Repeated retention or dropout? Disputing Hobson’s choice in South African township schools

Autor: Silke Grossen, Adelene A. Grobler, Marlies Lacante
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2017
Předmět:
Zdroj: South African Journal of Education, Vol 37, Iss 2, Pp 1-11 (2017)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 0256-0100
2076-3433
DOI: 10.15700/saje.v37n2a1367
Popis: South Africa, like many developing countries, is heavily burdened by high dropout and unemployment rates and an undersupply of skilled workers. Grade retention is a common practice when learners do not meet the specific requirements – especially in countries with limited socio-economic resources. In South Africa, 52% of the learners are retained at least once before they reach Grade 10. However, the results of this study clearly suggest that the policy of repeated scholastic retention does not contribute positively to the academic achievement or to career maturity of Grade 11 and Grade 12 learners in township schools in South Africa. This study emphasises the importance of improving learner performance, starting in the Foundation Phase (Grade 0/R to Grade Three) and the need for accessible career guidance and counselling for all learners. By guiding these at-risk learners into vocation-oriented or technically oriented directions before the career maturity and academic achievement decline emerges, a decrease in dropout and an increase in the outflow of skilled people in the short term and unemployment in the long term may be addressed. The latter can be regarded as the cornerstone of socio-economic development and enhanced social capital in all developing countries.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals