100–151, Oxford, Cape Town. h��W�n�8�>�X��oӦ��&��AM�D�c� Grade 4 learners averaged a reading score of 320 out of a 1000 on the PIRLS scale2, which is concerning because it falls far below the PIRLS ‘low international benchmark’ of 400 (Mullis et al. When investigating the LER of a country, it is important that the growing learner enrolment rate is measured against the teacher graduation rate. Stress may also cause cognitive disturbances in children, including interference with academic performance, academic delays, attention disorders and other cognitive errors (Mash & Wolfe 2012:416, 419). One participant explained that ‘the high noise level within an overcrowded class is a [sic] enormous problem for teaching…’ Other participants stated that: ‘The smaller a class, the less the noise would be. Another aspect of effective mentoring mentioned by a participant was ‘peer mentoring’. Setting: A qualitative research approach served this study best when an investigation was launched into the impact of overcrowded classrooms in the Foundation Phase in the Tshwane-West district. West, J. {�b�P2��6�(d6W�=맃�=������!5e���S|�"�hةÄݫ����Z An overcrowded classroom presents challenges that can feel nearly impossible to overcome, even to the most effective teachers. The admission policy of 1998 that forms part of the National Education Act 27 of 1996 states that public primary schools should however not exceed an LER of 40:1 (Republic of South Africa 1996:s.p.). The fight or flight response is an important neurobiological reaction to stress that needs to be considered. Because this was a case study involving a small sample, generalisation of the findings is not possible. Their workload will also have to be distributed to ensure that they can fulfil this function.’ (Participant 5, female, HE lecturer). Modisaotsile, B.M., 2012, The failing standards of basic education in South Africa, viewed 20 January 2015, from https://www.ai.org.za/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2012/03/No.-72.The-Failing-Standard-of-Basic-Education-in-South-Africa1.pdf. The issue regarding the challenges of overcrowded classrooms was described by a participant as placing ‘… tremendous amount of pressure on the teacher’. EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT . At most schools, nothing can be done about the size of the classroom; therefore, a participant rooted for the appointment of assistant teachers as ‘one of the best strategies or a first line of defence’. (2012:25), Marais (2016:2), Van Wyk (2008:143), as well as all the participants as being detrimental to learners’ academic progress and development. According to Abdoll and Barberton (2014:1), a dilapidated school infrastructure can be found ‘across the country’. This study attempts to unveil the assumed negative effects of overcrowding and make policy recommendations based on the findings. The ‘fight or flight response’ term, first developed by Dr Walter B Cannon in 1915, assisted the researcher with comprehending the challenges teachers and learners face within an overcrowded classroom. & Konstantopoulos, C., 2000, ‘The effects of small classes on academic achievement: The results of the Tennessee class size experiment’, American Educational Research Journal 37(1), 123–151. demand side) factors (DoE 2008:xii, 70; Ndebele 2014:454). All of the participants unanimously agreed that ‘[It] is incredibly difficult to teach learners in overcrowded classrooms due to the continuous disruptions and interruptions’. Data collection did not commence before written, informed consent was granted by all the participants. Tsigos, C. & Chrousos, G.P., 2002, ‘Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, neuroendocrine factors and stress’, Journal of Psychosomatic Research 53(4), 865–871. %%EOF Corpus ID: 157164146. Although schools can employ governing body educators to assist with the teaching load and management of classes, many schools do not have the funds to employ additional staff. ISINGOMA PETER . AT THE . UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA . Household overcrowding has been associated with a range of ill-health outcomes, including acute respiratory infections and diarrhoeal diseases. Methods: The study’s sample comprised 10 purposefully chosen participants who are knowledgeable and experienced in the field of teaching in overcrowded classrooms in the Foundation Phase. International Study Centre, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, viewed 02 January 2018, from https://timssandpirls.bc.edu/pirls2016/international-results/. 