Pub Date : 2023-12-15DOI: 10.4102/sajce.v13i1.1296
Mareli Janse van Rensburg, Mary G. Clasquin-Johnson
Background: Parental involvement is crucial for the holistic development of a child with autism, with parents forming an integral part of educational planning and interventions.Aim: This qualitative study aims to understand teachers’ perceptions of parental involvement during the COVID-19 pandemic in the case of primary school children with autism.Setting: This study was conducted with 12 teacher participants from four primary schools that accommodate learners with autism in the Western Cape, South Africa.Methods: We conducted individual semi-structured online interviews that were recorded, supplemented by field notes and policy documents related to parental involvement. Data collection and data analysis were informed by Epstein’s model of parental involvement.Results: Teachers encountered barriers when attempting to build positive partnerships with parents of children with autism during the COVID-19 pandemic. Teachers excluded parents from decision making and their reliance on technology created additional barriers. Teachers failed to recognise that parental involvement was largely determined by their access to devices and data.Conclusion: Teachers and parents should work collaboratively to build trusting relationships characterised by effective communication and a shared commitment to overcoming barriers to parental involvement. Schools that participated relied on alternative innovative ways to involve and communicate with parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, it can be concluded that schools can take the lead to facilitate parental involvement even when parents seem unwilling and hesitant to take responsibility.Contribution: Epstein’s model of parental involvement can be used by schools to create enabling environments that will promote involvement at primary school level.
{"title":"Parental involvement in the case of primary school children with autism during COVID-19","authors":"Mareli Janse van Rensburg, Mary G. Clasquin-Johnson","doi":"10.4102/sajce.v13i1.1296","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/sajce.v13i1.1296","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Parental involvement is crucial for the holistic development of a child with autism, with parents forming an integral part of educational planning and interventions.Aim: This qualitative study aims to understand teachers’ perceptions of parental involvement during the COVID-19 pandemic in the case of primary school children with autism.Setting: This study was conducted with 12 teacher participants from four primary schools that accommodate learners with autism in the Western Cape, South Africa.Methods: We conducted individual semi-structured online interviews that were recorded, supplemented by field notes and policy documents related to parental involvement. Data collection and data analysis were informed by Epstein’s model of parental involvement.Results: Teachers encountered barriers when attempting to build positive partnerships with parents of children with autism during the COVID-19 pandemic. Teachers excluded parents from decision making and their reliance on technology created additional barriers. Teachers failed to recognise that parental involvement was largely determined by their access to devices and data.Conclusion: Teachers and parents should work collaboratively to build trusting relationships characterised by effective communication and a shared commitment to overcoming barriers to parental involvement. Schools that participated relied on alternative innovative ways to involve and communicate with parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, it can be concluded that schools can take the lead to facilitate parental involvement even when parents seem unwilling and hesitant to take responsibility.Contribution: Epstein’s model of parental involvement can be used by schools to create enabling environments that will promote involvement at primary school level.","PeriodicalId":55958,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Childhood Education","volume":"95 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2023-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138999390","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-14DOI: 10.4102/sajce.v13i1.1385
Monique Putter, E. Costandius
Background: Visual art at school can create a learning environment where learners can learn, reflect and express opinions on critical citizenship and social justice issues as an informal modality that draws on different skills and allows for expression of thoughts and ideas in a medium other than words and numbers. A relevant issue in South Africa is the need to create a sense of citizenship to help South Africans to engage with and reflect on the country’s complex colonial and apartheid history.Aim: The aim of this study was to engage primary school learners in critical citizenship and social justice education to determine how this can deepen their conceptions and to communicate these through an art project.Setting: A primary school in the Western Cape.Methods: This participatory action research (PAR) study was designed for learners to engage with critical citizenship through project-based learning at a primary school in Cape Town, South Africa. Learners investigated critical citizenship by creating folktales as a narrative for their artwork.Results: Primary school learners’ conceptions of citizenship progressed from a general understanding of what citizenship means during the start of the PAR to a much deeper and personal experience of belonging, caring and connecting at the end of the PAR. The use of folktales, digital storytelling and visual art was effective in creating a message about citizenship that the learners practically experienced and valued.Conclusion: The creative process and artistic expression deepened the learners’ understanding and engagement of critical citizenship and social justice. The reflections on the individuals’ and the group’s learning experiences revealed that critical citizenship education could influence learners’ conceptions and interpretations of folktales with a socio-political message.Contribution: This research contributes to critical citizenship education and curriculum development.
