successful Teaching Assistant (TA) project in 2007
30 November 2006
Due to initial indications of success, the WCED has decided to continue with
its TA project as part of the literacy and numeracy strategy, to help improve
the reading and Mathematics skills of children in the foundation phase.
The Education MEC Cameron Dugmore said, "Ensuring that our children can
properly read, write and calculate, is the number one priority for this
department. We owe it to our children to give them a good foundation for all
future learning."
"We said we would evaluate the project at the end of the year to determine
whether or not it should be continued. Initial indications clearly give
compelling reasons for us to continue."
"The evaluation conducted by the service provider 'Creative Educational
Learning Aids' states that all schools are experiencing successes in terms of
better classroom management, progress of learners, reduced stress levels and
absenteeism of teachers."
"The fact that learners who were unable to write their own names at the
beginning of the project can do so now, is a major achievement. We have decided
to continue the project and 510 TAs will be working in at least 160 of our
schools during 2007."
"I would like to pay tribute to our WCED officials, in particular the
project manager, Sandra Fortuin, for the sterling work that has been done. To
our teachers and the 510 teaching assistants who worked so hard; a big thank
you."
"Your efforts have made a real difference in the lives of our learners in
2006. I am making an earnest appeal to you to consider a career in
teaching."
"In addition to addressing the very basic needs of our learners, this
project is creating jobs that meet the objectives of the President's Expanded
Public Works Programme. It forms part of our Human Capital Development
Strategy, which is part of the province's iKapa Elihlumayo strategy to 'grow
and share the Cape.'
"I will be submitting a full report on the project to Minister Naledi
Pandor."
Certificate ceremony
Four-hundred and sixty-four TAs, who have taken part in the TAs course this
year, have been awarded with certificates of attendance. Next year they will be
eligible for a certificate accredited by the South African Qualifications
Authority.
Today, Thursday, 30 November, Education MEC Cameron Dugmore, will be
presenting 266 TAs from Cape Town with their certificates, whilst 198 TAs from
rural areas have already been awarded. The ceremony is to take place from
14h00, at the Athlone Civic Centre.
Initial reports have indicated that the TAs were making a difference, but
taking into consideration that the piloting was only from March to November,
the intervention period was too short to see a huge increase in the literacy
and numeracy levels in the 2006 Grade 3 assessment results.
This pilot project was carefully monitored to ascertain the effectiveness of
the classroom support provided by the TAs. Education Management and Development
Centre (EMDC) TAs' programme support teams as well as an external service
provider conducted the monitoring and evaluation.
The TAs attends several week-long training programmes during the course of
the year, provided by the Further Education and Training (FET) colleges. They
also attend organised orientation sessions with teachers, principals,
professional support teams in EMDCs and officials, to ensure that everybody
understood their roles.
This project is part of a broader literacy and numeracy strategy of the
WCED, which saw the deployment of 510 TAs to 160 schools. Criteria for
allocating TAs included schools in disadvantaged areas in nodal development
zones; schools generally in poor areas; under-performance in literacy and
numeracy; schools where learners are not learning in their home languages; and
schools that actively help learners with learning difficulties.
The WCED has also allocated posts to selected schools offering inclusive
education for learners with disabilities; also large classes, especially in the
Foundation Phase; and multi-grade classes, which have more than 30
learners.
Enquiries:
Gert Witbooi
Tel: (021) 467 2523
Fax: (021) 425 5689
Cell: 082 550 3938
Paddy Attwell
Cell: 083 261 7699
Issued by: Department of Education, Western Cape Provincial Government
30 November 2006
