Abstract
The complexity and dynamic nature of rural contexts and schools present intricacies for teaching and learning practices, understanding the challenges learners experience as well as the overall educational achievements within the South African context. We argue that learning is fundamentally a social phenomenon that occurs within communities, making it important to explore the strengths, diversity as well as learning challenges presented by the rural context to the learners as they learn within rural schools and classrooms daily. Symbolic interactionism framework was used to understand emergent meanings in the process of interacting with primary school learners and how learners made sense of their experiences of leaning within rural schools. A qualitative phenomenological research methodology was espoused to unearth learners’ experiences of the rural contextual conditions in relation to learning. Photo-elicited group interviews were used to collect data with eight learners from three different schools, and the data was analysed using a thematic approach. The findings reveal that children are aware of the conditions that shapes their learning within rural schools. The information provided by the learners shows that much is yet to be done by the post-apartheid government to address issues of equity and social justice through education in South Africa.
Presenters
Hlamulo Wiseman MbhizaLecturer, Mathematics Education, University of South Africa, Gauteng, South Africa
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Rural; Learning; Learning conditions; Experiences; Rural schools; Photo-voice
