Western Cape Education Sector Analysis
On 17 September, WCED and World Bank released a report:
The Western Cape Education Sector Analysis, jointly prepared by the World Bank and South Africa’s Western Cape Education Department (WCED), offers key insights and recommendations for improving the quality of learning in the province’s schools while addressing the growing demand for access due to rising enrolments….”
Follow this link to read the full report: https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/afr/publication/western-cape-education-sector-analysis
This is a very interesting document and the following extracts stood out for us as key issues where learners and educators need our help and support and confirms that the role Community Keepers plays is relevant and impactful.
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“Conditions in schools and classrooms matter for learning because they affect the dynamics of the instructional core and the effectiveness of teachers’ work. Insufficient material resources, for example, (e.g., textbooks, guides and other pedagogical tools) make it harder for teachers to teach what the curriculum expects to be taught and reduces learners’ engagement with their lessons during and after class. Crowded classrooms, which reflect insufficiency in staffing or poor scheduling, also make the work of teachers more difficult. The Western Cape has invested to secure basic material conditions for teaching and learning in most schools in the province, but there is still room to improve these conditions, especially to reduce overcrowding in classrooms. Other, non-material-conditions, for example psychological factors like violence and bullying, can also impact learners’ ability to learn. Some of these issues cannot be controlled by school managers, although there is evidence that they have a better grip on controlling learner behaviour and bullying within schools.”
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“…the TIMSS results show that going to a school that is unsafe or where there is exposure to violence has a significant impact on learning outcomes. One out of three learners in the Western Cape attends a school that is deemed ‘less than safe and orderly’. Learners in safe schools achieve significantly higher academic marks than those in unsafe schools (521 points compared to 401 respectively on the TIMSS scale). Bullying is also a significant factor in the Western Cape, with almost half of Grade 9 learners reporting being bullied and again, this has a significant link to learning, with learners who were not bullied achieving a score 63 points higher than those who were regularly bullied (TIMSS in Reddy et al. 2022).”
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On page 9, we note the needs of educators and confirm that our work is relevant and aligned when it comes to supporting educators:
“Figure 2: Summary of Priorities and Actions
2.2. Ensure that Continuous Professional Development of teachers is systemic, not episodic
2.4. Equip and enable School Management Teams to focus on cultivating teacher motivation”
We are grateful to partners including the GBVF Response Fund1 who fund our work addressing bullying – a key barrier to learning, wellbeing and thriving.