{"title":"Investigating critical citizenship education within primary school art curriculum","authors":"Monique Putter, E. Costandius","doi":"10.4102/sajce.v13i1.1385","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/sajce.v13i1.1385","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Visual art at school can create a learning environment where learners can learn, reflect and express opinions on critical citizenship and social justice issues as an informal modality that draws on different skills and allows for expression of thoughts and ideas in a medium other than words and numbers. A relevant issue in South Africa is the need to create a sense of citizenship to help South Africans to engage with and reflect on the country’s complex colonial and apartheid history.Aim: The aim of this study was to engage primary school learners in critical citizenship and social justice education to determine how this can deepen their conceptions and to communicate these through an art project.Setting: A primary school in the Western Cape.Methods: This participatory action research (PAR) study was designed for learners to engage with critical citizenship through project-based learning at a primary school in Cape Town, South Africa. Learners investigated critical citizenship by creating folktales as a narrative for their artwork.Results: Primary school learners’ conceptions of citizenship progressed from a general understanding of what citizenship means during the start of the PAR to a much deeper and personal experience of belonging, caring and connecting at the end of the PAR. The use of folktales, digital storytelling and visual art was effective in creating a message about citizenship that the learners practically experienced and valued.Conclusion: The creative process and artistic expression deepened the learners’ understanding and engagement of critical citizenship and social justice. The reflections on the individuals’ and the group’s learning experiences revealed that critical citizenship education could influence learners’ conceptions and interpretations of folktales with a socio-political message.Contribution: This research contributes to critical citizenship education and curriculum development.","PeriodicalId":55958,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Childhood Education","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2023-12-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139001387","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-12-13DOI: 10.4102/sajce.v13i1.1401
Corin D. Mathews
Background: Internationally, the teaching of division has noted that the use of sharing situations with sharing actions (one-by-one distribution) is the predominant division model at the beginning of schooling. In South Africa, research suggests a sharing situation with sharing actions is also preferred in the early grades.Aim: This paper aims to look at the predominant approaches to the use of division actions that teachers offer in teaching division tasks.Setting: The study is set in three government schools in Gauteng, South Africa.Methods: In this qualitative study, the teachers were observed through video recording, and then the video recording was transcribed, and semiotics was used to make sense of their teaching.Results: The findings of this article suggest that grouping actions and group-based approaches to teaching division tasks are more prevalent than sharing through one-by-one distribution actions, even when sharing situations are used.Conclusion: This study concludes that grouping actions and group-based approaches are part of how teachers solve sharing situations.Contribution: This study concludes that in a South African context, identifying the grouping actions and group-based approaches linked to sharing situations is a more efficient way of solving sharing situations and will assist teachers in explaining division tasks more coherently.
{"title":"South African teachers work with division actions in Grade 3","authors":"Corin D. Mathews","doi":"10.4102/sajce.v13i1.1401","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/sajce.v13i1.1401","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Internationally, the teaching of division has noted that the use of sharing situations with sharing actions (one-by-one distribution) is the predominant division model at the beginning of schooling. In South Africa, research suggests a sharing situation with sharing actions is also preferred in the early grades.Aim: This paper aims to look at the predominant approaches to the use of division actions that teachers offer in teaching division tasks.Setting: The study is set in three government schools in Gauteng, South Africa.Methods: In this qualitative study, the teachers were observed through video recording, and then the video recording was transcribed, and semiotics was used to make sense of their teaching.Results: The findings of this article suggest that grouping actions and group-based approaches to teaching division tasks are more prevalent than sharing through one-by-one distribution actions, even when sharing situations are used.Conclusion: This study concludes that grouping actions and group-based approaches are part of how teachers solve sharing situations.Contribution: This study concludes that in a South African context, identifying the grouping actions and group-based approaches linked to sharing situations is a more efficient way of solving sharing situations and will assist teachers in explaining division tasks more coherently.","PeriodicalId":55958,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Childhood Education","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2023-12-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139003655","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-15DOI: 10.4102/sajce.v13i1.1353
Elna van der Merwe, Catelen Briedenhann, Bianka Reyneke
