Developing writing competencies : a case study of educators' experiences with a READ Educational Trust training programme in primary schools

Abstract

Worldwide, the urgent need for educational reform led to the pressing need for educational transformation. Basically, educationalists, policy makers and business leaders of the world ascribe the educational transformation to various factors such as the global economy, technological inventions and the new organizations of work. Subsequently, pathways to improvement in schools have become less specific and more ambiguous than ever before. The dynamic interplay amongst internal factors, combined with the influence of external factors, does not lend itself well to one prescription for quality assurance and improvement in schools. In the past, traditional manufacturing sectors had their own interpretation of the concept of organizational improvement, whereby the worker was expected to be dependable and loyal, rather than develop thinking skills. Management was responsible for planning, creative thinking, leadership and control. Under the pressure of economic competition, however, many companies including schools are in the process of changing to so-called high performance work organizations. As a result, the provision of quality education has become one of the challenges facing the entire African continent. Hence there has been a variety of strategies implemented by the South African National Department of Education (DoE) in order to improve the quality of teaching and learning in schools, for example the Tirisano campaign that aims to involve all the stakeholders in schools. A large number of service providers were involved in the implementation of Tirisano, including the READ Educational Trust that offers outcomes-based language programmes to language educators, who in turn implement them in schools. The language programmes are aimed at equipping learners with basic language skills such as speaking, listening, reading, and writing. The ultimate goal for the initiative to encourage teamwork in the provision of education in South Africa is to ensure that people are able to comply with the high demands of the country’s labour market. Undoubtedly, good communication skills are a basic requirement for anyone to perform well in a turbulent work environment. It is against this background that organizations such as READ Educational Trust are actively involved in the provision of support through language programmes. This thesis reports on a case study of educators’ experiences with a READ Educational Trust’s language programme in primary schools.