health care services.

How does the Hantam Community Education Trust make a difference in education? The Hantam Comunity Education Trust has been providing an excellent learning environment for rural children in the Hantam area for the past 20 years. We offer teacher training and monitor the Trust teachers on an ongoing basis to ensure that both quality teaching and learning takes place. We also implement effective interventions such as the basic concept programme (four year pilot programme in foundation phase education) and the picturing writing programme in the intermediate phase of education.

What are the challenges the Hantam Community Education Trust is currently facing? The greatest challenge facing the Hantam Community Education Trust is pervasive language difficulties experienced by learners at the HCET School. The school was concerned that learners were not able to cope with English as the language of instruction from Grade 4 onwards. The home language of a majority of learners at the school was Xhosa and Afrikaans, while a minority of learners spoke English at home. The pupils are not exposed to any English outside of the classroom in the Colesberg area.

How can these challenges to overcome? The project was premised on the belief that language prerequisites are essential for learning. Learning of language (with an emphasis on the conceptual language required for formal learning) was emphasized during the project and was simultaneously linked with the learning areas at the school. The progress of learners is therefore attributed not only to structured and effective teaching-learning interventions, but also to the systematic development of the language of these learners. Language is regarded as the central mechanism used to direct the teaching-learning process, where words are used to develop meaning and consequently provide a stimulus for the advancement of thinking and learning.

Why is the Hantam Community Education Trust so successful? The beneficiaries of the Trust are mainly farm workers and their children. Prior to the establishment of the Trust, the community had no access to schooling, training, youth development, primary health care and study bursaries. The Hantam Community Education Trust breaks the language barrier and brings education to rural communities. The Trust not only provides programmes but training and support to both teachers and learners from all ages.

Telephone: 031 563 5718 / Email: dumisile@childlinesa.org.za / Website: www.childlinesa.org.za

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Inclusive Education Western Cape

JET Education Services

Inclusive Education Western Cape is an alliance of organisations and individuals who are committed to promoting and suppor ting positive models of inclusive education in schools, preschools and other centres of learning in the Western Cape Province.

JET Education Ser vices is an NGO with over 15 years of experience in the field of education. It has had exposure first as a grant-making institution and in later years as a research and development institution in the field of education.

It has been active since 1995. Our vision is of a fully inclusive society; a society which recognises diversity and the right of all people to have equal opportunities to participate to their fullest potential, regardless of disability or difficulty.

programmes dedicated specifically to disability and which do not embrace the paradigm shift of inclusivity. Although we have been able to access schools freely we do find it difficult to conduct workshops and support sessions at schools because of teacher work.

How does JET Education Services make a difference in education?

How does Inclusive Education Western Cape make a difference in education?

How can these challenges be overcome?

The organisation recognises that there is a need to equip educators with specialist knowledge, specialist skills, attitudes and methodologies to make inclusion a reality. The Resource Centre, therefore, also provides administrative support to a team of contracted trainers who regularly conduct training workshops on inclusive education. Their primary commitment is to serve those living in the Western Cape. Inclusive Education Western Cape also work with other education organizations such as ELRU, Grassroots, the Western Cape Forum for Intellectual Disability, the Down Syndrome Association, Epilepsy SA, and many others. It also enjoys a collaborative relationship with the Western Cape Education Department.

What are the challenges currently faced by Inclusive Education Western Cape? Financial sustainability has always been a major problem. Initially we were able to access funding for organizational expenses but this has become more and more difficult, especially funds that support human resource costs. We are able to generate some income through our training activities but not enough to support the other aspects of our work to which cannot be self-funded. We also desperately need to expand our training staff to enable us to effectively reach out to all communities and to meet the ever growing variety of training and support needs but have not been able to do that due to lack of sustainable funding. Our vision of inclusion goes beyond the initial disability target group and many funders are still tied to funding

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These challenges can be overcome by restructuring and re-strategising on our part, create a better understanding on the part of funders of the organisational needs of NPOs, especially small organisations such as ourselves, incorporate innovative programmes such as a current one with the Department of Social Development that addresses disability awareness in a more inclusive way, recognise teacher overload and the need for ongoing support as much as training per se and make provision for NGO input within Department schedules.

Why is Inclusive Education Western Cape so successful? We have worked hard at developing relationships and networks with role-players across sectors, and in particular those responsible for providing education support at district, provincial and national level. Our organization has always had a strong work ethos with staff members sharing the ideals and dreams of the organization â&#x20AC;&#x201C; often working extra long hours to ensure that we achieve goals set to reach our dream for a more inclusive education environment and systems.

What is the missing link between policy and practice? The missing link between policy and practice is due mainly to lack of dedicated funding and knowledge of how existing funding can be used for implementation; lack of understanding of the new policy and lack of agreement on ways it should be implemented.

We use the findings of our research and evaluation studies to influence policy and practices to improve the quality of schooling in South Africa, particularly of the disadvantaged communities.

What challenges does JET Education currently face? The challenges facing education are the inadequate qualities and quantities of educational outcomes from 80% of over 26 000 schools. The high schools are producing inadequate numbers of university-entry passes, specifically those that took mathematics and science subjects; primary schoolsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; performance in numeracy and languages are hovering at 26% and 40% respectively. Even worse, the teacher content knowledge and levels of professionalism and parent (and community) input in schools also prove to be quite low or non-existent. The latter set of issues is the fundamental cause of the educational underperformances and should be addressed if we are to ensure sustained high and good quality outputs from schools.

How can these challenges be overcome? The challenges require that we adopt systemic approaches that seek to remedy the organisational malfunctions comprehensively and coherently. Government needs to ensure labour peace, well staffed districts with the capacity to support and monitor schools. Effective managers should be engaged in each school to make sure that the utilisation of personnel and non-personnel resources is properly planned for and utilised optimally. Schools must be operational for the prescribed learning time, teachers must teach for most of the time,

learners must read and do ever more challenging exercises and the households must support the learners. The solution to the education challenges are in improving service delivery and reengineering the perceptions about education. There are no quick fixes.

What makes JET Education Services so successful? What works in turning schools around is to make sure that schools know how well or not they are doing, plan for improvement, receive appropriate support and set clear targets and report these. It is the role of districts to ensure that the schools run this improvement cycle every year. Following evidence-based decision making approaches will enable the schools, districts and communities to identify the weak points in the school system and enable stakeholders to work towards solutions.

What is the missing link between policies and practice? The South African education policies are well-meaning and comprehensive. However, they are not effectively implemented, largely because of the weak districts. There is still no national district model that will ensure that this crucial level of the education system is properly staffed, resourced and mandated to monitor and support schools. Large education systems such as ours require effective district offices. Indeed, the responsibility of ensuring that schools are effective centres of learning and teaching should be decentralised to districts and the province and national department level should focus on monitoring. We should learn from the South African Policy Service department which has recently moved its big brains from its headquarters to the police stations, where their services are most needed.

Telephone: 051 753 1419 / Email: hantam.trust@mweb.co.za / Website: www.hantam-trust.org.za

Telephone: 021 674 1422 / Email: info@included.org.za / Website: www.included.org.za

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Chapter 10 NGO PROFILES & PROJECTS

Pearson Education

THE MATHS CENTRE

Maskew Miller Longman - Pearson Southern Africa is an education company that develops, produces and distributes teaching and learning materials to suppor t the implementation of curriculum policies in 11 Southern African countries, including South Africa.

Maths Centre began its life as a small outreach project from Auckland Park School (1985-1995.) Some of the facilities of the school were extended to Soweto educators.

For us, education policy is both an educational imperative and a business opportunity. Our business is to ‘interpret’ curriculum guidelines and to ‘translate’ them into products that facilitate teaching and learning activities in classrooms that develop the required knowledge, skills, attitudes and values in our citizens and future employees. For us, it is essential business practice to be familiar with policy guidelines, and to have employees who are capable of translating them into ‘policy compliant’ products.

The following are 5 key dimensions of our engagement with policy that contribute towards our business success: Be informed about education Policies: To ensure that the 01. company is properly positioned to do good business, it recruits employees who bring relevant policy knowledge and experience into the company, prioritizes familiarity with policy as a key performance area in job descriptions. It also monitors key performance areas through performance management and product quality assurance processes.

02.

Engage in policy formulation processes: The company prioritizes employee participation in policy formulation and implementation processes. For example, the company CEO has, over several years, played an active role as consultant to several development and implementation committees and was also appointed by the South African Minister of Education to chair a commission of enquiry into the state readiness of secondary schools to implement new policies as well as vocational colleges in delivering the Recapitalisation Project to implement a new policy.

and supporting policy implementation: The 04. Research company’s shareholders fund, the Maskew Miller Longman Foundation, a non-profit Educational Trust. The Foundation’s primary function is to support policy implementation, in partnership with Education Departments and schools, through research and school development initiatives aimed at developing models of best practice. It is currently running as two projects i.e. the Research and Develop Best Practice in Primary Schools project (aims to develop programmes that promote best practices to improve learner performance in school) and the Schools Development project (bridging the gap between policy implementation and everyday school practices). towards policy formulation and product revision: 05. Contributing These two research and development projects contribute towards the Foundation’s understanding of educational realities in schools and its ability to support implementation by developing and advocating models of best practice, inform policy debates and allow educational businesses to develop appropriate educational products as well as improve their existing products.

policy implementation: As already mentioned, the 03. Supporting company’s core business is to develop educational products and solutions that are aligned with curriculum policy and deliver the curriculum into classrooms. These include: textbooks, teachers’ guides and other LTSMs that ‘interpret’ and ‘translate’ curriculum guidelines into concrete teaching, learning and assessment content, methods and activities.

