Poster #25 - Inequality in Education Policy in Post-Truth Era: Spotlight on Language Realities in a Rural School

• In Event: 25.087 - MTCC Poster Session Four
  In Poster Session: 25.087-4 - Youth, Power, Reflection, and the Word

Abstract

For many South African students English is the language of teaching and learning. These students do not speak English at home consequently, English has become a barrier to learning particularly in rural areas where levels of inequality is high and poverty is prevalent. The purpose of the study was to use secondary data analysis to explore students’ retrospective experiences of learning in a second language in a rural school. The findings provide evidence-based descriptions of the experiences of a sample group of 40 Grade 9 students from 2012 to 2015. The low language proficiency experienced by the students was exacerbated by the rural context, their internal challenges and the school’s lack of resources.

Authors

• Margaret Funke Omidire, University of Pretoria

• Motlalepule Ruth Mampane, University of Pretoria

• Ruth Aluko, University of Pretoria