outh Africa’s Western Cape is one of nine provinces operating under the national Basic Department of Education. With massive inequality and differing educational opportunities, redress and equity have been key educational drivers since 1994. However, initiatives to minimize inequality and maximize educational outcomes across society remain elusive in South Africa. COVID-19 brought this reality into stark relief—especially when schools were closed, but teaching and learning had to continue. The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) acknowledges that education and schooling are in constant need of transformation, not only in the curriculum space, but in all spheres. Numerous changes and innovations were implemented in recent years, but the pandemic accelerated the trajectory of transformation.
The social contexts within which learners live and teachers teach have a profound impact on the psyche and physical well-being of teachers and learners—which in turn impacts learner outcomes. Recognizing this reality and acknowledging the responsibility of schooling to reach the poverty and inequality reduction targets stipulated in the National Development Plan, WCED developed the Transform to Perform (T2P) Strategy at the end of 2017. T2P is driven by the department’s vision of “Quality Education for every child, in every classroom, in every school in the province.” The strategy aims move learners, teachers, and officials towards a positive mindset, providing learners with hope for the future. To support T2P, the WCED adopted six values: Caring, Competence, Accountability, Innovation, Integrity, and Responsiveness. The strategy aims to transform thinking, promote knowledge and understanding, and impact character-building, social cohesion, and nation-building.
In support of the T2P strategy, the core business of the Further Education and Training Curriculum Directorate is serving schools, teachers, and learners in Grades 10 to 12 and exploring ways to integrate the ideals of the T2P strategy into different initiatives that make quality education a reality.
One such initiative is a partnership with Telematic Services at the University of Stellenbosch to broadcast lessons for identified subjects via satellite to learners across the province. The Telematic Schools Project was piloted with ten schools in 2009 and has grown and evolved over the years. Currently 145 schools in the Western Cape and a further 1,300 schools across South Africa are part of the project. Coupled with satellite broadcasts, the lessons are livestreamed to enhance the footprint. The power of this initiative is magnanimous enabling of all learners in the country who may not have access to quality teaching or lessons presented by experienced teachers.
This initiative is particularly beneficial to learners in rural areas where schools have difficulty in sourcing the best teachers and where internet connectivity is often a challenge. Broadcasts take place on weekdays after school hours and are not meant to replace the teacher, but rather to consolidate and revise key concepts learners may have difficulty with. The broadcasts are synchronised with the topics being taught in the classroom. An unintended benefit is a Teacher Professional Development component where teachers are exposed to alternative pedagogies—enhancing their own teaching practices. All lessons, workbooks, presentations, and other resources used by presenters are available on the Telematics Schools website, enabling learners to access resources at no cost.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the Curriculum, ELearning, and Teacher Development directorates of the WCED to reimagine their support. During the early stages of the pandemic when South Africa was in a hard lockdown, officials in the Curriculum directorates designed lessons for every subject and every grade on a weekly basis. These were distributed to teachers and learners via WhatsApp. Quarterly revision materials were designed and distributed in the same way and made available on the WCED Eportal.
The province has prioritized the implementation of a strategy that focuses on STEAMAC (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics, Agriculture and Coding/Computing). The intention is to transform schooling by offering combinations of these disciplines to prepare learners for post school opportunities in academic, vocational, and occupational pathways.
Like other education departments worldwide, the WCED along with the National Department of Basic Education is currently exploring ways of strengthening the curriculum to make schooling more relevant and meaningful—enhancing the life chances of all learners. It is essential that the systems explore curriculum redesign, teacher development, pedagogical approaches, integration of ICT, and the relevance of curriculum offerings which are critical to the transformation agenda.
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Transformation in Education in South Africa’s Western Cape
Cape town, South Africa. Photo by Tim Johnson via Unsplash.
October 9, 2022
Like other education departments worldwide, those in South Africa’s Western Cape are exploring ways of transforming education to make schooling more relevant and meaningful, with numerous changes and innovations having been implemented in recent years, writes Glynis Schreuder.
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outh Africa’s Western Cape is one of nine provinces operating under the national Basic Department of Education. With massive inequality and differing educational opportunities, redress and equity have been key educational drivers since 1994. However, initiatives to minimize inequality and maximize educational outcomes across society remain elusive in South Africa. COVID-19 brought this reality into stark relief—especially when schools were closed, but teaching and learning had to continue. The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) acknowledges that education and schooling are in constant need of transformation, not only in the curriculum space, but in all spheres. Numerous changes and innovations were implemented in recent years, but the pandemic accelerated the trajectory of transformation.
The social contexts within which learners live and teachers teach have a profound impact on the psyche and physical well-being of teachers and learners—which in turn impacts learner outcomes. Recognizing this reality and acknowledging the responsibility of schooling to reach the poverty and inequality reduction targets stipulated in the National Development Plan, WCED developed the Transform to Perform (T2P) Strategy at the end of 2017. T2P is driven by the department’s vision of “Quality Education for every child, in every classroom, in every school in the province.” The strategy aims move learners, teachers, and officials towards a positive mindset, providing learners with hope for the future. To support T2P, the WCED adopted six values: Caring, Competence, Accountability, Innovation, Integrity, and Responsiveness. The strategy aims to transform thinking, promote knowledge and understanding, and impact character-building, social cohesion, and nation-building.
In support of the T2P strategy, the core business of the Further Education and Training Curriculum Directorate is serving schools, teachers, and learners in Grades 10 to 12 and exploring ways to integrate the ideals of the T2P strategy into different initiatives that make quality education a reality.
One such initiative is a partnership with Telematic Services at the University of Stellenbosch to broadcast lessons for identified subjects via satellite to learners across the province. The Telematic Schools Project was piloted with ten schools in 2009 and has grown and evolved over the years. Currently 145 schools in the Western Cape and a further 1,300 schools across South Africa are part of the project. Coupled with satellite broadcasts, the lessons are livestreamed to enhance the footprint. The power of this initiative is magnanimous enabling of all learners in the country who may not have access to quality teaching or lessons presented by experienced teachers.
This initiative is particularly beneficial to learners in rural areas where schools have difficulty in sourcing the best teachers and where internet connectivity is often a challenge. Broadcasts take place on weekdays after school hours and are not meant to replace the teacher, but rather to consolidate and revise key concepts learners may have difficulty with. The broadcasts are synchronised with the topics being taught in the classroom. An unintended benefit is a Teacher Professional Development component where teachers are exposed to alternative pedagogies—enhancing their own teaching practices. All lessons, workbooks, presentations, and other resources used by presenters are available on the Telematics Schools website, enabling learners to access resources at no cost.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the Curriculum, ELearning, and Teacher Development directorates of the WCED to reimagine their support. During the early stages of the pandemic when South Africa was in a hard lockdown, officials in the Curriculum directorates designed lessons for every subject and every grade on a weekly basis. These were distributed to teachers and learners via WhatsApp. Quarterly revision materials were designed and distributed in the same way and made available on the WCED Eportal.
The province has prioritized the implementation of a strategy that focuses on STEAMAC (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics, Agriculture and Coding/Computing). The intention is to transform schooling by offering combinations of these disciplines to prepare learners for post school opportunities in academic, vocational, and occupational pathways.
Like other education departments worldwide, the WCED along with the National Department of Basic Education is currently exploring ways of strengthening the curriculum to make schooling more relevant and meaningful—enhancing the life chances of all learners. It is essential that the systems explore curriculum redesign, teacher development, pedagogical approaches, integration of ICT, and the relevance of curriculum offerings which are critical to the transformation agenda.