Background: Perceptual motor development is crucial during early childhood and not properly addressing it in physical education (PE) can be detrimental.Aim: To determine the effect of a South African curriculum-aligned PE intervention on the visual-motor integration (VMI), visual perception (VP) and motor coordination (MC) of 6-year-old children.Setting: Quintile 3 schools in Mangaung, Free State Province, South Africa.Methods: Grade 1 children from two quintile 3 schools in Mangaung were recruited. Complete data sets were obtained for 44 participants. A quantitative randomised control trial design was followed. The Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration, Sixth Edition (Beery VMI-6), determined participants’ VMI, VP and MC during the pre- and post-tests. The KaziKidz toolkit was used as intervention during 10 sessions of 40 min each for the experimental group, while the control group continued with the South African PE curriculum. The Fisher’s exact and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used for pre- and post-test comparisons, with p 0.05 indicating statistical significance.Results: The median age of the control (n = 18) and intervention (n = 26) groups was 6.7 and 6.5 years, respectively. Post intervention, the intervention group displayed significantly improved VMI (p = 0.042) and VP (p 0.001), compared to the control group. No significant differences between the groups were observed for MC.Conclusion: Exposure to PE including perceptual motor aspects significantly improved the VMI and VP of 6-year-old children.Contribution: Results deemed the KaziKidz toolkit to be a successful mode of PE delivery to improve the perceptual skills of Grade 1 learners in South Africa.
{"title":"Enhancing visual-motor integration and visual perception of 6-year-old children","authors":"Elna van der Merwe, Catelen Briedenhann, Bianka Reyneke","doi":"10.4102/sajce.v13i1.1353","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/sajce.v13i1.1353","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Perceptual motor development is crucial during early childhood and not properly addressing it in physical education (PE) can be detrimental.Aim: To determine the effect of a South African curriculum-aligned PE intervention on the visual-motor integration (VMI), visual perception (VP) and motor coordination (MC) of 6-year-old children.Setting: Quintile 3 schools in Mangaung, Free State Province, South Africa.Methods: Grade 1 children from two quintile 3 schools in Mangaung were recruited. Complete data sets were obtained for 44 participants. A quantitative randomised control trial design was followed. The Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration, Sixth Edition (Beery VMI-6), determined participants’ VMI, VP and MC during the pre- and post-tests. The KaziKidz toolkit was used as intervention during 10 sessions of 40 min each for the experimental group, while the control group continued with the South African PE curriculum. The Fisher’s exact and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used for pre- and post-test comparisons, with p 0.05 indicating statistical significance.Results: The median age of the control (n = 18) and intervention (n = 26) groups was 6.7 and 6.5 years, respectively. Post intervention, the intervention group displayed significantly improved VMI (p = 0.042) and VP (p 0.001), compared to the control group. No significant differences between the groups were observed for MC.Conclusion: Exposure to PE including perceptual motor aspects significantly improved the VMI and VP of 6-year-old children.Contribution: Results deemed the KaziKidz toolkit to be a successful mode of PE delivery to improve the perceptual skills of Grade 1 learners in South Africa.","PeriodicalId":55958,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Childhood Education","volume":"29 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2023-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139274772","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-30DOI: 10.4102/sajce.v13i1.1396
Monique De Wit, Sylnita Swartz-Filies, Janke Van der Walt, Casey Clarke, Liezl Worship, Carli Smit, Darelle Van Greunen, Nicola Plastow
Background: The concept of school readiness is well-defined internationally. However, it is unclear how the concept is defined and used in South Africa or understood by preschool teachers.Aim: The aim of this analysis was to develop a clear and accessible summary of the concept of school readiness in South Africa for preschool teachers.Methods: An eight-step systematic approach, including the use of the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis guidelines, was followed to identify research conducted in South Africa that defined school readiness, and to complete a concept analysis. A subsequent seven-step process was followed to create a Plain Language Summary (PLS) of the contextual definition of school readiness.Results: Using ATLAS.ti software, we identified 619 quotations related to school readiness. Through inductive thematic analysis we identified 48 unique concept codes followed by eight categories or attributes of school readiness. The contextual definition of school readiness was developed in plain language and is stated as children who are fully prepared for school can engage in meaningful learning, because they have developed the necessary behavioural, intellectual, language, literacy, numeracy, physical, socio-emotional and classroom skills for formal schooling.Conclusion: A South African school readiness definition, that is consistent with the way school readiness is understood internationally, was developed in plain language. Although the concept of school readiness is not unique to South Africa, the ways in which it is promoted is contextually bound.Contribution: This PLS may contribute to sustainable and affordable access to culture-centred preschool teacher training content.
