Contextualising school readiness in South Africa: Stakeholders’ perspectives

Abstract

This exploratory study was conducted in the Metro North Education District in Cape Town.Methods: Five focus group interviews were conducted with a snowball sample of 35 stakeholders including parents (n = 9) and professionals from education (n = 17) and health (n = 9) systems. Transcriptions were thematically analysed. Resultant themes were summarised to reflect stakeholders' perceptions. Results:The results showed four major groups of factors that affect school readiness: community, adverse experiences, educational and familial factors. Firstly, community factors thematically identified were unemployment, socio-economic status (SES) and culture as impacting school readiness. Secondly, adverse experiences included violence, trauma and substance abuse that affect school readiness. Thirdly, educational factors identified are lack of stimulation, barriers to learning, teacher support and cooperation between stakeholders that influence readiness. Fourthly, familial factors such as parental support, variation in child-rearing practices and caregiver literacy exert influence on school readiness. Conclusion:Acknowledgement of and engagement with the above-mentioned four factors could result in a nuanced and contextual understanding of school readiness and might foster cooperation between stakeholders.

Caregivers' Perception of their Role in Early Childhood Development and Stimulation Programmes in the Early Childhood Development Phase within a Sub-Saharan African Context: An Integrative Review

“…They viewed their role in collaborating with the educational facility to fulfil needs such as paying fees and provision of nutrition, and not engaging in tasks that provide stimulation for learning and developmental outcomes 28,30 . Teachers were also perceived as surrogate parents and caregivers relied on them to primarily educate their child 37 , resulting in a poor estimation of the child's capabilities. This could result from both limited understanding of child development and the stakeholders who have a role in the child's development.…”

Instruments measuring emotional-social competence in preschoolers in South Africa: A review study

“…The need to consider contextual factors that impact schools and communities to accommodate children's unique learning needs is receiving ongoing attention (Kokkalia et al, 2019). Contextual factors such as the readiness of educational institutions to accommodate diversity, the family's responsiveness towards children's readiness and broader community factors such as the effect of violence or substances on the developmental trajectory of the child (Kokkalia et al, 2019;Munnik & Smith, 2019) need to be kept in mind. A recent study conducted by Wu et al (2020), where mothers in lower socio-economic environments diagnosed with depression tend to experience challenges in their marriage and their parenting practices, which impacted negatively on their children's abilities to establish the emotional and social skills required to establish and maintain interpersonal relationships in the early school environment, testifies to the importance of always keeping contextual factors in mind when the child is assessed for school readiness.…”

Validation of the emotional social screening tool for school readiness

“…School readiness and associated skills create a platform for learning and lifelong growth (Rimm-Kaufmann, Pianta, & Cox, 2000). Early childhood development (ECD) and school readiness are exponentially compromised by contextual factors in developing countries (Munnik & Smith, 2019a;Raikes et al, 2015). In South Africa, ECD and school readiness are adversely affected by sociocultural and political factors.…”

“…School readiness is regarded as a multidimensional concept. Learning starts through early stimulation where external factors impact the personal readiness of the child, including the expectations of the parents, readiness of the school, preschool experiences and the child's environment (Bruwer et al, 2014;Munnik & Smith, 2019a). The primary domains identified in school readiness include cognition and general knowledge, language and literacy, perception, emotion regulation, social skills, approaches to learning; physical well-being, neurological and motor development (Mohamed, 2013;Rimm-Kaufman & Sandilos, 2017).…”