In the 80’s and early 90’s, several facilitators travelled to Soweto, guiding and supporting educators in the fields of computers and investigative mathematics. The Maths Centre has 9 Provincial Centres, run by locally recruited staff who works on provincial projects in Maths, Science, Technology, Entrepreneurship Education and Early Childhood Development.

How does the Maths Centre make a difference in education? Maths Centre offers in-service teacher development in most of the provinces in South Africa.They focus on Maths, Science and Technology aimed at enhancing teacher qualifications, competencies and professionalism in mathematics and related curriculum areas, enhancing learner performance through a systematic monitoring of learner progression and producing high quality, effective and efficient teaching and learning materials for Grades R-12. Maths Centre has Dynamic solutions for correcting, restoring and advancing Maths, Science,Technology Teacher and Learner performance in South Africa. All programmes are Teacher and Learner based though we do run courses for Parents, SGBs and Provincial officers working for the departments of education. In addition to its Maths, Science and Technology Focus, Maths Centre is preparing 26000 in-school young people from Grades 8-11 in 6 provinces to run their own business.This builds confidence, facilitates informed career decisions and provides school leavers with an alternative career path.

What are the current challenges the Maths Centre is facing?

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Some of the challenges the Maths Centre are currently facing is lack of funding, poor work ethic, poor desire for self improvement, national focus and strategy, accountability and responsibility measures, lack of respect for such a powerful, universal and foundation discipline, school policies and lack of qualifications amongst teachers.

How can these challenges be overcome? Bigger national challenges can only be addressed with a very clear, detailed, participatory, consultative strategy and through the deployment of advanced skills teachers by enrolling practicing teachers who left the system, teacher buddies, advisory teachers, mentoring systems, regular clusters or forums, graduate training programmes and university volunteers.

Why is the Maths Centre so successful? The national framework for teacher development identified the need for empowerment of educators with regard to their content knowledge.Within the scope of this framework, there is a need for the development of an intensive programme that focuses on content training for educators specifically from the underperforming schools and for subjects where there is a scarcity of qualified teachers.This is what the Maths centre strives to do and have been doing successfully for the past two decades.

In your opinion, what is the missing link between policies and practice? Take a look at the National Strategy for Learner Attainment. If this was put into practice with very rigorous monitoring measures, progress will become visible within a short space of time.

Telephone: 011 403 6401 / Email: info@jet.org.za / Website: www.jet.org.za

Website: www.pearsoned.co.za

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The Pebbles Project The Pebbles Project was established to offer support to children with special educational needs, particularly those whose lives are affected by alcohol in some way, in the Western Cape.

The Pebbles Project believes that if a child (particularly one with special needs of any kind) is supported and given the necessary education at an early age, they are far more likely to go on to achieve more at school, and become welladjusted, educated and achieving adults. Pebbles works closely with wine farm owners, who support our work and assist us with the upliftment of their farm worker communities and the education of the workers’ children.We are currently working with eleven wine farms in the Stellenbosch, Somerset West and Paarl area. Pebbles also supports township crèches in Lwandle, Somerset West and Kayamandi, Stellenbosch. Pebbles provides educational assistance to all the children living on these 11 wine farms through our crèche and after-school club programmes. Pebbles provides the crèche workers with ECD training as well as the educational resources needed to run these programmes. We renovate the crèches if needed, and also provide educational outings for all the children. Pebbles has recently launched our mobile toy library which rotates between the various farms and allows the children to borrow toys that they can take home to play with. The aim of the after-school club programme is to provide a safe space for children in the afternoons where they can learn and receive assistance with their homework. The children in this programme also get the opportunity to take part in art, life skills, sport, drama and music lessons.

Telephone: 072 472 2797 Email: sophia@pebblesproject.co.za Website: www.pebblesproject.co.za

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Scatterlings

TREE

Scatterlings ECD For SA Children, providing Early Learning for South Africa’s Infants and Toddlers, aims to address one of South Africa’s most urgent needs – early childhood development.

Training and Resources in Early Education (TREE) believes that all children should have access to quality, sustainable early childhood development so that they can develop to their full educational and personal potential.

Further, Scatterlings aims to be able to assist unemployed women to establish Scatterlings Day Care Centres throughout South Africa, by means of a combination of sponsorships and low-key business opportunities. The Scatterlings Programme will target, mainly, those sections of South Africa’s historically disadvantaged communities that remain either economically or educationally disadvantaged. It is designed to encourage social, physical, emotional and intellectual development. It includes concentration on nutrition, hygiene, health and the prevention of avoidable illness. It is culturally sensitive and attempts to provide children with warmth and affection in a welcoming safe environment.

Scatterlings Vision Scatterlings strives to provide all very young children in South Africa, regardless of race, socio economic background and religious orientation with balanced integrated and dynamic Early Childhood Education in order to better equip them for the task they have in becoming fully functional members of the colourful society in which we live.

Ongoing Training In addition to the SANTS training and qualifications, our centre owners, teachers and staff will also receive ongoing training from Scatterlings in the following areas: ÆÆ Health and Safety ÆÆ Health and Nutrition

Scatterlings will provide a unique combination of care and education for young children across South Africa with a special focus on underprivileged and under serviced communities. Scatterlings holistic approach will encompass the development of the whole child – intellectual, emotional, physical and social, promoting well-being, initiative and self-esteem.

ÆÆ Emotional and Social Development ÆÆ Behaviour Management

TREE achieves this through:

ÆÆ Recognising Learning Difficulties and Special Needs

TREE has identified the most effective way to intervene through Early Childhood Development is through the parents and caregivers of young children in the home environment, as well as community based ECD sites (crèches and preschools). Many parents and caregivers of young children are in desperate need of support to assist them meet the rights of young children to survival, protection, care and development. TREE training also impacts on women’s education, women’s empowerment and community development, in addition to its impact in the field of Early Childhood Development as we have initiated holistic ECD Cluster programmes for communities to improve the quality and sustainability of the ECD Site in their geographical area.These programmes target the ECD Practitioners, principals, parents committees and community, as well as ensuring that ECD sites have suitable educational toys and equipment to run stimulating educational programmes for their children.

ÆÆ How To Assess And Report Learners Progress

ÆÆ Formal, in-service, participatory ECD core and elective training courses at NQF (National Qualifications Framework) Levels 1.4 and % accredited by SAQA (South African Qualifications Authority) through the ETDP SETA (Education, Training and Development Practices, Sector Education and Training Authority). These courses are run throughout KwaZulu Natal and the adjacent Eastern Cape.

ÆÆ Management And Administration

ÆÆ Support, monitoring and assessment visits

TREE has accreditation from The Education and Training Development Product (ETDP) SETA and provides various levels of up to date curriculum, materials and training to educare teachers (practitioners) as well as providing on-site support and monitoring, access to low cost resources and educational equipment.

ÆÆ SchoolTrade

ÆÆ Short courses and workshops on a range of ECD topics

Nutrition

ÆÆ The Learning Programme

In addition, the Scatterlings programme will incorporate the crucial components of nutrition, health and hygiene, thus providing the best possible conditions for very young children to grow and flourish.

Centre Owners and Teacher Training

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TREE’s VISION is to see a nation that values and affirms young children and gives them opportunities to develop to their full potential, in line with their developmental rights and needs. TREE’s MISSION is to promote and support quality, sustainable, holistic early childhood development (ECD) for children from birth to age 7, in marginalized communities, by providing access to quality training in ECD for adults, who impact on the lives of young children, and access to a range of resources for ECD. Training and Resources in Early Education (TREE) aims at assisting adults, mostly women, from impoverished communities, to provide their young children with access to quality ECD programmes that promote the child’s holistic development and their support health and welfare.

ÆÆ The ECD Centre

The Scatterlings Mission

ÆÆ Working in communities with parents, caregivers, community and organisations ÆÆ Producing and selling toys, educational equipment and printed resource material. ÆÆ Teaching and assisting people to develop skills to make educational equipment from waste and other materials.

Teacher Development

TREE programmes include a food and nutrition component in an attempt to help alleviate the effect of malnutrition for those children who are nutritionally compromised. In some instances enrolment at these ECD Sites has increased dramatically. This has had a spin off effect, as parents and committee members are able to use these newfound skills to generate an income with their communities.

HIV/Aids TREE’s integrated approach to HIV/AIDS and young children is based on the recognition that general nutrition, health and safety principles/standards in the ECD site or home will greatly lessen the spread of disease, while a sustained focus on meeting the psychosocial needs of young children will strengthen their resilience. ECD practitioners and parents are encouraged to create a safe and loving environment, where each child’s sense of self worth is nurtured, and where children feel free to talk about their feelings in an atmosphere of trust and acceptance. The course comprises of 2 modules, which is run over a period of 10 days and includes 1 support and monitoring visit.

Scatterlings is very fortunate in that we have formed an association with SANTS (South African National Tutor Services). SANTS is a national service provider in the field of education and training who support lifelong learning to cope with current challenges. They deliver accredited, quality training programmes nationwide and have worked extensively with the Departments of Health, Labour and the respective Seta’s. Their courses are based on the Outcome Based Curriculum and in addition they offer many other courses from Functional School Management right through to Life Skills – HIV and AIDS Education.

ÆÆ Indirectly providing opportunities and linkages for women’s empowerment, income generation and community development.

