UCT’s response to the Education Crisis

in South Africa

Jonathan ClarkSchool of Education, University of Cape Town

www.sii.uct.ac.za

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The Post-1994 Education

Report Card

ACCESS

Institutional restructuring

Resource equalisation

Curriculum reform

Building the technical core

QUALITY

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ACCESS

QUALITY

Trade off

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‘The proof of the pudding…’

South Africa in regional contextSACMEQ III2007

Proportion of Grade 6 learners functionally ILLITERATE

Proportion of Grade 6 learners functionally INNUMERATE

Expenditure on primary education per learner

Mozambique 21.5% 32.7% R616South Africa 27.3% 40.2% R9 555

South Africa in regional contextSACMEQ III2007

Proportion of Grade 6 learners functionally ILLITERATE

Proportion of Grade 6 learners functionally INNUMERATE

Expenditure on primary education per learner

Mozambique 21.5% 32.7% R616

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‘TWO SYSTEMS IN

ONE’

UCT 2013 1st Year Enrollments

UCT 21 8 80B-degrees 536 39 156

Wrote 2 737 57 15819 schools COSAT exModel C

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Physical resources are a limiting factor, but they are NOT the major issue

Improve the quality of schooling which poor children receive

Our challenge then…

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THE ‘LOW ACHIEVEMENT TRAP’

A deeply ingrained culture of inefficiency in producing learner achievement

HUMAN CAPACITY CONSTRAINTS

The poor quality of teaching coupled with

limited organisational & management

expertise

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Build the State’s organisational & logistic capacity

Invest heavily in anti-poverty programmes

Beyond the politics, what’s to be done?

Rejuvenate the teaching profession!

The SII serves as a vehicle for extending the university’s engagement in schooling with the aim of improving the quality of educational provision in South Africa

“A university’s destiny is inextricably linked with the communities it serves…”

(Harkavy & Hartley, 2009:9)

500 000 people87 educational institutions60 000 learners (Grades R-12)

KHAYELITSHA

At its core is a university-school partnership model

OBJECTIVE 1Teacher professional & school organisational development

OBJECTIVE 2Professional practice schools

University-accreditedAdvanced Certificatesin Education (ACEs) &Short Courses

School-based Projects

OBJECTIVE 3Staff engaged scholarship, student volunteerism & service learning

OBJECTIVE 3Staff engaged scholarship, student volunteerism & service learning

University social responsiveness work44 University social responsiveness work44

SHAWCO UBUNYE

CLASIMaths Competition

OBJECTIVE 4University recruitment

• Grade 10-12 programme

• Five learners from each ofthe 20 secondary schools

• Build academic & life skills inpreparation for tertiary studies

• Residential holiday camps; Saturday academic enrichmentschool programme;participation in UCT activities

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Grade R Occupational Therapy & Audiology screening and student placement

Organizational capacity building

IKWEZI: Subject-specific courses & school-based support (linked to District-wide initiative with Lead Teachers)

School of Education piloted in 2013

Ikwezi; Rotary; Equal Education; Nal’ibali

INTSHAYELELOPrimary School

IT training & network support

Westerford High: Bread Buddies

Focus on Literacy

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Looking aheadDEEPENING COLLABORATIONS

•Lever further institutional (i.e. UCT) resources

•Work ever closer with Metropole East Education District

•Strengthen ties with Civil Society organisations

•Forge links with other universities

•Persevere with building relationships with community

organisations &

…Teacher Unions!

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‘CHANGING SCHOOLS FOR GOOD’

Organisational & teacher professional development work in the six Partner schools

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The IKWEZI project (2014-2016)

•A close collaboration with District education officials

• Lead Teacher support programme built around series of university certified short courses

• Focus on mathematics & languages: 120 teachers recruited from across the District’s 100+ primary schools

• Continued support to Grade R-1 teachers in the SII partner schools and four further schools

On a positive noteBy mid-November, out of the extended group of 155 Grade 12 students in Khayelitsha involved in the 100-UP programme, 46 had received early offers of places at UCT in 2014 and a further 56 students, conditional offers

‘BRIDGING THE DIVIDE’

First 100-UP group matriculate in 2013, we need to ensure that as many as possible obtain places at UCT in 2014!

Challenges

“Change is a process, not an event”Michael Fullan, 2007

• School improvement will only be achieved through a commitment to long-term involvement

Raise funds for the Initiative’s activities!

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‘Poor children can learn and excel but the odds are against them. Reformers like to say that “demography is not destiny”, but saying so doesn’t make it true…’

Diane Ravitch, 2011

Fostering partnershipsHarnessing resources

Improving schools

www.sii.uct.ac.za