Play prepares pupils for 21st-century opportunities
Africa Play Conference highlights the role of recreation in early childhood development
IT IS ABUNDANTLY clear that we cannot run a basic education system on ad-hoc interventions at the higher grades of the education system, but we need to ensure we have a strong and solid foundation in the lower grades. This is how we are truly going to achieve system-wide improvements to quality education outcomes in the country.
We are putting an increased emphasis on the foundation phase and early childhood development (ECD). It is evident from the international assessments conducted, and the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (Sacmeq) in particular, that we need to improve our ECD offerings.
The Sacmeq 4 assessment results show that countries such as the Seychelles that outperform us in this assessment, have been able to do so in large part due to their early childhood development programmes.
We have made massive inroads in terms of the offering of Grade R in our schools, and we are confident that we will begin to reap the rewards of this investment in the years to come. However, we have realised Grade R alone is not enough.
The ruling party took a decision at its Mangaung National Conference to make Grade R compulsory. This was once again reinforced at its more recent Nasrec Conference in December, 2017, where a decision was taken to migrate all ECD offerings from social development to the Department of Basic Education (DBE).
As the ANC government, we will be implementing this decision systematically over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, starting this year.
We have observed that countries like Finland and Singapore, which have consistently produced quality results and outcomes in their education systems, have ECD programmes delivered, monitored and strengthened from their respective education systems. Hence the directive to migrate ECD to the DBE.
In addition to this, the DBE will be hosting the first Africa Play Conference, which will showcase the work we are doing and also look at best practices from around the world, with an emphasis on learning through play.
Fast-paced social, economic and technological change is redefining our world; this is why the education of our children needs to prepare them for navigating an uncertain and complex future, where 21st-century skills, such as problem-solving, critical thinking and creativity, will be crucial for success.
To prepare our pupils for the future, there is a dire need to address the delivery of curricula and teaching methods that challenge the traditional approaches to teaching and learning.
We will need to use different approaches in educating children to help them foster these skills and tap into their natural love of learning.
An approach that is increasingly becoming popular in the early years of primary school curriculum is playbased learning.
From the earliest moments of infancy, children have an amazing natural ability to learn about the world through play.
A growing body of research has shown that play-based learning can improve a child’s academic performance and personal development by tapping into their inherent capabilities, such as building on their curiosity and actively engaging them in their own learning process.
Playing also helps children to learn skills that are predictive of later academic achievement. For example, research shows that construction play is related to the development of spatial visualisation skills – and these skills are strongly connected to math skills and problem solving.
It can also propel a child’s growth and position him/her for success in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, by teaching him/her skills for a changing world.
This is consistent with the Convention of the Rights of Children to play, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well the NDP and the 27 goals as articulated in the Basic Education Sector Plan. In response to the demand for 21st century skills, the department, in partnership with Unicef South Africa, the Lego Foundation and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (Adea), is implementing an initiative that focuses on the role of play-based learning in improving the quality of early learning under the auspices of Power of Play: A Learning Tool for a Powerful Future Programme.
This will help advance the understanding and use of learning through play in schools and homes.
The government has taken the lead in ensuring there is universal coverage with regard to the ECD sector.
The reality confronting us today is that we can no longer teach today’s pupils using the run-of-the-mill 20th century pedagogical methods.
The future beckons and that future is digital – the fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital and biological spheres. It is an exciting world where play itself is transformed to play a role in the cognitive development of a child.
The objectives of the Africa Play Conference, to be held from February 25 to 27, is to facilitate an understanding and commitment of policy-makers and influencers on the important role of play in preparing children for the opportunities of the 21st century – and the achievement of sustainable development at a national and continental level.
This as we increase our focus as the education sector at this vital developmental stage in a child’s life.
From infancy, children have an amazing natural ability to learn about the
world through play
ANGIE MOTSHEKGA Minister of Basic Education