Motivation to become a Foundation Phase teacher in South Africa

Abstract

Two recent government-commissioned studies raise concerns regarding the quality of Grade R (Reception) in South Africa. The 'Baseline Study Report' findings on Early Childhood Development [ECD] stressed that 'the quality of learning and teaching in 250 reception year classrooms … [is] exceptionally low' (Eastern Cape Department of Education [ECDoE] 2008:89, 96). This report further stated that 'the majority of ECD practitioners were teaching as they probably had been taught (teacher-controlled) … using the traditional teacher-tell methods with passive quiet learners'. An evaluation report by the Presidency of the impact of the Grade R programme (Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation [DPME] 2012:4) confirmed that mathematical Grade R learning outcomes are limited, especially in the poorer provinces of South Africa. Based on these concerns, the authors of this article ask why Grade R teaching in South Africa is not making an impact as envisaged, especially regarding mathematics. To explore issues further, we ask what are the experiences of selected teachers of teaching mathematics in Grade R? To answer this question, we look at the role of policy and curriculum for Grade R mathematics and tensions between play and learning mathematics in Grade R. We draw on theoretical perspectives of social constructivism and some of the literature on best practices in learning mathematics in Grade R, and findings of our study with selected teachers in a range of schools and ECD centres in the Eastern Cape Province, to make recommendations that might enhance the impact of teaching mathematics in Grade R classrooms in South Africa.