{"title":"School readiness in South Africa: Concept analysis and plain language summary","authors":"Monique De Wit, Sylnita Swartz-Filies, Janke Van der Walt, Casey Clarke, Liezl Worship, Carli Smit, Darelle Van Greunen, Nicola Plastow","doi":"10.4102/sajce.v13i1.1396","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/sajce.v13i1.1396","url":null,"abstract":"Background: The concept of school readiness is well-defined internationally. However, it is unclear how the concept is defined and used in South Africa or understood by preschool teachers.Aim: The aim of this analysis was to develop a clear and accessible summary of the concept of school readiness in South Africa for preschool teachers.Methods: An eight-step systematic approach, including the use of the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis guidelines, was followed to identify research conducted in South Africa that defined school readiness, and to complete a concept analysis. A subsequent seven-step process was followed to create a Plain Language Summary (PLS) of the contextual definition of school readiness.Results: Using ATLAS.ti software, we identified 619 quotations related to school readiness. Through inductive thematic analysis we identified 48 unique concept codes followed by eight categories or attributes of school readiness. The contextual definition of school readiness was developed in plain language and is stated as children who are fully prepared for school can engage in meaningful learning, because they have developed the necessary behavioural, intellectual, language, literacy, numeracy, physical, socio-emotional and classroom skills for formal schooling.Conclusion: A South African school readiness definition, that is consistent with the way school readiness is understood internationally, was developed in plain language. Although the concept of school readiness is not unique to South Africa, the ways in which it is promoted is contextually bound.Contribution: This PLS may contribute to sustainable and affordable access to culture-centred preschool teacher training content.","PeriodicalId":55958,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Childhood Education","volume":"5 5","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136022829","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-27DOI: 10.4102/sajce.v13i1.1239
Craig Pournara, Lynn Bowie
Background: Poor mathematics performance in South Africa is well known. The COVID-19 pandemic was expected to exacerbate the situation. Aim: To investigate Grade 7 learners’ mathematical knowledge at the end of primary school and to compare mathematical performance of Grade 7 and 8 learners in the context of the pandemic. Setting: Data were collected in term four of 2020 at 11 primary schools and five secondary schools. All schools drew learners from poor communities in Gauteng. Methods: A multiple-choice test covering mathematical content from Grades 4–7 was designed and piloted. Learner performance was measured through number of correct responses. Qualitative error analyses were conducted on learners’ choices of distractors. Results: The difference in performance of the two grade groups was not statistically significant. There were similar response patterns in learners’ choices of distractors with strong evidence of cue-based reasoning and evidence of additive reasoning in items requiring multiplicative reasoning. Conclusion: Grade 8 learners made very small gains, likely due to reduced learning time. Learner errors show many similarities with the international literature and show that Grade 7 learners are not yet ready for algebra. Contribution: The findings provide starting points for addressing the most common errors and highlight the need for: greater attention to whole and rational number concepts in Grade 8; strategies for teacher support in teaching primary maths content; and innovative teaching strategies to fast-track learning of this content.
