BEING HEARD CAN TRANSFORM LEARNERS LIVES

Student succeed when they are allowed to get involved in making decisions and given space to ask questions about things that concern them. They learn to communicate well and believe in themselves. This is particularly true in a classroom setting. The concept of participation is multi-dimensional and has been interpreted in many different ways. At its simplest, participation is about allowing children to get involved in making decisions that affect their own lives. For instance, this will involve the teacher giving children a say in how one area in a classroom should be set up. But some teachers and other adults still believe that children should be seen rather than heard. Students are not encouraged to ask questions in class, or are urged to respond only to a teacher’s instructions. As with many countries’school systems, the major focus in South Africa is on ensuring that children can be promoted to the following gr ade.

It was found that teachers’beliefs about Student collaborations are not standardized and universal. They are socially, culturally and contextually constructed. The context in which teachers grow up and their own memories of childhood have a bearing on their ideas on childhood, images of children and their notions of Student Cooperation.

It’s not just teachers who are reluctant to prioritise Student participation and they viewed participation as a challenge or problem. They were worried that if they let student get more involved, discipline would suffer, especially in overcrowded classrooms. There are supposed to be 40 learners and above per teacher in the classroom, but in reality that figure is often far higher.

Most teachers have also never seen what active student participation looks like during their teaching practice sessions. They struggle to imagine how it could be productive or constructive.

The children I observed showed the highest levels of participation during free play time, which is when they are given the chance to choose what they’d like to play with, and where. Shaping their own agendas and displaying strong levels of assertiveness. They proved to be skillful. As soon as teachers direct instructive role, made decisions and expressed their opinions. The teachers didn’t see the value of and the rich meanings that emanated from the student’s participation. Makes it clear that a paradigm shift is needed. Teachers need to listen to their young learners and value their opinions and have the space to make decisions about issues that affect them.

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I at Pandaras Integrated School, Division of City of San

The author is Teacher Fernando (P)