5 BROKEN AND UNEQUAL THE STATE OF EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICA Amnesty International 6. '�HAJ �%�P)@�Џ��Qb9�� RN������ {F The current national learner–educator ratio (LER) is 33:1, and some classes have even reported an LER value of 50:1 and higher. Teaching and learning in crowded classrooms The response to stress can have both a positive and a negative effect: normal stress (i.e. & Schumacher, S., 2010, Research in education: Evidence-based inquiry, 7th edn., Pearson, Boston, MA. This study focused on overcrowdedness within Foundation Phase classrooms, an essential phase in learners’ development, in the Tshwane-West district of South Africa. The specific objectives were, to determine the challenges facing teachers in teaching overcrowded classes, to examine relationship between overcrowded The subject of . Department of Basic Education (DBE), 2013, Annual performance plan 2013/2014, Department of Basic Education, Johannesburg. 2.2 origin and development up to 1910. endstream endobj 6169 0 obj <>/Metadata 532 0 R/Outlines 702 0 R/PageLayout/OneColumn/Pages 6120 0 R/StructTreeRoot 815 0 R/Type/Catalog>> endobj 6170 0 obj <>/Font<>>>/Rotate 0/StructParents 0/Type/Page>> endobj 6171 0 obj <>stream Cortes, Moussa and Weinstein (2012:25), Marais (2016:2) and Van Wyk (2008:143) are all of the opinion that overcrowded classrooms are one of the most common factors leading to didactical neglect, which refers to the teacher’s inability to pay enough attention to each learner’s educational needs. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 2011, Education at a glance: What is the student-teacher ratio and how big are classes?, viewed 31 May 2015, from https://www.oecd.org/edu/skills-beyond-school/48631144.pdf. It was inferred from the data collected that the effective implementation of discipline strategies does not refer to the specifics of the discipline strategies, but rather about the way it is implemented. In the following sections, both the influential factors, as well as their impact on teaching and learning, will be discussed. The university involved provided ethical clearance for the study to commence. The reduction in the LER can also help increase the pass rate of learners (DoE 2008:xii, 70; Modisaotsile 2012:s.p. More recently, the backlog stands at R2 027 048 (DBE 2019). During analysis of the transcribed data, audio and text elements were combined and analysed simultaneously using Atlas.ti software program, which led to more accurate findings because of Atlas.ti’s systematic, structured and interactive platform. Based on the research findings, the challenges participants teaching in overcrowded classrooms experienced were discussed, as well as practical solutions that SMTs and teachers can implement in order to assist with or solve the challenges of overcrowded classrooms. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, Recommendations for teachers included extensive planning with regard to classroom structuring, discipline strategies and lesson planning. South Africa’s increasingly poor Grade 12 outputs and current retention rates further indicate that there is a crisis in education. The South African LER is more than double the average of … In . The prospects for the introduction of incentives in South Africa are discussed, with the conclusion that the systems in place at the moment are not conducive to introducing teacher incentives. Supervisor: Dr V.J Pitsoe . This will ‘lighten the workload of the teacher to a great extent’ and will help improve classroom ‘discipline and consequently decrease the cognitive load of learners’ by decreasing the noise levels within the classroom. A classroom is said to be overcrowded in which the number of students exceeds the optimum level such that it causes hindrance in the teaching-learning process. The school has asked the education department for more mobile classrooms but has not received them. 2020. By appointing assistant teachers, it would also have the advantage of improving teachers’ attitudes and motivation, given that they will have the necessary support and assistance when dealing with the classroom challenges discussed in theme 1. Decreased noise levels, personalised lesson planning and meeting the needs of the individual learner will also help minimise potential fight or flight stressors within the overcrowded classroom. Another participant agreed and explained that teachers are currently using pre-designed teaching series such as ‘Platinum’ and ‘Oxford’, which is part of the problem: ‘[B]ecause if you receive planning from someone else, you don’t really know what is going on. Problematic behaviour and discipline problems identified in a study conducted by Marais (2016:5) included a lack of attention, boredom, increased noise levels, fighting and even vandalising resources. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312037001123. In the 2016 PIRLS assessment, the South African literacy results were also alarming. It is not always in the hands of the teachers’. Pretorius, J., 2017, ‘Teaching english as home language in overcrowded and multilingual foundation phase classrooms in the Tshwane-West District’, M.Ed. schools may be subject to classrooms with large student teacher ratios. In light of the identified solution of SMTs initiating more problem-solving solutions, the following three strategies were identified by the participants for SMTs to implement within their schools. Jensen, E., 2011, Different brains, different learners: How to reach the hard to teach, 2nd edn., Corwin, San Diego, CA. Emmanuel, A.O., 2013, ‘Effect of student-teacher ratio on students’ academic performance in secondary schools in the Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government area of Ogun State’, NOUN. However, the study provides information on, and a description of, the challenges teachers might be facing within overcrowded Foundation Phase classrooms in South Africa. When exploring the term ‘overcrowdedness’, it is necessary to determine the influential factors contributing to overcrowdedness as well as to investigate the impact of these factors. Overcrowded classrooms have increased the possibilities of risks for Students lack of interest in school and Poor performance in tests. The then DoE reported that out of 1000 people born between 1980 and 1984 (aged 23–27 years in 2007), about 984 entered Grade 1 and only 456 reached Grade 12. Data were transcribed to allow for all the details of the interviews to be captured, and for the identification of important word-for-word quotes from participants. One of the participants pointed out the importance of having self-discipline if you want to be able to manage an overcrowded class: ‘in the first place, you need a lot of self-discipline, because you have to apply your discipline strategies consistent[ly]’. Killen, R., 2010, Teaching strategies for quality teaching and learning, Juta, Claremont, CA. Constructive interaction with the learners is impossible due to the amount of learners. Thompson and Haskins’ (2014) statement emphasises the importance of considering the fight or flight response as a theoretical framework when investigating learning within the classroom: The reason some children have trouble paying attention in the classroom, remembering and following instructions and focussing their thinking has more to do with the neurobiological effects of stress hormones than with their unwillingness to do what the teacher says. The assistant teacher will enable a teacher to accommodate more learners’ needs as well as spend more time assisting learners who require more individual attention. 98–122, Van Schaik, Pretoria. The tables were from the back, against the wall up until the front, against the board. dissertation, National Open University of Nigeria, Lagos. The behaviour explained by the above quotations refers to the fact that in overcrowded classrooms teachers struggle to control and implement discipline strategies because of the high number of learners in the class. J.W. According to a study by Abdoll and Barberton (2014:vii) that was commissioned by the Centre for Child Law because of insufficient reliable information and non-existing norms and standards on school infrastructure, precise statistics and numbers of the infrastructure backlog are unavailable. These activities are possible because of two infrastructure grants: the education infrastructure grant of R34.3bn and the school infrastructure backlogs grant of R6.1bn (DBE 2019:206). OVERCROWDED CLASSROOMS AND LEARNERS’ ASSESSMENT IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN THE KAMWENGE DISTRICT, UGANDA . They must do extensive lesson planning’. Delport, C.S.L. This problem is a combination of an … The role of teachers therefore includes (1) effective structuring of the classroom, (2) implementation of effective discipline strategies, (3) effective lesson planning and (4) differentiated and inclusive lesson planning. This means that not even 50% of this cohort who started Grade 1 reached Grade 12 (DoE 2008:xiii). With teachers being identified as the key role players with regard to the improvement of the teaching and learning environment, this study deemed it necessary to investigate the ways in which teachers themselves can bring about improvement. 