{"title":"What mathematics do Grade 7 learners take to high school in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic?","authors":"Craig Pournara, Lynn Bowie","doi":"10.4102/sajce.v13i1.1239","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/sajce.v13i1.1239","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Poor mathematics performance in South Africa is well known. The COVID-19 pandemic was expected to exacerbate the situation. Aim: To investigate Grade 7 learners’ mathematical knowledge at the end of primary school and to compare mathematical performance of Grade 7 and 8 learners in the context of the pandemic. Setting: Data were collected in term four of 2020 at 11 primary schools and five secondary schools. All schools drew learners from poor communities in Gauteng. Methods: A multiple-choice test covering mathematical content from Grades 4–7 was designed and piloted. Learner performance was measured through number of correct responses. Qualitative error analyses were conducted on learners’ choices of distractors. Results: The difference in performance of the two grade groups was not statistically significant. There were similar response patterns in learners’ choices of distractors with strong evidence of cue-based reasoning and evidence of additive reasoning in items requiring multiplicative reasoning. Conclusion: Grade 8 learners made very small gains, likely due to reduced learning time. Learner errors show many similarities with the international literature and show that Grade 7 learners are not yet ready for algebra. Contribution: The findings provide starting points for addressing the most common errors and highlight the need for: greater attention to whole and rational number concepts in Grade 8; strategies for teacher support in teaching primary maths content; and innovative teaching strategies to fast-track learning of this content.","PeriodicalId":55958,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Childhood Education","volume":"7 6","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136236170","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-24DOI: 10.4102/sajce.v13i1.1280
Caroline R. Van der Mescht
Background: The context of this research is reading literacy instruction in Foundation Phase classrooms in South Africa. Although large-scale studies have researched learner performance, little is known of the nuances of teachers’ practice, particularly in the non-verbal realm. This research seeks to address that gap. Aim: This research investigated teachers’ gestural and postural enactments during reading literacy instruction in the Foundation Phase. It identified and described these enactments to understand their function. Setting: The research sites comprised three Grade One classrooms in suburban government schools. The research focused on the Foundation Phase speech event ‘Reading on the Mat’, a variation of Group Guided Reading. Methods: This article presents a strand of a linguistic micro-ethnography. An analysis of the forms and styles of communication showed the salience of gestures and postures in teachers’ practices. The research used an established framework to analyse non-verbal communication and also generated a framework to analyse postural communication. Results: These teachers deployed gestures and postures to enact their instruction. Learners embodied their learning by copying gestures and using them in recall. Postures were used to provide signals to learners and visitors related to the function of activities on the Mat. Conclusion: The article concluded that gestures and postures can be deliberately employed in the service of literacy teaching in the Foundation Phase. Their analysis can also reveal the function of enactment practices to researchers. Contribution: This article adds to the understandings of embodied practices. It presents original categories that may be useful in similar research into teachers’ practices.
{"title":"In word and deed: Embodying early literacy learning in gestures and postures","authors":"Caroline R. Van der Mescht","doi":"10.4102/sajce.v13i1.1280","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/sajce.v13i1.1280","url":null,"abstract":"Background: The context of this research is reading literacy instruction in Foundation Phase classrooms in South Africa. Although large-scale studies have researched learner performance, little is known of the nuances of teachers’ practice, particularly in the non-verbal realm. This research seeks to address that gap. Aim: This research investigated teachers’ gestural and postural enactments during reading literacy instruction in the Foundation Phase. It identified and described these enactments to understand their function. Setting: The research sites comprised three Grade One classrooms in suburban government schools. The research focused on the Foundation Phase speech event ‘Reading on the Mat’, a variation of Group Guided Reading. Methods: This article presents a strand of a linguistic micro-ethnography. An analysis of the forms and styles of communication showed the salience of gestures and postures in teachers’ practices. The research used an established framework to analyse non-verbal communication and also generated a framework to analyse postural communication. Results: These teachers deployed gestures and postures to enact their instruction. Learners embodied their learning by copying gestures and using them in recall. Postures were used to provide signals to learners and visitors related to the function of activities on the Mat. Conclusion: The article concluded that gestures and postures can be deliberately employed in the service of literacy teaching in the Foundation Phase. Their analysis can also reveal the function of enactment practices to researchers. Contribution: This article adds to the understandings of embodied practices. It presents original categories that may be useful in similar research into teachers’ practices.","PeriodicalId":55958,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Childhood Education","volume":"10 4","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135268069","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-24DOI: 10.4102/sajce.v13i1.1298
Kanyakumarie Padayachee, Savathrie Maistry, Geoffrey T. Harris, Darren Lortan
Background: South Africa is beset with violent, antisocial practices and ways of life hindering peaceful co-existence and participatory democracy. This makes a targeted early education programme to develop a socially responsible generation imperative. Aim: Based on a larger research project, this study aimed to highlight the value of participatory action research in determining the outcomes of an early childhood development (ECD) Integral Education (IE) and Ubuntu approach for incorporation in the education and training of practitioners. Setting: Three ECD practitioners were selected to participate in this study, which was located in a township in the south of Durban in three preschools (urban, semi-urban and rural). Methods: Lewin’s PAR method was used to explore, develop and evaluate an intervention for change. Data were collected through focus group and participant interviews, observations and journal entries and then analysed thematically. Results: The findings revealed that, personally and professionally, the practitioners experienced positive changes through adopting an integral approach that included becoming more introspective and reflective in their practice. Conclusion: Educating and training early childhood practitioners to develop the appropriate knowledge, skills, attitudes and values to adopt and implement an ECD IE and Ubuntu approach are essential for developing a new generation of socially responsible citizens for participatory democracy in South Africa. Contribution: The findings highlighted key components of an ECD IE practitioner training programme based on the integrality of the mind, body, heart, spirit and community. Thus, the development of a caring, compassionate and humane society in democratic South Africa can be enabled.
