Mother-tongue education in South Africa: A highly contested terrain of the 21st century

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 253-262
Author(s):  
Medicine Magocha ◽  
Davie Elias Mutasa ◽  
Johannes Ratsikana Rammala
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Mother Tongue Education ◽  
Contested Terrain

scholarly journals Children's Rights to Mother-Tongue Education in a Multilingual World: A Comparative Analysis between South Africa and Germany

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Chrizell Stoop (Chürr)
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Language Policies ◽  
Crucial Importance ◽  
Education Systems ◽  
Mother Tongue Education ◽  
International Instruments ◽  
South Africa And Germany

The importance of the mother tongue, and, more specifically, of mother-tongue education, is recognised globally. Use of the mother tongue is regarded as one of the most effective ways of acting and performing cognitively, socially and communally. The aim of this article is to encourage and promote the implementation and realisation of mother-tongue education through certain school/education models in order to achieve equality and liberation and to increase the incidence of high-performance education systems in a multilingual world. A comparative analysis of South Africa and Germany will also be undertaken with regard to language policies and the mother-tongue education situation in these countries' school systems. Several other aspects such as the choice of language as a fundamental right, the importance of international instruments, as well as some lessons to be learnt for both South Africa and Germany in respect of mother-tongue education, will be discussed. It will be concluded that, despite the existence of a multilingual world, the crucial importance of the use of the mother tongue and mother-tongue education should not be underestimated and/or ignored.

scholarly journals Language as contextual factor of an education system: Reading development as a necessity

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. S1-S13
Author(s):  
Elize Vos ◽  
Nadine Fouché
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Education System ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Social Role ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Contextual Factor ◽  
Literature Study ◽  
Poor Reading ◽  
Mother Tongue Education ◽  
Official Languages

Language is a contextual factor of an education system as it determines the Language of Learning and Teaching (LOLT). In order to provide for diversity in South Africa, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, makes provision for 11 official languages and the Language in Education Policy (LiEP) promotes respect for not only these official languages, but languages in general as well as the preservation of cultural diversity by means of multilingualism. Having measures like these in place creates the assumption that different languages are used as LOLT. However, mother tongue education is not fully realised in South Africa. A large percentage of learners’ LOLT is not their home language. This lack of mother tongue education may cause poor reading ability. South Africa’s government and Department of Education (DoE) has certain strategies available to promote reading, however, the feasibility of these strategies is questionable when the poor reading performance of South African learners is taken into account. To find a solution for the above-stated problem, due to the fact that reading plays an important role within an education system, and the integral part it forms in nation-building, we conducted a literature study to identify current national and international reading strategies. In this article we present a synthesis of these strategies, which we refer to as a reading motivation framework, outlining the responsibilities of various social role players.

The use of ICT by SMMEs in a Digital Economy: A case study in Buffalo City Metropolitan in South Africa [Abstract]

10.28945/4314 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Common Knowledge ◽  
Digital Economy ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Wealth Creation ◽  
Underdeveloped Areas ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Set Up

Aim/Purpose: The goal of this study is to advance understanding of ICT utilization by SMMEs by checking access, ability (in terms of technological skills) and usage of ICT among some SMMEs entrepreneurs operating their businesses in an underdeveloped areas to enhance their business activities in order to utilizes the digital opportunities 21st century digital economies present. Background: In today’s world no nation or region is untouched by the forces of globalization and digital economy. One of the key pioneering forces of globalization is the advances of ICT like internet, social networks, etc. In the sphere of business, this pioneering force has also altered the way businesses and organizations communicate and interact with customers and society at large. Such alternation presents obvious opportunities for wealth creation and growth for businesses and organizations that are well-equipped to take advantages of them. But for those that are less-equipped, particularly SMMEs, globalization can easily lead to fore-closures and marginalization. It is a common knowledge that SMMEs entrepreneurs mostly rely on ICT gadgets like mobile phone, Laptops, Tablets to conduct their business activities as many of them don’t have enough capital to set up offices with necessary equipment. Therefore, using various ICT functions/programs on these ICT devices to enhance their business activities are critical to their businesses in the 21st century digital economies. Methodology: Purposeful sampling was used to approach fifty-four SMMEs entrepreneurs operating their businesses in underdeveloped areas locally called Townships in Buffalo City Metropolitan. Microsoft excel was used in the descriptive statistics. Contribution: This research will add to the growing knowledge ICT usage in SMMEs in the 21st century digital economies. Findings: The results indicate that the participating SMMEs entrepreneurs need to be educated, trained and supported in the use of the ICT applicable to enhance their business activities in order for them to take advantages of 21st century digital economies present. Recommendations for Practitioners: The agencies tasked with looking after SMMEs in South Africa needs to consider the lacked of utilisation of ICTs by SMMEs entrepreneurs operating their businesses in underdeveloped areas as one of the barrier to growing of their businesses and take necessary steps to address it. Recommendation for Researchers: Since age and gender have been proven to be key-moderating variables in many technology acceptance models. There is a need to explore in depth whether the factors of gender and age also act as barriers. Impact on Society: The research will assist stakeholders, policy makers and agencies tasked with looking after SMMEs to identify the barriers hindering SMMEs to grow and address them accordingly. Future Research: More work needs to be done to check whether gender, age of the SMMEs entrepreneurs have some effects on their attitude towards the integration of ICT into their business activities.

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