News, Information and Useful Links for Education from
the Chancellor Oppenheimer Library
Spotted on UN Pulse
All Children, Everywhere (pdf, 4.31MB) is the advocacy version of the United Nations Children's Fund's (UNICEF) education strategy through 2015. It provides an overview of UNICEF's work in basic education and gender equality outlines the organization's goals, guiding principles, main partners and key actions to deliver a quality education for all children.
CALL FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS
STRENGTHENING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL CURRICULUM STATEMENT
All teachers, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Higher Education experts, parents and members of the public:
This is a call for you to participate in a public comment process to refine and strengthen the implementation of the curriculum
The Department of Basic Education invites you to share your experiences on implementation challenges associated with the NCS in public schools. This process is intended to obtain first-hand information on the pressure points and to find solutions that will improve the efficiency of curriculum delivery in the classroom.
Your comments should be captured in writing and be specific to the phase of the schooling system (Foundation, Intermediate, Senior or FET Phase). You must also indicate your relationship with the NCS e.g. parent, learner, teacher, researcher, etc.
More information on the process and the format of the submissions can be obtained from the home page under What’s New? of the educational portal Thutong at www.thutong.doe.gov.za.
Submit your written submissions to the Department of Basic Education in one of the following ways:
· By delivering it by hand to: Attention Ms N Tom, Department of Basic Education, Sol Plaatje House, 123 Schoeman Street, Pretoria, 0001
· By posting it to: Attention Ms N Tom, Department of Basic Education, Private Bag X895, Pretoria, 0001.
· By faxing it to: 012 3289828 Attention Ms N Tom
· By sending an e-mail to: NCS.comments@doe.gov.za
· Complete and submit an online questionnaire on Thutong
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!!
Public hearings will be held into South Africa's schools curriculum in
coming months as it remains the subject of endless complaint, Basic
Education Minister Angie Motshekga said on Tuesday.
"We will be doing both investigations and holding public hearings on
this matter in the next four months, to make sure that we identify
areas of further work and interventions and address them once and for
all within the coming months and years," she told MPs in her
department's budget vote.
The International Children's Digital Library - a Library for the World's Children. The mission of the International Children's Digital Library Foundation (ICDL Foundation) is to support the world's children in becoming effective members of the global community - who exhibit tolerance and respect for diverse cultures, languages and ideas -- by making the best in children's literature available online free of charge. The Foundation pursues its vision by building a digital library of outstanding children's books from around the world and supporting communities of children and adults in exploring and using this literature through innovative technology designed in close partnership with children for children.
SA Child Gauge 2008, released by UCT's Children's Institute, "paints a bleak picture of roughly two thirds of junior primary school children being functionally illiterate and innumerate, a statistic that grows to 73 percent innumerate when pupils reach Grade 4."
IOL reports that the report shows that while the country has a very high rate of enrolment in grades one to nine, they are often not receiving "meaningful access to education, or meaningful learning outcomes".
<snip>Meaningful access to education, said the Children's Institute's Shirley
Pendlebury, requires among other things access to well-conceived text
books and other learning materials; competent and prepared teachers who
are able to use a range of appropriate classroom practices; a
curriculum that builds a strong basis in the foundation phase; teaching
facilities and resources such as laboratories and well-stocked
libraries; and a safe and supportive environment.
"Ninety-six percent of children of compulsory school age are enrolled
in school, yet poor national averages for language and mathematics in
grades 3 and 6 show that most learners do not acquire the skills and
understanding that give substance to the right to education."
Only 36% of grade 3 pupils passed the literacy and 35% the numeracy assessments in 2007, according to the preliminary findings.
Quoting from this morning's State of the Nation Address by His Excellency JG Zuma, President of the Republic of South Africa. (Full text is available on Amandla blog; also thanks to Kate Hunter at the GSB Library)
Compatriots,
Education will be a key priority for the next five years. We want our teachers, learners and parents to work with government to turn our schools into thriving centres of excellence.
The Early Childhood Development programme will be stepped up, with the aim of ensuring universal access to Grade R and doubling the number of 0-4 year old children by 2014.
We reiterate our non-negotiables. Teachers should be in school, in class, on time, teaching, with no neglect of duty and no abuse of pupils! The children should be in class, on time, learning, be respectful of their teachers and each other, and do their homework.
To improve
school management, formal training will be a pre-condition for promoting
teachers to become principals or heads of department.
I will meet school
principals to share our vision on the revival of our education system.
Fellow South Africans,
We will increase our efforts to encourage all pupils to complete their secondary education.
The target is to increase enrolment rates in secondary schools to 95 per cent by 2014. We are also looking at innovative measures to bring back into the system pupils who dropped out of school, and to provide support.