Telephone: 011 276 8200 / Website: www.mcpt.org

Mobile: 082 446 8190 / Telephone: 011 022 8190 / Fax: 011 463 8289 / Website: www.scatterlings.org.za

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ÆÆ Networking, partnerships and cooperation with government departments at local, provincial and national levels, as well as other stakeholders. ÆÆ Advocating for the rights of young children in all possible forums. TREE’s outreach brings information and ideas on ECD to people with access to few resources as a result of poverty and geographic isolation. TREE trains in excess of 1 500 women annually.

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Chapter 10 NGO PROFILES & PROJECTS

Wessa/EcoSchools project

SchoolTrade

SchoolTrade is an `Adopt a School’ programme that has been active since 2003. We aim at making a tangible difference in the quality of teaching and learning in townships and rural schools in the greater Pietermaritzburg region. We also tr y to ensure that local businesses derive substantial benefit from its suppor t of local education through School trade.

How does Schooltrade make a difference in education? SchoolTrade volunteers time through Vanessa and donates resources and funds to the Tabitha pre-school in Mayor’s Walk. Our support has helped to transform the school into a vibrant educational center where orphaned and HIV + children are receiving a quality foundation phase education. The pre-school undertakes regular outings to places of interest in and around Pietermaritzburg. It also has plans to develop a psychomotor centre.

were: Willowton Oil;Venetian Blinds; Stanley Bostitch Alan Brothers; Clifford Welding Systems; Shuter and Shooters; Farouk Mullah and Associates; Christies Heating and Cooling; Denzil Lakay; Scotties Plant Hire; The Wykeham Collegiate School; St Nicholas Dioceses School.

School Safety Programme We received these insights into school and teacher safety from Mr. Sanville Moses an independent contractor for Mediation and Transformation Practice.

Safety audits (inspections)

What challenges is Schooltrade currently facing?

Conduct a comprehensive safety audit of each building at least annually as part of the safety process.

One of our greatest challenges is that of effectively marketing the good work that we do.While we make good use of word of mouth and other networking methods there is a place also for traditional strategies like print and media. Our request would therefore be to help us to market ourselves.

How can these challenges be overcome? These challenges can be overcome by sponsoring a SchoolTrade radio ad aimed at businesses looking for BEE investments, the production of a 5 min promotional DVD or purchasing weekly or monthly advertising space in a local newspaper that enables SchoolTrade to showcase its achievements or recognize its teachers. An example would be a `teacher of the month’ column with the sponsor’s logo. The column could reflect the teachers face as well as a brief description of the exemplary action.

Why is Schooltrade so successful? SchoolTrade draws inspiration from a great truth: ` It takes a village to raise a child’. Our projects covers four main areas: Getting donated resources into needy schools (Swap Shop), Teacher Training, Connecting and Enterprise Development. Our most successful example of Connecting has been the SchoolTrade Imbizo offered for the first time in 2008. The Imbizo offered a very useful platform for 8 township schools to advertise their most pressing need and for the local business community to be informed of that need. The generous contributors

Management commitment The key to success lies with how much importance the top administration places on safety.When available, take advantage of those with experience in teachers’ and school safety. At least one key individual needs to be committed to school safety. Assign someone the responsibility for safety, provide him or her with the tools, training and authority to act, and then hold him or her accountable. Once commitment to safety is in place with top administration, address safety responsibilities and accountability across all departments. Include teachers’ safety measures in the schools’ performance-review process. Set safety goals, communicate expectations, establish performance measurements and hold people accountable.

Teachers’ involvement Teachers’ involvement is of utmost importance in the teachers’ safety process. There should also be a safety committee or safety team put in place. The most effective team includes certified and classified teachers, union representatives, principals, supervisors and a member of the school board as well as from the community. Effective teams have a well-defined purpose. They have good decision-making skills and the authority to act on their decisions. They consider meetings high priority and make all necessary accommodations to allow each member to attend. Effective teams emphasize shared decision making.They use input and feedback from the entire committee when possible. Involvement in safety activities is so important, these schools are willing to pay overtime, rearrange schedules or provide substitutes to allow teachers to participate.

Safety education and training Safety education and training is very important. It should begin with the top administration. Often, however, top administration does not fully understand workplace safety issues. Safety education and training for others - principals, assistant principals, supervisors, teachers, counsellors, caretakers, etc. - are just as important.

Injury reporting and treatment First, formalize the injury reporting and treatment process. Document it in writing. Ensure it is well communicated and understood by all teachers of the school. All injured teachers must report all injuries, no matter how minor, to the person in charge. Specifying the time frame for reporting injuries in your policy (within 24 hours) and provide the necessary contact names and phone numbers. Ensure the injured teacher receives proper medical treatment. Following an accident, immediately conduct an investigation. Identify the person responsible for conducting investigations. Provide comprehensive training for all persons that will conduct accident investigations.

Challenges Some schools clearly demonstrate they can effectively manage teachers’ safety in schools and have experienced impressive results from their efforts. However managing teachers safety in schools poses some significant challenges.

The WESSA/WWF Eco-Schools programme helps schools to use the environment as a learning tool through the national curriculum. At the same time, the programme’s innovative “change framework” teaches a new generation of consumers and leaders how to be par t of the solution to our environmental challenges, rather than par t of the problem. It’s a simple, but effective concept, which has seen the programme grow consistently since its introduction and adaptation to South Africa in 2003. Nation-wide voluntary membership now sits at 1 300 schools, each of which follow a seven-step process towards sustainable development, both within their institutions and local communities. Carefully aligned with the national curriculum, the programme was adapted for South Africa at the Environmental Education and Sustainability Unit at Rhodes University as part of a peer-reviewed research process. Implemented in South Africa by the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA), the programme is part of the international Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) which has members in 50 countries around the world. Schools need to register on an annual basis. Download the annual registration form from www.wessa.org.za, click on education and go to eco-schools OR contact thobile@wessa.co.za / 033 330 3931 ext 111 Telephone: 033 330 3931 ext 111 Email: thobile@wessa.co.za Website: www.wessa.org.za

01. Time 02. Funding 03. Competing priorities 04. Overcoming challenges Implementing an effective safety process will reduce injuries, keep experienced teachers on the job, cut costs, improve morale and ultimately enhance the schools mission of educating students.

Mediation and Transformation Practice Associate Consultant: Sanville Moses Telephone: 079 438 7579 / Website: www.mtp-sa.co.za / www.mediation-transformation.webs.com

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WESSA/WWF Eco Schools Programme

Equal Education

The WESSA/WWF-SA Eco-Schools Programme, an international programme, was launched in South Africa in 2003 and is suppor ted by WWF-SA and implemented by the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA).

Hettie Gets, Manager of WWF-SA Conservation Education Programme: “The aim is to ultimately provide learners and educators with the capacity and skills to make informed decisions about their lifestyles, livelihoods and relationships with their environment.”

How does the Eco Schools Programme make a difference in education? The Eco-Schools programme is designed to encourage curriculum-based action for a healthy environment. It is an internationally-recognised award scheme that accredits schools that make a commitment to continuously improve their school’s environmental performance. When schools register with the programme, both teachers and learners commit to an ongoing process of developing lesson plans and learnercentred activities that are in line with National Curriculum Statement (NCS). They choose one focus area, develop lesson plans and school improvement plans and record their progress in a portfolio. Each consecutive year, a new theme is added to the previous themes. Portfolios are assessed at the end of a year, and successful schools gain Eco-School status and are awarded a certificate, or a green flag.

What are the current challenges the Eco Schools Programme is facing? Sheraine van Wyk of the Overstrand Conservation Foundation, Western Cape: “I have found that the public school staff are overburdened with the demands of their teaching posts and struggle to juggle their duties in order just to meet with me.”

This curriculum-based programme offers opportunities to improve the school environment, build young people’s confidence and sense of citizenship through participation, increase environmental awareness, involve the local community, and target all those key issues that prohibits our teachers and learners to be more effective in learning and in the education system.

Why is the Eco Schools Programme so successful? At its core, the WESSA/WWF-SA Eco-Schools South Africa has a winning concept of rewards for sustained school environmental action and learning. Teachers and education department officials believe they create the opportunity to enrich learning environments, support the implementation of new curriculum, tackle environmental issues, and form partnerships with physical and knowledge resources.

Western Cape Primary Science Programme The Western Cape Primary Science Programme (PSP) has been operating since 1985. We are a teacher in-service education organization that aims to improve the quality of teaching and learning in the most under resourced, disadvantaged primary schools in the Cape Town and Boland areas. We develop teachers’ knowledge and skills and support them in their work with learners. The PSP has built up excellent relationships with a core of 200 primary schools from all the Cape Town township areas and the Boland and West Coast rural areas. Most of the schools in the latter areas are farm schools.

Joe Peu of the Trident Steel Node, Gauteng finds that “Teachers still struggle to link environmental work they are doing with the curriculum. They think that specific lesson plans related to each focus area need to be developed; this is why they see Eco Schools as additional work. What they fail to realise is that they could easily link topics, abstract concepts and themes such as radiation, photosynthesis, absorption they have been teaching learners for years to the environment outside with ease. Learners would understand these topics/themes, concepts much better than an abstract understanding of these concepts in the classroom.”

How does the Primary Science Programme make a difference in education?

How can these challenges be overcome?

All our materials are written in easily accessible language; include careful concept progression; many activities and investigations, and include good suggestions for assessment. Our data base shows that since 2003 we have worked with over 7357 teachers from 1241 primary schools, reaching more than 367 000 learners.The PSP works in an environment where most teachers and learners have to operate in a second language.We therefore also work on developing learners communication skills while focusing on science and the environment.

These challenges can be overcome with the Eco Schools Programme. The programme is a co-curricula programme and provides a framework for teachers to implement the National Curriculum in which numerous environmental learning outcomes are imbedded. I.e. it is a framework that helps teachers do what they should be doing in the classroom, highlighting environmental themes in the curriculum and ensuring that good learning and action take place.

We focus on the critical learning areas of the Natural Sciences (including Environmental Education), Language, Mathematics and the Social Sciences. The PSP offers a variety of courses; develops learning experiences together with teachers and offers support in their classes. Based on this interaction with teachers, the PSP produces innovative materials, including teacher resource books, learner task cards and display material.

What challenges is the Primary Science Programme currently facing? The challenges currently faced by the programme include over crowded classes with large learner numbers, learners being taught in languages other than their mother tongue, lack of text books and teaching materials in isiXhosa and Afrikaans, teachers spending more time on administrative duties than actual teaching, lack of qualified teachers and poor quality education. Other socio/economic factors such as poverty, alcoholism, violence, etc. also play a role in our level and quality of education.

How can these challenges be overcome? Through in service training and support of teachers in their classrooms, through government service delivery in terms of the socio/economic problems and approaching education in an integrated, holistic, developmental manner these issues can be addressed and resolved.

Why is the Primary Science Programme so successful? Our approach of in service training in cooperation with partners such as the Western Cape Education Department and donors, is working as we provide projects which mostly, run over a 3 year period. In one of our projects, The Innovation project, the courses are planned on an annual basis, with the teachers and we hence have buy in and commitment from them. Our training approach is one of active participation by the teachers rather than lecturing and we include a component of monitoring and evaluation in our courses.

In your opinion, what is the missing link between policy and practice? School management and governing systems are sometimes weak and/or under developed and don’t provide teachers with the support they need.The policy decisions are often not followed through with practical training necessary to implement them in all schools.This was particularly true with the introduction of the new curriculum.

Equal Education (EE) is a community and membershipbased organisation. It advocates for quality and equality in the South African education system and engages in evidence-based activism for improving the nation’s schools. It is a leader in youth leadership development. EE’s campaigns, based on detailed research and policy analysis, are aimed at achieving quality education for all. We promote the rights to equality and education, with the firm belief that these will enable the poor and working classes to an equal oppor tunity in life. How does your organization and/or project make a difference in Education? Education is an end in itself. Education helps one to understand and demand the full realisation of the rights enshrined in the Constitution. Led by young activists, EE seeks to improve the poor quality of education in South Africa by working together with communities, schools, teachers, principals, learners, parents, academics, researchers and the government. We build an understanding of the educational system, whilst drawing attention to problems faced by schools and their communities. Equipped with this knowledge, EE offers a new way for people to participate in the democratic system and bring change to education and society.

Why is Equal Education so successful? EE has a very active, vocal and large membership of school learners, who are a powerful force to be reckoned with. EE also has a strong and dedicated staff, of which many are Master’s graduates, graduates of law, history, and finance. Together with our active members in schools, this helps make EE an efficiently run, politically intelligent and successful NGO.

Telephone: 021 387 0022 Email: info@equaleducation.org.za Website: equaleducation.org.za Facebook: facebook.com/equal.education Twitter: twitter.com/equal_education Mxit: 072 333 12343

Telephone: 021 691 9039 / Email: info@psp.org.za / Website: www.psp.org.za

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Tomorrow Trust

Praesa

The Tomorrow Trust provides and bridges the gap in education for Orphaned and vulnerable learners with additional academic suppor t. The gift of a future, be it success through a stable job or living their dreams passionately, would require a solid education.

The Project for the Study of Alternative Education in South Africa (PRAESA), is an independently funded multilingual education research and development organization based at the University of Cape Town. Since it began in 1992, PRAESA has carried out various language related research and development initiatives to inform understandings about and make changes to children’s language and literacy learning experiences through the implementation of a mother tongue based bilingual education system.

Tomorrow Trust provides complete support programmes such as the Holiday school Programme, Teacher Development Programme and Post secondary Programme. This enables South Africa’s orphan and vulnerable children to obtain self-sustainability and community mindedness. Tomorrow Trust provides academic, technical and holistic support over the child’s entire scholastic career and into gainful employment.

How can these challenges be overcome?

How does your organization and/ or project make a difference in Education?

teachers volunteering their services and skills that 03. More will assist not only our learners but also our teachers in the

The Tomorrow Trust focuses on bridging the gap in education by assisting the learners with academic and holistic support. With the challenges that face the majority of learners in South Africa, e.g. low quality of education, constant changes in the educational system, lack of resources and large volumes within classrooms, the Tomorrow Trust assists these Orphaned and vulnerable learners with additional academic support during the school Holidays and every Saturday in strengthening their academic knowledge in Mathematics, English, Science and Biology as well as Literacy and Numeracy.

a Learner/s for a year. By adopting a learner for a year, 01. Adopt you are not only providing for their educational support but

What are the current challenges that your organization and/or project are currently facing?

The Tomorrow Trust was established 7 years ago and currently provides support for over 1500 learners. The Tomorrow Trust school programme is currently active in 3 schools where Saturday school and Holiday school programmes for Grade 10, 11 and 12 learners are managed. The focus is on English, Mathematics, Science and Biology.

We are faced with many challenges such as: ÆÆ Finding suitable schools to partner with. Participating schools assist us with classrooms and catering facilities that aid us with the management of the Holiday school programme. ÆÆ Finding suitably qualified teachers who would be interested in participating within our programme and assist with teaching and bridging the gap in education to these learners. We are in desperate need for Grade R,1,2,3,4,5 and 6 teachers and Grade 10, 11 and 12 Mathematics, English, Biology and Science educators. We also require mentors for our teachers who would participate in our teacher development programme.

For these challenges to be overcome: partnership with suitable schools are needed 01. More throughout South Africa.

teacher development programme.

also providing holistic support in terms of the nutritional needs, psycho-social needs and travelling to the educational venues. The annual cost to sponsor a young child up to Grade 7 is R6000 and from Grade 10 to 12 is R8000.

Why is your organization and/or project so successful?

We currently have 2 schools that focus on our Grade R - Grade 6 learners. Each year, we continue to grow the next level of tuition and support in order to increase the services we provide to learners living in abject poverty. We had a 100% pass rate in our junior phase Holiday school programme and a 95% pass rate in our senior phase Holiday school programme. E Parker writes: “Today CYNICS say that UNEMPLOYMENT has become South Africa’s number ONE growth industry. Our unemployment rate is somewhere between 25% and 45% across the board.”

ÆÆ Funding- As an NGO we depend on donor funding to manage our programmes.

Initiatives have included work in advocacy, language in education policy and planning, terminology development, bilingual education research, training of trainers and teachers for multilingual education in Africa and materials development in African languages as well as English. Because of the persistent and urgent need to address literacy issues in early childhood, a major thrust of PRAESA’s work is that carried out by the Early Literacy Unit with a focus on shifting the way teachers and caregivers understand how children learn to read and write bilingually and on what needs to happen for positive results.

Our literacy work grows from two main notions that apply to all children - from both materially privileged and poor backgrounds in urban or rural settings: ÆÆ Learning is best in mother tongue, with other languages being added, not replacing a child’s mother tongue;

writing are at the heart of each session, but there is also play, song, rhyme and dance. Up to 150 children come each week on a voluntary basis, to a space which is educational, nurturing and enjoyable. To deepen and sustain reading habits, many more appropriate reading materials are needed in African languages than are presently available. The Early Literacy Unit has co-ordinated a pan-African book development project, Stories Across Africa, to create story collections for all children on the continent to read in their own languages. Through reading versions of the same stories, children share a common universe of concepts and can come to appreciate their common African identity. PRAESA works with publishers and others to publish good quality reading materials for children of all ages. We have initiated both original writing and translations and continue to do so in order to develop the kinds of conditions that are ones which give all South African children the chance to become thoughtful, creative and critical citizens.

ÆÆ Successful literacy learning requires methods which promote meaning making and enjoyment, like oral language learning.

Our recent programmes take place across home, school and community settings. We initiate, support and help sustain a ‘culture of reading and writing’ in mother tongue and in English. This involves mentoring teachers and other adults to become the kinds of interactive reading and writing role models children can admire, emulate and learn from both in schools and in community based reading clubs. Non-formal, volunteer driven community reading clubs are now spreading throughout the country. Many of them have been inspired by the Vulindlela Reading Clubs. The first such club was started by PRAESA in Langa in 2006, together with a local youth empowerment group. Every Saturday morning, for two hours, PRAESA staff run a programme where community members and other volunteers interact with children of all ages. Storytelling, story reading, drawing and

Email: taryn@tomorrow.org.za / Telephone: 011 783 6766/074 179 6467 / Website: www.tomorrow.org.za Facebook: www.facebook.com/TomorrowTrust

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Lead for Africa / L4A (Section 21 Company)

The Bobs for Good Foundation

At Lead for Africa our mission is to address the unemployment reality in developing Entrepreneurs that champion transformation & wealth in South Africa. We develop Entrepreneurs in four focus groups (our clients) in the West Rand area of Johannesburg: Women in Accounting Mentors, Micro Entrepreneurs, New Gen Social Entrepreneurs and Teachers @ Work. Our strategy is we offer high quality training and mentoring to under resourced Communities and Entrepreneurs on NQF 1-4.

