Learner voice, teacher pedagogy and learning across fee- and no-fee schools in South Africa

• In Event: Roundtable Session (Wednesday I)
  In Refereed Round-Table Session: Inequities within and between schooling contexts

Proposal

The right to basic education for all children is enshrined in Section 29 of the Constitution of South Africa. In effecting these rights, the South African Human Rights Commission’s (SAHRC) Charter of Children’s Basic Education Rights notes that the State must provide all children with access to adequate resources, appropriate facilities, safe learning environments, non-discriminatory and culturally relevant content, and qualified teachers who are flexible and able to respond to the different needs of the children (SAHRC, 2012). However, the Charter is silent on the rights of children to actively engage in the learning and teaching process that impact on their daily lives in schools. Commenting on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), Lundy (2007) notes that even though Article 12 provides for children to freely express their views in all matters impacting on them, these rights are rarely implemented in practice. Similarly, McGrath and Nolan (2017) argue that the recognition of children’s voice are a glaring omission in the plans for the implementation of all the Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG4. Moreover, Weld and Lundy (2013) note that respecting children’s views is not just a model of good pedagogical practice but also a legally binding obligation for all governments

Addressing these rights within the context in South Africa would require fundamental shifts in the teaching and learning practices in all schools. However, there is a dearth of information on whether and how these learner rights are enacted within the classroom and how this impact on teachers’ pedagogical practices. Even less information is available on these practices across fee-paying and no-fee schools, especially since differences between these schools are marked by large disparities in facilities, resources, levels of teacher qualification as well as the socio-economic status of learners and teachers.

Using Lundy’s model of child participation, this paper reports on teachers’ views and practices in fee-paying and no-fee primary schools regarding:
• learning and teaching and the role of learners in this process;
• learners’ participation in peer- and self-assessment activities,
• the nature and type of opportunities created for learner engagement; and
• The effect of teachers’ pedagogical practices on learner voice and learning.
In addition, the paper also reports on learner views and feelings regarding their teachers’ lesson presentation, as well as their questioning, verbal and written feedback practices.

Drawing from a large-scale teacher professional development programme, data was obtained using teacher questionnaires, lesson observations, interviews and review of documents as well as from learner tests and learner interviews. Conducted as a randomised control trial, the purpose of the programme was to support teachers enhance their pedagogical practices for identifying and addressing learning gaps of all learners in their classroom.

The findings from this study will highlight similarities and difference between fee and no-fee schools regarding learner voice, learner rights and teachers’ pedagogical practices, with a view of contributing to developing specific interventions to support teachers address the learning needs of all children. These results are also intended to contribute to current debates regarding the impact of the implementation and monitoring of SDG 4 on learner voice and learning, and in particular on effecting teacher professional development programmes that specifically address the needs of poor and marginalised children in South Africa as well as other developing and developed nations

Authors

• Anil Kanjee, Tshwane University of Technology

• Yusuf Sayed, University of Sussex