Honourable Members, we are very concerned about reports of teachers who sexually harass and abuse children, particularly girls.
We will ensure that the Guidelines on Sexual Harassment and Violence in Public Schools are widely disseminated, and that learners and teachers are familiar with and observe them.
We will take very serious, and very decisive, action against any teachers who abuse their authority and power by entering into sexual relationships with children.
To promote lifelong learning, the Adult Basic Education and Training Kha ri Gude programme will be intensified.
Compatriots, Honourable Members,
We have to ensure that training and skills development initiatives in the country respond to the requirements of the economy.
The Further Education and Training sector with its 50 colleges and 160 campuses nationally will be the primary site for skills development training.
We will improve the access to higher education of children from poor families and ensure a sustainable funding structure for universities.
Spotted in the UK Guardian (Education) ...
Children do better at school if parents read to them ...
"Children who are read to daily are likely to do better when they start school and be better behaved, according to a government study.
Researchers at the Institute of Education found a correlation between mothers who believe it is important to teach their toddler the alphabet and to count and read to them regularly and the child's achievement at the age of five.
The government-commissioned study looked at the foundation stage profile - teachers' assessment of a child's achievement after one year at school - and evaluated the cognitive abilities of just over 8,000 five-year-olds."
WatchKnow, a non-profit, online community has set up a website to collect, create and share free educational videos for kids. It is now available for beta-testing.
Recent videos posted include a Wind-Generator Demonstration, Boiling Stones Generator, a rendition of "That's Mathematics" to Kindergarten sight words. Worth exploring! There were links to other useful sites and lessons plans.
Biblionef has been donating books to schools and communities for the last 10 years. In celebration of this, a symposium focussing on Childrens' Literacy and Reading Programmes has been arranged for Tuesday 16th September at Goudini Spa in Rawsonville.
Speakers include Gcina Mhlophe, Dianne Case, Snoeks Desmond and our own Carole Bloch from PRAESA (Project for the Study of Alternative Education in South Africa).
RSVP by 8 September 2008 to bibsa at iafrica.com or ring them on 021 5310441
Goudini Spa is offering specially discounted accommodation for those wishing to stay over.
Here is the programme:-
9:00-10:00 Arrival, Registration, Tea/Coffee
10:00-10:10 Opening: Herman Bailey (President Biblionef SA)
10:10-10:40 Exploring the impact of access and use of reading resources on South African learner’s achievement in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2006: Lisa Zimmerman (Centre for Evaluation and Assessment, Faculty of Education, University of Pretoria)
10:40-11:10 Creating literate school communities: thoughts and strategies: Dr Carole Bloch
(Coordinator: PRAESA Early Literacy Unit)
11:10-11:30 The holistic development of the child: Reading, Running and wRiting: Anna
Brom (Anna Foundation)
11:30-11:40 Stretch break
11:40-12:10 The Book Box Project: promoting reading and related activities: Jean Place (School of Education, University of the Witwatersrand)
12:10-12:30 Families also need books: Snoeks Desmond (Founder: Family Literacy Project)
12:30-13:30 Lunch
13:30-14:30 Experiencing Biblionef’s work in other countries
Dominique Pace (Biblionef France)
Aagje van Heekeren (Biblionef The Netherlands)
Marc van Hoey (Biblionef Vlaanderen)
Soearnie Soekirno (Biblionef Suriname)
14:30-14:40 My synergy as a writer with Biblionef Diane Case (Author)
14:40-15:10 My experiences with books in the Home Language Project: Margie Owen-Smith (Home Language Project)
15:10-15:30 Biblionef’s role in establishing Irista Primary School’s Library (Jean Williams Biblionef South Africa) and Archie Jansen (Principlal Irista Primary)
15:30-16:00 Celebrating WORDS – Languages’ ancestors: Gcina Mhlophe
16:00 Closing remarks and invitation to celebrate: Thomas van der Walt (Department
of Information Science, University of South Africa)
……………………………………………………………..
16:00-17:30 Cocktail celebration
Drinks
Finger buffet
Marimba band
Children performing
Announcement spotted on bizcommunity
" ... Launching shortly is an interactive tabloid for six-year-olds, My First Free 4 All. Direct from the Free 4 All stable, it is the baby brother of high school newspaper Free 4 All, and its sibling for senior primary school kids, Free 4 All Early Edition.
The
first issue will be distributed to 185 schools in the main metros in
June 2008. Every child in Grade 0 at participating schools will receive
their own copy to take home. "
The fledgling title is in line with
the thinking of the minister of education Naledi Pandor, who says that
“Grade 0 is the golden year - the year that defines whether the child
will be functionally literate.” This is the year when the child learns
to read, so he can later read to learn. "