Scielo RSS http://www.scielo.org.za/rss.php?pid=2223-768220140002&lang=en vol. 4 num. 2 lang. en http://www.scielo.org.za/img/en/fbpelogp.gif http://www.scielo.org.za http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-76822014000200001&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-76822014000200002&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en We start our paper with a critical exploration of the current 'back to basics' approach in South African foundation phase teacher education with its emphasis on strengthening the teaching of subject knowledge. We claim that such a proposal first demands an answer to the question 'what is foundational in foundation phase teaching?' We propose an answer in three stages. First we argue that teacher education should be concerned not only with schooling or qualification (knowledge, skills and dispositions) and socialisation, but, drawing on Gert Biesta's work, also with subjectification (educating the person towards the ability to make wise educational judgements). Secondly, these three aims of education lead to five core principles, and we finish by showing how these principles inform our storied, thinking and multimodal/semiotic curriculum. Our answer to our leading question is that pedagogical 'know-how' and views of 'child' and 'childhood' constitute the subject knowledge that is foundational in the foundation phase curriculum. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-76822014000200003&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en A significant number of young learners entering into Grade 1 in South Africa have not reached the required level of readiness for formal learning due to inadequate early learning experiences. As found in many studies worldwide, these learners are often traumatised because they cannot keep up with the pace and requirements of the formal learning situation, putting them at risk for school failure. Focus group interviews were conducted with Grade 1 teachers at two city schools in Pretoria to explore their experiences regarding the insufficient school readiness of their learners and the impact thereof on the learning process. The predominant concerns emerging from this investigation are the inaccessibility of the current curriculum (Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement - CAPS) for learners with insufficient school readiness, and education policies which seem to work against inclusivity. Although Education White Paper 6 (RSA DoE 2001) states that providing quality education to all learners requires adapting curricula, teaching strategies and organisational arrangements to meet the needs of the learners, the teachers in this study feel that they are not allowed the freedom to do so. Recommendations are made to remedy the situation. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-76822014000200004&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en A one-size-fits-all curriculum cannot address the issues faced by rural multigrade teachers and learners. In South Africa, despite government efforts to relieve adversity, poverty in rural areas is still rife and poor education still fails to lift people out of it (Joubert 2010). Equality is essential in ensuring that all South African children have access to quality education where they can learn in an environment free from bias and discrimination (Asmal 2001). Bronfenbrenner's social ecological systems theory underpinned this study. The purpose of this research was to identify the challenges experienced by two foundation phase teachers in teaching writing. This research was a qualitative study embedded within an interpretive case study. The following factors became evident: poor socio-economic backgrounds, transport, parental illiteracy, and teacher challenges that include the following subthemes: reading problems, differentiated teaching, resources, the language of teaching and learning, and writing support from the Western Cape Education Department (WCED). http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-76822014000200005&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en Language policies in education in multilingual postcolonial contexts are often driven by ideological considerations more veered towards socio-economic and political viability for the country than towards the practicality at implementation level. Centuries after the advent of colonisation, when culturally and linguistically homogenous countries helped to maintain the dominion of colonisers, the English language still has a stronghold in numerous countries due to the material rewards it offers. How then are the diversity of languages - often with different statuses and functions in society - reconciled in the teaching and learning process? How do teachers deal with the intricacies that are generated within a situation where children are taught in a language that is foreign to them? This paper is based on a study involving pre-primary teachers in Mauritius, a developing multilingual African country. The aim was to understand how their approach to the teaching of English was shaped by their biographical experiences of learning the language. The narrative inquiry methodology offered rich possibilities to foray into these experiences, including the manifestations of negotiating their classroom pedagogy in relation to their own personal historical biographies of language teaching and learning, the policy environment, and the pragmatic classroom specificities of diverse, multilingual learners. These insights become resources for early childhood education and teacher development in multilingual contexts caught within the tensions between language policy and pedagogy. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-76822014000200006&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en The purpose of the study was to explore the transitions of two individuals within a twinship from Grade R through to Grade 2, and to offer an in-depth description of their transition experiences and perspectives. The transitions were investigated with a focus on variables such as stress, stressors, emotions, coping and life skills. The inquiry was conducted as an interpretive case study. The participants were two monozygotic boys within a twinship, their mother and their Grade R, Grade 1 and Grade 2 teachers. The findings suggest that the transition was predominantly uncomplicated from Grade R through to Grade 2, and that the transition to Grade 2 was more stressful than that to Grade 1. The findings also indicate that although the life skills taught by the researchers helped the boys to cope with negative stressors, their personal support structures were probably the most important factors in easing their transitions from Grade R through to Grade 2. The life skills learned mostly helped the two children to deal effectively with bullies, to contract and maintain satisfying friendships, and to control their personal emotions. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-76822014000200007&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en This paper reports on the perceptions and experiences of primary school teachers of the challenges they faced and the prospects of using data from the Annual National Assessments (ANAs). While the majority stated that information from the ANAs can assist teachers to improve learning, responses on the use of the ANAs in the classroom were mixed, with most reporting that teachers did not know how to use ANA results to improve learning, and that no plans were in place at their schools for the use of ANA data. A significant proportion also indicated that they received little or no support from the school district on how to use ANA results. These findings were consistent across the school quintiles as well as the foundation and intermediate phases. Given the potential value of the ANAs, the paper highlights two initiatives aimed at enhancing the meaningful use of ANA results to improve learning and teaching in schools. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-76822014000200008&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en This article presents the translation and adaptation process of a mathematics test for the acquisition of key mathematical (arithmetic) concepts by children from four to eight years of age. The origin of this test was in Germany, whence it was sourced by researchers at the University of Johannesburg. A conceptual model of hierarchical mathematics competence development forms the theoretical foundation of the test. This notion of hierarchical competence was tested in a one-dimensional Rasch analysis, which confirmed the hierarchical structure of the test with five levels of ability. In the translation process, it was imperative to ascertain whether the items of the translation had retained the conceptual content of the original test and had been allocated to the same conceptual levels as in the original test. In a number of pilot studies with a total of 1 600 South African children, we focused on the items that had been allocated to a different level, aiming to find out whether this was the result of translation errors. In analyses of different samples, discussing and reflecting on the model fit, and especially on items that did not fit well, 'misfitting' items could mostly be attributed to translation difficulties and differences in the children's strategies, and not to a generally altered model. The final model was established after the rephrasing of critical items. This model has already been tested with 500 additional South African children. Results are presented and discussed, with the focus on the Sesotho test results. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-76822014000200009&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en In this article we explore approaches to curriculum in the primary school in order to map and manage the omissions implicit in the current unfolding of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement for mathematics. The focus of school-based research has been on curriculum coverage and cognitive depth. To address the challenges of teaching mathematics from the perspective of the learner, we ask whether the learners engage with the subject in such a way that they build foundations for more advanced mathematics. We firstly discuss three approaches that inform the teaching of mathematics in the primary school and which may be taken singly or in conjunction into organising the curriculum: the topics approach, the process approach, and the conceptual fields approach. Each of the approaches is described and evaluated by presenting both their advantages and disadvantages. We then expand on the conceptual fields approach by means of an illustrative example. The planning of an instructional design integrates both a topics and a process approach into a conceptual fields approach. To address conceptual depth within this approach, we draw on five dimensions required for understanding a mathematical concept. In conclusion, we reflect on an approach to curriculum development that draws on the integrated theory of conceptual fields to support teachers and learners in the quest for improved teaching and learning. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-76822014000200010&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en This paper, deriving from a larger study, evaluates the readability of two Grade 4 natural sciences textbooks used by learners who speak English as an additional language in two South African schools. The study is set within the context of the reading-related transitional challenges faced by English second language learners when they move from the foundation phase to the intermediate phase. Text readability is critical for educational achievement during this transition. The case study was conducted by means of a qualitative content analysis of factors that are not accommodated in the readability formulae which were used to investigate the textbooks. While the findings from the two instruments were ambivalent for Book 1, with the content analysis showing the book to be largely readable, but the readability calculator indicating it to be beyond the learners' reading level, both instruments indicated poor readability for Book 2. The study recommends a close consideration of text readability by both authors and teachers. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-76822014000200011&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en The article reports on the process of producing a film for students in a university course. The purpose of the production was to make local film material that could assist students in their learning of developmental cognitive psychology theory in general, but specifically also the mathematical cognition of children. Although the students in the production team set out as actors and technical helpers, they gradually appropriated their acting roles and the plot of the story to the extent that they learned the theory that the film was portraying. Not only did they show interest in the psychology texts and the story, but they also developed agency - they became the owners of the film. The argument of this paper is that a multimodal foundation in teacher education can give students multiple semiotic entry points, but also, if given the opportunity to make a dramatic film, they can learn the content of mathematical cognition while learning film production. The article argues that contemporary teacher education programmes are by their very nature briefed to be multimodal, because teachers' work in schools in the 21st century requires more than language text and oral, in-person communication. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-76822014000200012&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en Adopting a social justice theoretical framework, the author proposes that the involvement of children in educational researchis paramount. However, such involvement often exposes children to exploitation and a violation of their rights. As such, it is essential that all research involving children should be ethically sound. Hence, the purpose of this study was to explore ethical considerations in educational research involving children, especially in South Africa, which was historically known for the marginalization of and discrimination against children. This generic qualitative study included a sample of eight experts with extensive knowledge of the ethical concerns surrounding children's participation in research activities. Data was collected through individual interviews, a questionnaire, and the analysis of documents and instruments pertaining to the ethical-legal protection of children's involvement in research activities in South Africa. The findings identify several ethical principles that should be considered within a South African perspective and which have specific implications for educational researchers. http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-76822014000200013&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en Adopting a social justice theoretical framework, the author proposes that the involvement of children in educational researchis paramount. However, such involvement often exposes children to exploitation and a violation of their rights. As such, it is essential that all research involving children should be ethically sound. Hence, the purpose of this study was to explore ethical considerations in educational research involving children, especially in South Africa, which was historically known for the marginalization of and discrimination against children. This generic qualitative study included a sample of eight experts with extensive knowledge of the ethical concerns surrounding children's participation in research activities. Data was collected through individual interviews, a questionnaire, and the analysis of documents and instruments pertaining to the ethical-legal protection of children's involvement in research activities in South Africa. The findings identify several ethical principles that should be considered within a South African perspective and which have specific implications for educational researchers.