Bobs for Good wants to reach as many children as possible, and restore their hope, pride and dignity through the gift of new school shoes. The Foundation provides children with durable safety school shoes to prevent children’s feet getting cold, sore or infected. The school shoes even have reflective stitching on them in order to make children more visible to cars on dark mornings. With the pride and confidence that come from such a simple gift, a child is more inclined to attend school, get an education, and, ultimately, take steps towards a better future.

How does L4A make a difference in Education?

How can these challenges be overcome?

The unemployment facts in South Africa show us that if we want to look after ourselves and avoid personal unemployment the only course of action open to us is:

We bridge the gap by creating awareness of the benefits of building the Economy and wealth through small business development. We also bridge the gap by education our clients about the process of Enterprise Development.

How does your organization and/ or project make a difference in Education?

ÆÆ Bettering my Skills and Education

Why is L4A so successful?

ÆÆ Learning to be an Entrepreneur

for Africa is a professional Section 21 Company 01. Lead governed by seasoned professionals.

L4A makes a difference and address unemployment by offering skills education, training and mentoring to our clients on how to become entrepreneurs. We help our clients to learn how to create their own transformation and wealth. Transformation: We aim to not only transfer information, but also help our clients apply their information, because only then will they transform and become successful. Wealth: we challenge our clients to grow in the ability to be selfsufficient and to take responsibility and ownership of their lives in various dimensions e.g. Financial, spiritual, emotional, intellectual, social and physical.

What are the current challenges that L4A are currently facing? Our biggest challenge is to transform the mindset of our clients to believe that those who are going to be in business tomorrow are those who understand that the future, as always, belongs to the brave!

the process of being accredited with the FASSET SETA 02. Itandis atin SARS for section 18A exemption. Africa believes in running pilot projects to determine the 03. Lead effectiveness which leads to a higher Return on Investment. strategy is executed through careful implementation of 04. Our well thought through tactics. core of our success lies in meeting the demand of the 05. The entrepreneurship/leadership need in South Africa. driving force behind Lead for Africa is a COMMITTED 06. The CORE of volunteers sacrificing time and money for the betterment of South Africa.

And to be Brave and a True Entrepreneur you: ÆÆ do not rely on government handouts; ÆÆ make the best of your available resources and move ahead under your own steam; ÆÆ spread the wealth and empower yourself and your community.

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The Bobs for Good Foundation believes that by giving a child in need a pair of shoes, we also give them the self-confidence they need to succeed. If we believe in them and want to help, it encourages them to believe in themselves, and this self-belief and pride extends into a happier, more confident child with a desire to succeed. On a base level, children are often mocked by their peers for not being able to afford shoes and so skip school, or they may not even be allowed to come to school without a full uniform, of which shoes are often the most expensive part.

What are the current challenges that your organization and/or project are currently facing?

Why is your organization and/or project so successful? What we find makes our project so successful is that we are offering a unique, specialized and simple thing; one pair of shoes to one child. The money that each donor gives can be seen in one tangible pair of shoes, and can clearly be attributed to changing one child’s life. Each donor can see the change they have made, and each donor is invited to a shoe drop that they have helped fund. We pride ourselves at being the best at saying thank you, and we make sure that everyone who helps in any way at Bobs for Good is mentioned and appreciated. We keep every step of our process personal, from interaction with the donors, to keeping in touch with our fans, and personally fitting each child with their own pair of shoes. This has ensured a phenomenal rate of repeat donations, and consistently happy, appreciated children.

The scope of the challenge is immense, and we are the only dedicated school shoe charity in the country. As a result, we simply do not have the manpower or the financial means to alleviate the problem in the short-term future. We are reluctant to employ too many staff, though, as this means more money will be taken away from buying school shoes for children in need. In addition, we come up against a great deal of scrutiny from people who do not understand the importance and relevance of shoes in an African society, and so often our cause is overlooked, even at a governmental level.

How can these challenges be overcome? We need to be able to be generically attractive to a wide range of community members who may be willing to fundraise for us. The importance and significance of school shoes needs to be made clear to as many people as possible so the true meaning of our aims are better understood. From a financial point of view, we would love to find a significant source of consistent funding from a corporate who shares our vision, as well as the necessity of repeated donations over time.

Telephone: 076 031 083 / Email: info@l4a.co.za / Website: www.l4a.co.za

Telephone: 021 423 5050 / Email: info@bobsforgood.com / Website: www.bobsforgoodfoundation.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/bobsforgoodfoundation / Twiiter: www.twitter.com/bobsforgood

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Anna Foundation Constellations Trust (NPO)

Education, Sports and Life Development for rural farm children in South Africa

We offer services to teachers, parents, educators, children and the greater community. Our work is based on a systemic approach of obser vation and inclusion. We work directly with the teachers and parents to ensure that the environment in both the school and the home are at the optimal levels so that the child is able to be present in the class room and engage better with learning.

The mission of the organisation is to assist disadvantaged schools and communities by providing academic, social and environmental suppor t and equipping children with skills for lifelong learning. We recognise each child as unique and special and aim to suppor t the holistic development of the child.

How does your organization and/ or project make a difference in Education? Our project is called ‘Enhancing Children’s Learning’ (ECL). The ECL program is a systemic approach and it gives teachers the knowledge to see the child in the context of its family background and what it brings from there. The teachers will learn simple yet very effective tools to implement into the classroom. These tools will be of great benefit for the teachers and learners to gain an understanding of the dynamics in the classroom, to experience what we do affects all of us and to achieve a deep sense of belonging. This sense of belonging contributes to the wellbeing of our children, stimulates their creative potential and enhances learning. The ECL program also has a parent support component which we call ‘Dissolving Barriers to Learning’ (DBL). In these workshops parents and the teachers team up to identify the dynamics that are present in the family that are preventing the child from being fully present in the class room. In these two ways (ECL & DBL) our program addresses the wellbeing of the child, the parent and the teacher which in turn creates a more harmonious learning environment.

What are the current challenges that your organization and/or project are currently facing? We see that there is a common need to address the following aspects amongst the children; ÆÆ Feeling of not belonging amongst the kids ÆÆ Learning difficulties ÆÆ ADD/ADHD ÆÆ Lack of respect for teachers and peers ÆÆ Violence ÆÆ Drug abuse

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ÆÆ Being overwhelmed with the “out of control” atmosphere in schools

The Anna Foundation works on farms in the Boland area, implementing our 3 R’s Programme with all children living on the farms. We train local women from each farm to implement the programme. Our project managers visit the farms on a weekly basis to ensure the quality of the programme and to work with specific learners at each farm who require remedial support.

ÆÆ A need for more practical tools to deal with the current conflictual school environment

How does your organization and/or project make a difference in Education?

Teachers themselves are experiencing difficulties related to the above dynamics within the schools.

These are:

ÆÆ Need support and insights into the dynamics governing the children’s behaviour and ways to support or influence positive change ÆÆ A loss of their rightful position as the teacher in the classroom

How can these challenges be overcome? These challenges can be overcome through a combination of the ECL and DBL programs.These programs support the teachers, parents and greater community through creating a deeper insight and understanding of how we as human beings relate and influence each other.We create an awareness of each member’s rightful place (belonging) in the school, family and community and provide tools which can be used in the classrooms and at home to support this new awareness and bring balance into the system (family & school). ECL and DBL address these issues through parent support workshops and teacher development trainings which enable both parents and teachers the possibility to explore new ways forward leading to resolution.

Why is the ECL Project so successful? Whole Child - Whole System - Whole Community. The ECL project is so successful because we address the core issues of the school and family systems which create the symptomatic behaviour of the child. Our systemic view and approach includes all members of the community which ensures an inclusive participation in the path towards a healthy school and family environment for the Life in-betterment of our children.

ONE Goal: working together to achieve quality education

The Anna Foundation offers after school support for children living in isolated rural areas. Through our “3 R’s Programme: Reading, Running and Right-ing” we are able to support these children in their holistic development. The 3 R’s Curriculum provides children with grade specific worksheets which focus on topics and themes relevant to their own environment. Specific attention is given to Home language learning as well as basic numeracy. We also offer learner specific remedial programmes for those learners who require additional support. The 3 R’s Curriculum is guided by the current Educational curriculum and includes learning outcomes from the Life Orientation learning area in order to keep worksheets relevant and up to date. We also provide each after school venue on the farms with their own little library and reading corner. The 2nd hour of our 3 R’s Programme offers physical development lessons for children of all ages. These lessons are clearly explained for the teacher/facilitator who then implements the lessons with the children. Each lesson includes a warm up, fun games, fitness component and team games. Value teaching is a major component of each sports lesson.

How can these challenges be overcome? We will need to secure partners to assist us in making all our materials and programmes available to others. We will need to provide trainers to train other areas in how to use the programme and to monitor the implementation of the programme. If the programme is to be used in areas where Afrikaans is not the mother tongue, the educational part of our 3 R’s Curriculum will need to be translated. Why is your organization and/or project so successful? Our aim is make a difference in each child’s self development and self worth. We do not try to keep children busy during their afternoon sessions, but rather try to stimulate them through relevant learning and real life experiences. We have spent time and resources designing a valuable and relevant programme (3 R’s Programme). This ensures that we have a structure from which to work in order to ensure our interventions are sustainable and real. We have invested time into training local women to implement the programme as well as empowering these women to take ownership of their projects. This also ensures the sustainability of each project. The content of our programmes is relevant to the target group and the results show the benefits of the programme. We also have very passionate and committed staff members and supporters of our work which ensures the success of the programme.