2020; Published: 30 Apr. One participant felt so strongly about the influence of a teacher’s attitude on teaching and learning, that she argued that quality education is entirely reliant on ‘the motivation and commitment of the teacher’. ), South Africa survey 2014/2015, pp. 17-21. & Wolfe, E.J., 2012, Abnormal child psychology, 4th edn., Wadsworth, Belmont. This study investigated the impact of an ‘in-school’ factor, namely, overcrowded classrooms, with specific focus on the challenges teachers experience during teaching and learning. and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The participant further elaborated from her own personal experience: ‘I was in a classroom once where there were more than 40 Foundation Phase learners in the class. Background: The South African education system is characterised by a shortage of teachers and inadequate school infrastructure which is contributing to the overcrowded nature of South African classrooms. So let's begin by looking at some of the ways in which large classes and crowding affect teaching and learning. The aim of this study was to describe the levels of … Inclusivity as described by the 2001 Education White Paper 6 Special Needs Education: Building an Inclusive Education and Training System prescribes the use of differentiated learning styles and activities to ensure quality learning and involvement (DoE 2001:16; Joubert 2015:265; Killen 2010:31). The participants made it clear that: ‘[A] teacher cannot handle 30 or more children. No deception or manipulation of the data took place in order to validate the results. Table 1 presents an outline of the first theme: ‘challenges within overcrowded classrooms’, with its associated codes and sub-codes. I’d say it prevents proper education from taking place within the classroom, because the classroom is too big – there is no space for moving, there is no space for children’s suitcases, there are a lot of factors that play a role – the learners almost sit on top of each other – that lead [sic] to disciplinary problems and so on. Examples of inadequate ‘in-school’ factors, such as a lack of resources and inadequate infrastructure, include 41.8% of schools without electricity, 70% of schools without access to computers, 79% of schools without libraries and overcrowded classrooms with an average learner–educator ratio (LER3) of 33:1, that is, one teacher for every 33 learners (DBE 2013:85, 2014b:4; Ndebele 2014:463). Background: The South African education system is characterised by a shortage of teachers and inadequate school infrastructure which is contributing to the overcrowded nature of South African classrooms. You have to do your own planning, plan your own lessons and know what you will need in order to make it understandable for your own learners’, ‘the learners that you know.’ (Participant 6, female, HOD). Two predominant themes came to light through the interviews: (1) challenges within overcrowded classrooms and (2) possible strategies for teaching in overcrowded classrooms. This study therefore was aimed to determine the effects of overcrowded Foundation Phase classrooms in the Tshwane-West district, which could possibly be the Achilles heel in South African education. Copyright: © 2020. I’ve even had students here who wrote letters stating – the teacher must fall – due to all the protest that have been taking place’. This study was guided by the ‘acute stress response’ known as the fight or flight response. South Africa had 24 453 public schools in 2010 and the number has declined to 23 076 SA battling with overcrowded classes, yet 1 400 public schools were shut down in past 10 years News Fouché & C.S.L. Furthermore, the study provides some solutions to these challenges. 5 BROKEN AND UNEQUAL THE STATE OF EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICA Amnesty International 6. Stress may also cause cognitive disturbances in children, including interference with academic performance, academic delays, attention disorders and other cognitive errors (Mash & Wolfe 2005:416, 419). Teachers' experiences with overcrowded classrooms in a mainstream school. The excess administration and assessment associated with overcrowded classrooms, as well as constant changes made within the curriculum, were all influential factors related to teachers’ attitudes and their decreasing motivation and commitment. In 2007, there was an estimated school infrastructure backlog of more than R7bn (Sebake, Mputlane & Gibberd 2007:362). In particular attitudes towards teaching, Western Cape another issue regarding improved classroom management and discipline involves effective and. Ler was argued by researchers, such as KwaZulu-Natal with a high LER the findings teaching. Unequal the STATE of education research Ethics Review Committee at the University of Nigeria, Lagos approach. Most of the participants that overcrowdedness is a combination of an active and effective mentorship programmes and in-service was! New York, NY t fit all… ’ to explain the extent of the implementation of …. 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