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Remedial Education: the need to revisit the practice, assumptions, tools & multi-
cultural/generation challenges
Ronald Thifulufhelwi RamabulanaSAPA Conference Presentation
Bloemfontein06 September 2012
[email protected]: 071 510 8828
What history tells us:
Who discovered gun powder?
Who discovered America?
How many World Wars were fought during the 20th century?
Where did civilization start?
Who discovered the sea route to India?
What was the original purpose of the ‘Bushman” paintings?
Take some time to reflect on the educational paradigm behind your answer.
Ice Breaker
Conceptual Clarification
Remedial Education applies to children who have average to above average intellectual abilities but do not perform according to their potential as a result of difficulties with reading and/or writing and/or arithmetic
Special Education applies to children with below average intellectual abilities
Mainstream with Assistance offers learners with remedial problems extra help and individual attention with mainstream subjects. Remediation of reading and/or writing and/or arithmetic problems do not necessarily take place
Anel Annandale (Educational Psychologist)
Remedial Points of Focus
The learner’s intellectual abilities as defined or mapped out by various measurement tools (prescribed, accredited or otherwise)
Minimum if scant focus on holistic learning systems that impact on the learning process (no systemic focus)
What can be done with and/or for the learner to correct learning deficiencies
Learning capabilities and capacity within the education process are not interrogated (e.g. skills shortage vs associations of unemployed graduates)
Assumes that the rest of the learning value chain is effective
NeedsNeedsAnalysisAnalysis
&&PrioritiesPriorities
PlanningPlanning&&
RiskRiskAnalysisAnalysis
MatchingMatching &&
AssessmentAssessment of of
PotentialPotential
Learning Learning (Mentorship)(Mentorship) ContractContract
& SLA & SLA
Appropriate Appropriate LearningLearning
InterventionsInterventions
AssessmentAssessment &&
CertificationCertification
Training Training ImpactImpact
&& ROI ROI
System System AuditAudit
&& EvaluationEvaluation
National Learning StrategyNational Learning Strategy
Skills Development RequirementsSkills Development Requirements
Legislative Compliance & QALegislative Compliance & QA
Integration with Wider Economic Sector Integration with Wider Economic Sector
A Common View of the Learning Value ChainA Common View of the Learning Value Chain
Purpose, Intent, Values
1. Business Alignment
6. Business Impact
2. Learning Design& Development
3. LearningDelivery
4. LearningAdministration
Workforce Performance Measurement & Management
Learning Organisation
Objective: Provide learning solutions efficiently and effectively at scale
Continuous Improvement
Curriculum Planning
Content & Asset Cataloging
Learner Scheduling & Tracking
Learner Reporting Infrastructure
Learner Profile ManagementInstructor Planning &
Management
5. Operations Vendor Management
Technology Infrastructure
Learning Plan Management
Demand Management
Financial & Operations Management
Catalog Maintenance
Content Design & Development
Content Maintenance & Localization
Workforce Competency & Requirements Management
Session & Facilities Planning, Management & Execution
Resource Planning, Management & Dev
Learning Governance
Learner Support
An Effective Learning Organization
Methods & Tools
Do they have external validity in the context of multi-cultural education?
What informs their accreditation beyond the community of experts with significant in-group bias and methodological entrapment? (e.g. the Rosenhan experiment)
Have we invested significantly in the development of skills and capabilities within education to apply, interpret and implement the results from the tools without compromising the learner?
Can the assessment (sic categorization) process be considered to be any more that just labelling?
Are we not simply shifting the focus and blaming the victim?
Es’kia Mphahlele(Notable scholar and author)
Menial labour with strictsupervision
Isaac Newton(Renowned Physicist)
A cut above formal schooling
Jesus Christ(Lay pastor & spiritual activist)
Most read thinker and religious leader to date
Cameron van der Burgh(Olympic Gold Medalist)Attention Deficit Disorder
Jamal Malik (Slumdog Millionaire)
Dared to win where the learned have never succeeded
Karl Marx(Scholar of macro-economics)
University drop-out
Spoilers of the Assessment Fun
Psychological labelling nullified
Psychological assumptions tested
The Role of Educators
Understanding the context in which education is taking place – African, multi-cultural, developing country, challenged young democracy, diverse cross-generational learning preferences
Critical but balanced scholarship of what we teach, the methods and tools we use as well as the practical conclusions reached, the impact of these conclusions on learners and the broader society (the miseducated vs the uneducated)
Champion of Indigenous knowledge relevance with due cognisance of global challenges and competition
Stimulator of thought rather than broker of knowledge over which consensus is yet to be established
Not an advocate of the jar-to-glass method of learning
The African Initiation School Paradigm
Developing applied skills required for sustainable livelihoods (iron-smelting, archery, navigation, life-skills, reading heavenly bodies to inform agriculture, religious rites, travel etc.).
Enabling young adults to function independently & effectively in their society (beyond the normal distribution curve)
Context relevant skills development based on market requirements (no unemployment applicable) - e.g. Coke agency in Israel
A successful learning architecture that took into account the entire system and not just the learner’s deficiencies
Driven by the value systems of indigenous communities
Which value system informs our contemporary education?
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Primal learning cycle“The campfire”
“The watering hole”
(Dialogue)
(Getting to ‘Know’)
“The cave”
(Reflect)
“The deepconversations
within”
(Try, apply)
“The veld”
© Copyright McGraw-Hill.
Diversity (look beyond race)
Closing Thoughts
“If you are not riding the wave of change, you will find yourself beneath it”
“A bend on the road is not the end of the road … unless you fail to make the turn”
“Remember that man-made wonders of the world were at some point advanced engineering achievements. Today they stand as historical landmarks which confirm what happens when change overtakes our lives. In our era only tourists find value in visiting the sites on which they stand”
Some Eye Openers
Kline, P. (1988). Psychology Exposed or the emperor’s new clothes Routlege
Howitt, H. & Owusu-Bempah, K. (1994). The Racism of Psychology: time for change. Harvester Wheatsheaf
Guthrie, R.V. (2004). Even the Rat Was White: A Historical View of Psychology. Allyn & Bacon Classics Edition
Perkins, J. (2004). Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. Berrett- Koehler Publishers
Rosenhan, D. (1973). On Being Sane in Insane Places. In Science. 179, 250-258
Szasz, T. (1960). The Myth of Mental Illness. In American Psychologist. 15, 113-118
Comments, Questions & Observations
Discussion Time