What are the current challenges that your organization and/or project are currently facing? We receive many requests for support and assistance from other organizations, farms, field workers and schools regarding their own set up of after school projects. A common challenge is that after school centres do not have a structured programme to follow and run out of ideas to keep children stimulated. Our current challenge is how to accommodate these requests, make our 3 R’s Programme available and still maintain the quality of our programmes.

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NGO PROFILES TEACH South Africa

NGO PROFILES

TEACH South Africa (TEACH) is a highly selective programme that recruits young graduates, who demonstrate exceptional leadership qualities. The programme leverages the talent of recent ter tiar y graduates from all disciplines who can be applied as educators within rural and urban disadvantaged schools.

Impact – TEACH Ambassador Effects

2009 2009

TEACH focuses specifically on the educational challenges in the areas of Mathematics, Science, Technology and English. In order to improve in all learning areas, it is important to also enhance the standard of English teaching, the language in which the learners study and write their exams. TEACH’s core model is based on teaming up with different organisations to have an impact in addressing the different challenges facing the schools. We believe that through teaming up with other players we will have the fundamental impact that will change the landscape in the schools through improving learner performance.

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Impact and Evaluation Provincial and district staff in both Gauteng and the Western Cape have been involved with the design of the project and the implementation. Our course curriculum has been presented to the Department of Education for their input. An Advisory Committee has been formed. This is comprised of representatives from the education departments, other NGOs and education specialists who serve on this committee in their private capacity

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33 6 .7

6.7

27**

Illinge E Monareng Healdtown Masiyile Phumulani E Monareng Physical SciencesE Monareng English SCHOOL Illinge SUBJECT Maths LitE Monareng Physical Sciences HealdtownAgric SciencesMasiyile Physical Sciences Phumulani SUBJECT

SCHOOL

Maths Lit

Physical Sciences

Agric Sciences

Physical Sciences

English

* 1 Distinction and 3 B’s / ** 2 Disctinctions

Long-term Impact TEACH South Africa is establishing an alumni movement of TEACH Ambassadors that will fight for educational equity both in the classroom and in the public and private sector after their two year commitment of teaching has commenced.

ALUMNI INALUMNI SCHOOL LEADERSHIP IN POLITICAL LEADERSHIP

Change Can Be Seen in the Classroom

IN TEACHING ALUMNI INALUMNI POLITICAL LEADERSHIP

At Erasmus Monareng High School, in the East Rand, for instance, the 2009 matric pass rate stood at 66.1% while in 2010 the matric pass rate rose to 76.3%. Meurial Magaya, a TEACH Ambassador, was placed at Erasmus Monareng High School to teach Physical Science. Upon her arrival at the school, Meurial was faced with the challenge of providing practical lessons within an under-resourced science laboratory which was not utilised.

Integral to all aspects of TEACH South Africa is a strategy to continuously improve its overall performance with regard to its intended outcomes. Each arm of operations has evaluation plans with carefully devised evaluation tools that are both quantitative and qualitative in nature. Through careful analysis of the data collected, TEACH is able to assess the effectiveness of its processes, programmes and strategies and use the lessons learned to improve as an organisation.

2010’s South African matriculants managed to score a 67.8% pass rate in spite of the Fifa World Cup and a prolonged public servants’ strike. Last year’s pass rate was a 7.1% increase from that of 2009, and TEACH South Africa believe that their TEACH Ambassadors, who are graduates who commit themselves to a two-year period of teaching service within disadvantaged schools, contributed to the higher matric pass rate in the schools they were placed.

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62.2

59*

100

6 2 .2

59*

100

60 40

2010 2010

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Selected graduates (TEACH Ambassadors) commit to a minimum of two years of service to the programme. Before their deployment to schools, graduates are provided with an intensive, accelerated course on teaching techniques.

ALUMNI IN SCHOOL LEADERSHIP

IN SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP ALUMNI INALUMNI TEACHING CORPORATE SECTOR ALUMNI INALUMNI SOCIALINENTREPRENEURSHIP

ALUMNI IN CORPORATE SECTOR

TEACH South Africa Partnerships To achieve our goals, TEACH South Africa is seeking corporate partners that share our core values and a commitment to our mission. Telephone: 011 209 8066 / Email: info@teachsouthafrica.org / Website: www.teachsouthafrica.org

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Telephone: 011 209 / Email: info@teachsouthafrica.org / Website: www.teachsouthafrica.org Telephone: 011 8066 209 8066 / Email: info@teachsouthafrica.org / Website: www.teachsouthafrica.org

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Siyavula – opening up education

Siyavula is a Shuttlewor th Foundation seeded project which suppor ts and encourages communities of teachers to work together, openly share their teaching resources and benefit from the use of technology. We believe it is through collaboration and the freedom to adapt and contextualize teaching material to suit their specific needs that a higher standard of education can be achieved.

What we believe in

ÆÆ FHSST textbooks for Mathematics and Physical Sciences

We believe in openness in education. When educators openly share their learning and teaching material such lessons plans, worksheets, presentation, exam questions and notes with one another everybody benefits from it.

We believe in communities of educators working together. When educators collaborate to create and adapt teaching material, share best practices and support one another they can achieve great things.

We believe in technology. When technology is used appropriately, it can amplify individual contributions, make teachers’ lives easier and provide a more engaging learning experience for learners.

What we offer Open educational resources (OERs) OERs are teaching, learning and research resources that have been released under an open copyright license that makes it free and open for anybody to use, change, copy or distribute. We have a library of OERs that were created by ourselves, contributed by other educators or produced by other organisations. We have just launched our mobile front-end, making access to these free resources on-line even easier – point your mobile phone at http://m.siyavula.cnx.org/

Our free and open library includes the following: ÆÆ Siyavula GET workbooks A complete set of learner workbooks in English and Afrikaans for the subjects taught in grades R-9. These are available as MS Word files, can be viewed on-line, downloaded or ordered in printed form. Educators use them in different ways. They can serve as the primary teaching resource, as a free and open source of additional exercises and examples, or as the starting point for creating your own material. There are in excess of 30,000 pages of material freely available.

The Free High School Science Texts (FHSST) is a set of free and open textbooks for Grade 10, 11 and 12 Mathematics and Physical Science. They were written by a group of volunteers, educators, academics and professionals with the aim of making the knowledge freely available. Rich in worked examples and conceptual explanations, they can be freely downloaded, viewed on-line or ordered in printed format. Printing a single textbook could cost as little as R80, but if you aggregate your order for printing with that of other educators, they could be even further reduced. Visit www.fhsst.org to download them or e-mail us at orders@ openpress.co.za to order printed copies. ÆÆ On-line library of SA curriculum aligned material The Siyavula workbooks, FHSST textbooks and all other material contributed by educators are stored on Siyavula’s section of the Connexions platform. The content is sorted according to local subjects, learning outcomes and assessment standards to make it easier for educators to locate material relevant to their subject and grade. Visit www.siyavula.org.za to search and view this on-line library, or access it from your mobile phone at http://m.siyavula.cnx.org/. This newly launched mobile front-end will enable even more teachers and learners to access our content, as in South Africa access to a mobile phone is more prevalent than access to the internet via a computer. ÆÆ Open Assessment Bank for test and exam questions Siyavula offers an open on-line assessment bank called FullMarks (www.fullmarks.org.za) for the sharing and accessing of curriculum-aligned test and exam questions with answers. This site enables educators to quickly set test and exam papers by selecting items from the library and adding them to their test. Educators can then download their separate test and memo which is ready for printing. FullMarks further offer educators the option of capturing their learner’s marks in order to view a selection of diagnostic reports on their performance.

Siyavula seminars on OERs, communities and technology

or programs which you have found, used or created that work well in your classroom.

We regularly host workshops, CPD seminars, community meetings and technical training on the various topics relating to OERs, communities and technology in education. Siyuvula is currently running a series evening talks on the use of on-line tools and OERs in specific subject areas. Below are examples of the topics covered in our courses and seminars. See our website at www.siyavula.org.za to register or see a complete list of events.

Start or join a community – physically or on-line

ÆÆ An introduction for educators to the world of OERs. ÆÆ The Open Source alternative for schools and educators. ÆÆ High performing communities of practice in education. ÆÆ Creating test and exam papers with FullMarks.

We invite you to get connected with a community of educators meeting informally to share material, exchange best practices and build relationships. If you can’t find such a community in your area and are keen to start your own, contact us for helpful resources and suggestions.

About us Siyavula is a Shuttleworth Foundation seeded project which supports the development of local curriculum-aligned Open Education Resources (OER) as well as communities of educators sharing and collaborating. Siyavula is based at the Open Innovation Studio in Cape Town and are championed by Dr. Mark Horner, the Shuttleworth Foundation fellow for Open and Collaborative Resources. You can read more about Siyavula and our work at www.siyavula.org.za.

ÆÆ Contextualizing OER content for your needs. ÆÆ Introduction to technology in the classroom. ÆÆ Technology tools for teaching Mathematics in the classroom. ÆÆ Overview of OERs and technology for school and district managers.

What we seek from you Use OERs We invite you to make use of all the OERs freely available. It will not only widen the range of materials available to you and save money but allow you to get involved with the OER community.You can start by investigating the FHSST and Siyavula content on-line, sign up to the FullMarks assessment bank or attend an introductory workshop on OERs. Alternatively you can schedule a meeting with a Siyavula representative to discuss how OERs may benefit your school and classroom.

