Riglyne vir 'n preformele brugjaarkurrikulum vir Suidwes-Afrika/Namibië

Abstract

English summary provided by author:

The present study shows that the positive effects claimed by the HSRC in respect of the experimental sample group, have not been matched by a general improvement in the pass rate of Sub. A pupils in all other schools where the programme was run concurrently

The language component of the HSRC School Readiness Programme for Sub. A is characterised by both pre-formal and formal elements of method and content. For instance, reading readiness and beginning reading are taught simultaneously, which, in the view of the present author, would probably lead to confusion, perceptual scatter, and cognitive interference

The effectiveness of the HSRC School Readiness Programme in enhancing school readiness was assessed by the author by means of the HSRC Aptitude Tests for School Beginners (ASB). The results show firstly, that the majority of pupils entering school have not yet reached an adequate level of school readiness in order to be able to cope with the demands of formal schooling, and secondly, that the HSRC School Readiness Programme does not afford adequate intervention to set aside the developmental retardation of these children. Nor does the Sub. A curriculum succeed in compensating entirely for the debilitating effects of socio-economic and environmental deprivation, in fact it is considered that the effect of formal schooling on a child who is not ready, might eventually prove to be damaging to the child. Thus there is a vital need for a pre-formal developmental bridge year education programme preceding Sub. A

Pre-formal schooling can affect our whole educational system very powerfully and very rapidly. The social benefits accruing to society from investments in pre-formal education are inestimable

In view of the fact that the majority of school beginners are environmentally disadvantaged, the intervention programme envisaged should be highly structured, highly programmed, teacher centred, and totally pre-formal and developmental in approach, the primary objective being the perceptual, cognitive, and language development of the child and the promotion of his school readiness

The bridge year curriculum should be psychopedagogically accountable, the general aim being the enhancement of the self-actualisation of the total child

It is proposed as a matter of urgency that a bridge year programme preceding Sub. A, be introduced in SWA/Namibia. It is further recommended that compulsory education, when it is introduced, should commence at bridge year level, and at age 5 and a half. Bridge year education should form an integral part of the official state financed basic education system. The present crisis situation in Black education makes the provision of pre-formal education imperative