{"title":"Integral education and Ubuntu: A participatory action research project in South Africa","authors":"Kanyakumarie Padayachee, Savathrie Maistry, Geoffrey T. Harris, Darren Lortan","doi":"10.4102/sajce.v13i1.1298","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/sajce.v13i1.1298","url":null,"abstract":"Background: South Africa is beset with violent, antisocial practices and ways of life hindering peaceful co-existence and participatory democracy. This makes a targeted early education programme to develop a socially responsible generation imperative. Aim: Based on a larger research project, this study aimed to highlight the value of participatory action research in determining the outcomes of an early childhood development (ECD) Integral Education (IE) and Ubuntu approach for incorporation in the education and training of practitioners. Setting: Three ECD practitioners were selected to participate in this study, which was located in a township in the south of Durban in three preschools (urban, semi-urban and rural). Methods: Lewin’s PAR method was used to explore, develop and evaluate an intervention for change. Data were collected through focus group and participant interviews, observations and journal entries and then analysed thematically. Results: The findings revealed that, personally and professionally, the practitioners experienced positive changes through adopting an integral approach that included becoming more introspective and reflective in their practice. Conclusion: Educating and training early childhood practitioners to develop the appropriate knowledge, skills, attitudes and values to adopt and implement an ECD IE and Ubuntu approach are essential for developing a new generation of socially responsible citizens for participatory democracy in South Africa. Contribution: The findings highlighted key components of an ECD IE practitioner training programme based on the integrality of the mind, body, heart, spirit and community. Thus, the development of a caring, compassionate and humane society in democratic South Africa can be enabled.","PeriodicalId":55958,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of Childhood Education","volume":"21 6","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135315450","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-16DOI: 10.4102/sajce.v13i1.1311
Chantel Snyman, Chrizanne Van Eeden, Marita Heyns
Background: Autism spectrum disorder is one of the most common disabilities in schools, with up to 50% of such children displaying behaviours that challenge, bringing about demanding teaching circumstances and a negative impact on educators’ well-being. Strength-based interventions has not formally been used in autistic classrooms in South Africa and research regarding the topic is limited. Aim: To determine the effect of a strength-based intervention on educators’ perception of their own well-being, self-efficacy and the behaviour of autistic learners in their class. Setting: This study was carried out in one autism-specific school in Nelson Mandela Bay of South Africa that met the specific inclusion criteria. Methods: This exploratory study used a pre-experimental group design with three pre-intervention -post-intervention outcome measures to determine the effect of an intervention to support educators. The researcher presented a one-day training programme on a 6-week character strength intervention to use and implement in the autistic classroom. Results: A few statistically significant changes were found of learners’ behaviours that challenged, but none for educators’ well-being and self-efficacy. Verbal aggression significantly decreased both in frequency and severity. Behaviours that declined significantly in severity were physical aggression, disruption, destruction and manipulative, deceitful or non-compliant behaviour. Conclusion: The research showed educators’ stronger focus on strengths made a difference in learners’ behaviour that challenge. The exploratory study shows some positive results, which indicate a larger study can be undertaken with some changes. Contribution: The outcomes contribute to the character strengths and positive education theoretical frameworks and can be relevant to support autistic learners’ behaviours.
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Pub Date : 2023-10-11DOI: 10.4102/sajce.v13i1.1425
Elizabeth Henning
The South African Journal of Childhood Education (SAJCE) is a peer-reviewed journal that provides a forum for the dissemination of research in childhood learning and development and the care and education of children from birth to 12 years. The journal is interdisciplinary in scope and seeks to stimulate the exchange of ideas in a variety of subjects, contexts, and issues in childhood education and child care.
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