Share your resources We invite you to help us extend the open library of educational resources such as lessons plans, worksheets, presentations, pictures, tools, videos and test or exam papers. If you already have material which you have created and are willing to share with us, we invite you to upload it to Siyavula on the Connexions or FullMarks platform or e-mail it to us. Otherwise, take some of the existing material as seed content, make your own improvements to it and share that with us. We would also like to know about any other tools, resources, website

Contact: Mark Horner or Neels van der Westhuizen / Address: Open Innovation Studio, 27 Buitenkant Street, Cape Town Telephone: 021 469 4771 / E-mail: mark.horner@shuttleworthfoundation.org / Website: www.siyavula.org.za

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USEFUL LINKS AND CONTACTS

Chapter 11 USEFUL LINKS AND CONTACTS

USEFUL LINKS

Cape Teachers’ Professional Association | www.cpta.org.za The Cape Teachers’ Professional Association was established in 1967 and the official launch took place in Athlone, South Africa from 29 - 30 June 1967. Mr DR Ulster was the first duly elected president of the CTPA. The CTPA is the oldest progressive teachers’ union in South Africa. The CTPA was also instrumental in assisting the process of transformation in a Democratic South Africa.

Centre for Education Policy Development (CEPD) | www.cepd.org.za CEPD is a professionally autonomous Centre established in 1993 on the initiative of the mass democratic movement in order to start developing education policy for a democratic South Africa.

Community Learning Network | www.cln.org A site designed to help K-12 teachers integrate technology into the classroom. Here you’ll find over 5,800 annotated links to educational sites with free resources, all organized by theme pages and keyword search. Find technology resources under Teachers & Tech. You’ll also find links to online teacher development (Pro-D) and online K-12 courses

Computational Mathematics MSc | www.brunl.ac.uk/MscMathematics Thorough Theoretical Analysis with Cutting Edge Computer Resources

Department of Education website | www.education.gov.za The Department of Education provides quality education for sustainable development by providing socially relevant and economically responsive programmes that address the human resource needs of the country; enhancing the skills base for transformation and manufacturing diversification in order to meet the needs of the economy; providing quality programmes to build the capacity of all employees; and encourage a participatory decision-making process which will empower the whole community at all levels.

Ed.org.za | www.ed.org.za Ed.org.za is an online platform where action leaders in the education arena can connect, collaborate and monitor the progress of the top 100 education projects in South Africa.

Education Africa | www.educationafrica.com Education Africa, an association not for gain, was established in 1992 with the objective of addressing two of the most critical educational issues facing South Africa’s marginalised communities: accessibility to quality education and relevance of education.

Education Directory | www.sabest.co.za/directory_education.html Covers the following headings: General, Universities, Technikons, Colleges, Other, Student Information, Encyclopaedias etc, e-Education, Team

USEFUL LINKS AND CONTACTS

Building/Motivation, Short Courses.

Education International | www.ei-ie.org Education International represents nearly 30 million teachers and education workers. Our 401 member organisations operate in 172 countries and territories, from pre-school to university. As the world’s largest Global Union Federation, and the only one representing education workers in every corner of the globe. Education International is the voice for the education sector world-wide.

Federation of Governing Bodies of South African Schools (FEDSAS) | www.fedsas.org.za FEDSAS is the national representative organisation for governing bodies, which informs, organises, mobilises and develops them to achieve and uphold the highest recognized international educational standards. The vision of FEDSAS is the maintenance and promotion of education quality in schools in South Africa. Subject to the reservation of the autonomy of its members, the mission of the Federation is to co-operate, negotiate

Let’s work together as ONE to achieve quality education

and engage with the relevant authorities at all levels of education provision and decision-making, as well as with other partners and stakeholders in education.

Securing the future together

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Global Campaign for Education South Africa |

Penguin Tutoring Co (SA) | www.penguintutoring.co.za

www.campaignforeducation.org/en/south-africa The Global Campaign for Education (GCE) is a civil society movement that aims to end the global education crisis. Together we hold governments to account for their promises repeatedly made to provide Education for All. The GCE’s mission is to make sure that governments act now to deliver the right of every girl, boy, woman and man to a free quality public education.

Hip to be Square | www.hip2b2.com We want to inspire you – to make you dream big and to realise that you can do amazing things, using the vehicles of Mathematics, Science, Technology and Entrepreneurship. We want to spark your interest, and then provide you with the means to explore further. To show you how people from different countries and cultures have achieved the impossible through imagination, inspiration and determination. But it’s not only about us. It’s about you. So this site is very much your space – send us your stories, post comments, chat on the forum, share your thoughts.

InTuition Tutors | www.intuitiontutors.co.za

Resources on South African Higher Education | www.africa.msu.edu/SAHE/ This website is designed to support higher education in South Africa and people working to transform it. There are links here to most South African universities, Technikons, and higher education consortia, as well as numerous research and policy documents.

SAstudy.co.za | www.sastudy.co.za SAstudy.co.za is South Africa’s most comprehensive database of all under-graduate qualifications. In addition to a dynamic Courses Search Tool, it also offers prospective students an overview of institutions and provides them with vital information on how to make the right choices to get the most out of their student years.

SA History online | www.sahistory.org.za

Professional Mathematics tutors in Cape Town.

Rewriting history, critically examining our past and strengthening the teaching of history

IXL | www.ixl.com/math This is a wonderful website for mathematics practice with more than 1000 math topics from Grade R through to the 5th grade.

South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA) | www.saasta.ca

Jozi Kids | www.jozikids.co.za

SAASTA is an agency of the National Research Foundation (NRF). The mandate is to advance public awareness, appreciation and engagement of science, engineering and technology in South Africa.

Jozikids was created to help make all our lives easier, to showcase the myriad of family friendly, child-oriented services, products, event planning and activities in the biggest shopping centre imaginable, the internet, with its unlimited space and possibilities. It’s the solution for frustrated moms, dads, teachers, caregivers or visitors who never know where to look to find what they need. Use it to check out what’s new, what’s happening and what to do in the whole of Gauteng, from Johannesburg to Pretoria, the East Rand to the West Rand.

South African Council for Educators (SACE) | www.sace.org.za The South African Council for Educators aims to enhance the status of the teaching profession, and to promote the development of educators and their professional conduct.

Math Kids Online | www.mathkidsonline.com

South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) | www.sadtu.org.za

Be Smarter and Faster with Mathematics.

SADTU was founded in 1990 following successful teacher unity talks to establish a national unitary non-racial and non-sexist union of educators. Today the union’s membership stands at 230,000 representing nearly two-thirds of South Africa’s educators. SADTU is the largest union in the public service and the second largest union in the country.

Multi Sensory Mathematics | www.numicon.com Multi Sensory Mathematics is a mathematics programme from the UK to transform mathematics teaching.

National Professional Teachers Organisation of South Africa (NAPTOSA) | www.naptosa.org.za NAPTOSA was registered by the Registrar of Labour Relations as a Trade Union on 1 November 2006. Furthermore, with in excess of 43,000 State employed members and a further 6,000 School Governing Body, College Council and Independent School members, making a total of almost 50,000 members, we are by far the second largest union in the education sector. We enjoy all the rights of a trade union in this sector and operate in the ELRC under the name of the combined trade unions (CTU), called CTU “SAOU”. Please note that this name does not afford the SAOU or any of the other unions in the Alliance (which includes NAPTOSA, NATU, SAOU and PEU) any proprietary or pre-eminent rights or position. This was a name chosen last year to comply with the constitution of the ELRC since at that time it was not possible to use the name of the federation NAPTOSA.

South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE) | www.saide.org.za/frontend The South African Institute for Distance Education was formed as an educational trust in July 1992. Its explicit brief is to assist in the reconstruction of education and training in South Africa. It promotes open learning principles, the use of quality distance education methods and the appropriate use of technology. SAIDE works closely with policy makers and providers of educational programmes to translate these approaches into practice.

South African REFLECT Network | www.sareflect.org South Africa Reflect Network (SARN) is represented by participants, practitioners, organisations, and adult education and development activists across South Africa who is either using REFLECT or advocate for it as an accepted and preferred means to contribute to the realisation of rights of the poor.

National Student Financial Aid Scheme of South Africa (NSFAS) | www.nsfas.org.za

South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) | www.saqa.org.za

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme of South Africa (NSFAS) seeks to impact on South Africa`s historically skewed student, diplomat and graduate populations by providing a sustainable financial aid system that enables academically deserving and financially needy students to meet their own and South Africa`s development needs.

SAQA’s role is to ensure the development and implementation of a single National Qualifications Framework that contributes to the full development of each learner and to the social and economic development of the nation at large.

NNA Publishers | www.nna.co.za Buy “Maths is fun” Online. It is available for Grades 3-7 with free Delivery in South Africa.

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Penguin Tutoring provides one-on-one extra lessons at home. All school subjects available.

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To achieve this, SAQA develops policies, which facilitate: (1) registration of quality qualifications, ensuring the credibility of South African qualifications; (2) access for all to quality education and training; and (3) recognition of prior learning, articulation and mobility in learning and employment. Services include: (1) career advice services; (2) evaluation of foreign qualifications; and (3) verification of learner achievements, which are held in the National Learners’ Records Data Base together with information on registered qualifications and accredited providers.

