Abstract
This study aimed to reveal Grade 12 learners’ classroom talk learning about the development of their academic self. The study took place in a rural secondary school. The researcher used social constructivist paradigm and a qualitative research design to answer the research questions. As for Young & Collin (2004: 373) “the basic principle behind social constructivism is that knowledge is constructed through social interaction, interpretation and understanding and is the result of social process”. Participants were purposively sampled and they participate voluntarily. The study took place during Life Orientation class. Learners were discussing how Grade 12 learners use classroom talk to learn about the development of their academic self. Questions were asked in the form of individual and focus group interview. The conversation was video recorded and thereafter transcribed. Later on data was analysed by means of content analysis and conversation analysis. The main question was: “what are the views Grade 12 learners have about the development of their academic self and how do they learn from one another about the development of the self.
The findings show that learners were un-motivated. But after the discussions they deemed the development of academic- self important. Learners indicated that they gained a lot of information from the classroom talk. Turn-taking became random because participants spoke whenever they felt they had something to say. Participants had turns to respond, but there were some instances where others interrupted when others were talking. Other participants used gestures to accentuate what was being said. Sharing ideas with each other was so much helpful because others grasp certain important information that they were not aware of. Learners learn to respect one’s views when talking. The purpose of this study was to explore how Grade 12 learners use classroom talk to learn about the development of their academic self and also to explore their views regarding the development of their academic self. The study answered the following questions: 1. what are the views Grade 12 learners have about the development of their academic self? 2. How Grade 12 learners use classroom talk to learn about the development of their academic self? The main findings from the study were that learners like development...
M.Ed. (Psychology of Learning)