Abstract
D.Ed.
Apartheid and underdevelopment have shaped the educational system in South Africa. Previously South African public schools have been segregated according to race and separate education systems had been instituted for the four main population groups since the early foundations of educations. Racially mixed schools were prohibited.
With the transformation of South Africa to a democratic country, where the African National Congress came to power in 1994, many changes took place. One of these was fundamental changes to the educational system with the admittance of learners of all races to previously racially segregated schools. Many parents from townships welcomed the opportunity to have their children attend schools in urban areas to expose them to education that they perceive to be of a higher standard than that in township schools.
This movement of learners from all ethnic groups to English medium schools has necessitated some changes in these schools to accommodate the unique characteristics of learners from diverse cultural, linguistic and socio-economic backgrounds. It is important to note that these learners bring to the classroom languages and cultures previously underrepresented.
Learners who come from different cultural or linguistic backgrounds are often seen as environmentally deprived simply because of their “being different” from the dominant culture. These learners begin their schooling with certain lags that may be due to the fact that they have a limited understanding of the language of instruction. These communication difficulties are exacerbated when the learner is confronted with a foreign culture that may cause anxiety and frustration as well as insecurity. This, in turn, becomes the educator’s problem, because learning is impeded under such circumstances. Grade eight learners in transition from township schools may also have added difficulties on account of their required adjustment to changes linked to their developmental phase, namely adolescence.
The aim of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of LEP grade eight learners in transition from township schools to English multicultural schools in order to develop an intervention programme for educators and educational psychologists with regard of support for these learners.
The research was conducted from the qualitative paradigm. It included a literature review, individual and focus group interviews with learner, their educators and their parents, essays by LEP learners and observation of these learners. A purposive sample of ten learners from each six English medium secondary schools in Gauteng was selected.
Data analysis was deductive. Categories of meaning included the following: scholastic performance, emotional factors, behavioural factors, sociological factors, cultural factors, environmental factors, educator attitudes and, finally, transition and adjustment. The three groups of respondents agreed to a large extent on the experiences of LEP learners.
An intervention programme, based on the findings of the study, was developed for educators and educational psychologists to render support for LEP learners in order to facilitate their learning and adjustment in multicultural schools. The principal areas of the programme aimed at providing and inclusive, inviting educational approach that will enable learners to feel included and valued in the school, while improving their learning and adjustment.
Prof. J. Pillay