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GENERAL CONTACT DETAILS

Umalusi | www.umalasi.org.za

Adult Learning Network (ALN)

Umalusi is a statutory organization which sets and monitors standards for general and fur ther education and training in South Africa with the purpose of continually enhancing the quality of education and training. They have five key functions: 1) Evaluating qualifications and curricula to ensure that they are of the expected standard, 2) Moderating assessment to ensure that it is fair, valid and reliable, 3) Conducting research to ensure educational quality, 4) Accrediting educational and assessment providers, 5) Certifying learner attainments.

Email: aln-national@africa.com Website: www.alnsa.org

African Leadership Academy Email: Fswaniker@ala.org Website: www.africanleadershipacademy.org

Xtralessons | www.xtralessons.co.za

Argo

Xtralessons provide one-on-One tuition in your home for all school grades and subjects.

Tel: 021 865 2813 Fax: 021 865 2166 Email: info@argo.org.za Website: www.argo.org.za

Catholic Institute of Education (CIE) Tel: 011 433 1888 Email: info@cie.org.za Website: www.cie.org.za

Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) Tel: 011 717 8600 Email: duduzile.mlambo@wits.ac.za Website: www.law.wits.ac.za

Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC) Tel: 012 420 2001 Website: www.childlawsa.com

Centre for Child Law – University of Pretoria Tel: 012 420 4502 Email: desiree.willemse@up.ac.za Website: www.childlawsa.com

Centre for Early Childhood Development (CECD) Tel: 021 683 2420 Email: cecd@iafrica.co Website: www.cecd.org.za

Department of Education Tel: 0800 202 933 Website: www.education.gov.za

Department of Science and Technology Tel: 012 843 6300 E-mail: webmaster@dst.gov.za Website: www.dst.gov.za

Eastern Cape Education Department Tel: 040 608 4200/4797 Email: customercare@edu.ecprov.gov.za Website: www.ecprov.gov.za/ education

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Earthlife South Africa (Gauteng) Tel: 011 339 3662/664 Email: seccp@earthlife.org.za Website: www.earthlife.org.za

Human Rights Commission (HRC) Tel: 011 484 8300 Email: info@sahrc.org.za Website: www.sahrc.org.za

Education International (EI)

Intelesi Consulting (Multigrade Teaching)

Email: info@ei.org.za Website: www.ei-ie.org

Tel: 011 483 6201 Email: Arlene@intelesi.co.za

Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) Tel: 012 663 0432 Email: gen.sec@elrc.co.za Website: www.elrc.co.za

Education Rights Project (ERP) Tel: 011 717 3076 Email: matseleng.allais@wits.ac.za Website: www.erp.org.za

E-School Network (ESN) Tel: 021 683 8719/ 9140 Email: jenny@esn.org.za Website: www.esn.org.za

Free State Education Department Tel: 051 404 8314/5/80000 62 66 Email: magalefasr@edu.fs.gov.za Website: www.fsdoe.fs.gov.za

Funza Lushaka Tel: 012 312 5222 Email: tyobekap@doe.gov.za Website: www.education.gov.za

Gauteng Education Department

Iziko Museum Heritage Tel: 021 481 3800 Email: info@iziko.org.za Website: www.iziko.org.za

Joint Education Trust ( JET) Tel: 011 403 6401 Email: info@jet.org.za Website: www.jet.org.za

KwaZulu-Natal Education Department Tel: 033 355 2453/0800 204 353 Website: www.kzneducation.gov.za

Learningthings Africa Tel: 011 719 4100 Email: susan@learnthings.co.za Website: www.learnthigs.co.za

Limpopo Education Department Tel: 015 290 9348 Email: MangalaN@edu.limpopo.gov.za Website: www.limpopo.gov.za/education

Mpumalanga Education Department

Tel: 011 355 0000/0600/0197/0559/0966 Website: www.education.gpg.gov.za

Tel: 013 766 0302 Email: m.lushaba@education.mpu.gov.za Website: www.mpumalanga.gov.za/education

Government Employee Medical Scheme (GEMS)

Music is a Great Investment (MIAGI)

Tel: 08600 4367/083 450 4367 Email: enguiries@gems.gov.za Website: www.gems.gov.za

Tel: 012 320 5154 Email: info@miagi.co.za Website: www.miagi.co.za

Heart and Stroke foundation of South Africa

National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of SA (NAPTOSA)

Tel: 0860 143278 Email: heart@heartfoundation.co.za Website: www.heartfoundation.co.za

Tel: 012 324 1365 Email: nkwair@gmail.com Website: www.naptosa.org.za

Home Language Project

National Children’s Theatre

Tel: 011 646 3070 Email: margose@metroweb.co.za Website: www.hlp.org.za

Tel: 011 484 1584/5 Email: Moira@nctt.org.za Website: www.jyt.co.za

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IT’S TIME FOR ACTION... National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) Tel: 021 7633232 Email: info@nfas.org.za Website: www.education.gov.za

National Teachers’ Trade Union (NATU) Tel: 035 772 1608 Website: www.natu.org.za

North West Education Department Tel: 018 368 3040 Website: www.nwpg.gov.za

Northern Cape Education Department

READ Educational Trust Tel: (011) 496 3322 E-mail: info@read.co.za Website: www.read.co.za

Resources Aimed at the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (RAPCAN) Tel: 012 712 2330 E-mail: info@rapcan.org.za Website: www.rapcan.org.za

Robben Island Young Learners Academy Tel: 021 409 5123/5104 E-mail: sandrad@robben-island.org.za Website: www.robben-island.org.za

Schoolnet

South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) Tel: 0861 072 422 E-mail: saica@saica.co.za Website: www.saica.co.za

South African Institute of Distance Education (SAIDE) Tel: 011 403 2813 E-mail: info@saide.org.za Website: www.saide.org.za

South African Principals’ Association (SAPA) Tel: 012 240 5550 E-mail: sapa@up.ca.za Website: www.sapaonline.co.za

South African Women in Science and Engineering (SAWISE)

Tel: 053 839 6701 Email: Imotsage@per.ncape.gov.za Website: www.northerncape.gob.za/education

Tel: 011 403 5777 E-mail: info@schoolnet.org.za Website: www.schoolnet.org.za

Sci-Bono Discovery Centre

E-mail: sawise@uct.ac.za Website: www.sawise.org.za

Opening Learning Systems

Tel: 011 639 8400 E-mail: info@sci-bono.co.za Website: www.scibono.co.za

Suid Afrikaanse Onderwysersunie (SAOU)

Education Trust (OLSET) Tel: 011 339 5491/7 Website: www.olset.org.za

Pan South African Language board (pANSALb) Tel: 012 341 9651/38 Email: communication@pansalb.org.za Website: www.pansalb.org.za

Phaphama Initiatives Resources Centre (conflict management) Tel: 011 982 2088/7235/5163 E-mail: info@phaphama.org.za Website: www.phaphama.org.za

South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA) Tel: 012 392 9300 E-mail: info@saasta.ac.za Website: www.saasta.ac.za

South African Congress of Early Childhood Development (SACED) Tel: 012 322 0601/2 E-mail: saced@satis.co.za Website: www.saced.co.za

South African Council for

Tel: 012 436 0900 E-mail: saou@saou.co.za Website: www.saou.co.za

We INSPIRE our youth to dream big, master their skills and achieve.

The Publisher’s Association of South Africa (PASA)

We RECOGNIZE the role of teachers in our community.

Tel: 021 762 9083 E-mail: pasa@publishsa.co.za Website: www.publishsa.co.za

Thutong Portal Tel: 012 357 4214 E-mail:thoka.v@dbe.gov Website: www.education.gov.za

Educators (SACE) Visual ArtsIN Network (VAN) ONE GOAL: INSPIRING BELIEF Planned Parenthood Tel: 086 1007223 Tel: 073 080 9610 Association of South Africa E-mail: info@sace.org.za E-mail: info@vansa.co.za QUALITY EDUCATION. Tel:ACHIEVING 011 523 1400 Website: www.sace.org.za E-mail: andrew@ppasa.org.za Website: www.ppasa.org.za

Play 2 Think

Website: www.education.gov.za

South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) Tel: 011 334 4830/4836 E-mail: Ncembi@sadtu.org.za Website: www.sadtu.org.za

Western Cape Education Department

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We help teachers, opinion leaders and thinkers to COLLABORATE on key issues to and streamline actions. We encourage society to demonstrate their SUPPORT by sharing stories of hope and transformation.

Tel: 021 467 2000

Join the action leaders in education, and E-mail: pattwell@pgwc.gov.za Website: www.capegateway.gov.za/education South African History Archive let’s focus on action, by tracking the top 100 Youth in Science Strategy (YISS) Project Literacy (SAHA) Tel: 021belief 843 6300 Tel:projects 012 323 3447 Tel: 011 717 1941 on www.ED.org.za to inspire E-mail: info@sci-bono.co.za Email: info@projectliteracy.org.za E-mail: sahas@library.wits.ac.za Website: www.sci-bono.co.za Website: www.saha.org.za Website: in www.projectliteracy.org.za the power of education. (Literacy Skipping Ropes) E-mail: martham@ppasa.org.za Website: www.play2think.org

We MOTIVATE schools to get their learners future-focussed and study-fit.

SECUrINg THE fUTUrE TOgETHEr

Argo has been developing leading communication projects in the education arena for the past 15 years. We have established relationships and partnerships in all spheres of SA’s education community. For more information about our products please visit www.argo.org.za or contact us on 021 865 2813 or info@argo.org.za