Well, after my last epistle, you must have known I'd read this with interest. In South Africa, we participate in the PIRLS programme. With dismal results. That, though, is a function of the parlous and disparate state of public education in this country. The curriculum is not all bad. The problem is the system and the implementation which is compounded by the huge inequalities. The country has, I hate to say, the worst GINI coefficient in the world. Yet we have produced winners - in a range of fields - in spite of it all. That, IMO, is a testimony to the human spirit.
Of course, there are statements that totally get me:
If you don't think education is important, you are probably an idiot. People who are against education are perhaps more dangerous than anti-vaxers (those people are generally poorly educated themselves).
Spot on! We have some of these in the village and who weigh in on virtually every subject with world authority.
If you cannot read and write in your native language at a high school level, you will likely have problems. Most languages have adopted loan words from other languages to make up for shortfalls.
Language is such a contentious issue complicated by language being hegemonic and aspirational. We have a situation where research shows that children learning in the foundation phases in their mother tongue perform better in school at higher levels - especially in mathematics and science - but because English is perceived as the language with power (economic and political) and (in the 80's and 90's opposed to apartheid) most parents wanted their children to be taught (let's not say learn) in English. It's hugely problematic. Especially when the teacher is not a mother tongue speaker. And, again IMO, if one is teaching English as a first language, one should be a mother tongue speaker.
Oh, I could go on and on and on. One point you don't make, and which is relevant to poorer countries is the correlation between the education level of, especially girl children and women, is that the birth rate drops and there is a concomitant improvement in child and maternal health which, in turn will impact on education.
What also gets to me is that so many folk believe that our problems are unique. One only needs to look at a study like this to realise that they aren't.
Thanks, as always for a thought-provoking read.
Fiona
I figured you would be interested in PISA. Generally it is a test for countries with OECD levels of development. South Africa is not an OECD country and cannot be accurately measured at the national level.
It is really neat to hear more about education there. I've met a few south african teachers (one was in my tesol course) and discussed the issues. They cannot teach English in Korea unless their highschool school is 100% English. I've met a few people who obviosuly lied from there (and Quebec, Canada).
I studied a lot about poorer countries in university (i like social science). Malnutrition and necessity to work as well as gender issues and health are definitely a reason for lower education. Generally these issues are not prevalent in OECD countries at the national level.
I studied Southern African politics (4th year course) and I am aware of some of the major regional situations. It was facinating and sad.
Language is somewhat of a problem in Canada, but as I mentioned people who weren't educated in country for a certain period have different needs and standard PISA wouldn't be necessary.
Actually, bilingual studies and early esl theories were developed in Canada due to the two official languages (my grandmother spoke french at home but was educated in english). I believe only a few European countries have enough truly bilingual speakers in grade school to also have national research programs.
I think a good example to compare South Africa to may actually be Philippines. English is used in acedemics and Tagalog is their everyday language. It is a deceloping bilingual country.
It is sad how politicized education has become. Mark Twain warned about this when public schools were a novelty over 140 years ago before any modern education theory was developed.
Teachers are a good stable government job and education is funded by popularlybelected governmentd. It's impossible to free them from politics or political influence.
It is kinda weird to see China on top. I doubt they cheat that much. Maybr their only classes are math science reading and indoctrination.
Um, actually South Africa is (again) a member of the OECD (https://www.oecd.org/southafrica/south-africa-and-oecd.htm) and one of the things I had to do for my Australian client was monitor the reports on South Africa emanating from the OECD for the projects in which we had an interest: foundation and TVET teacher training.
It's interesting that in Tanzania or is it Zambia - both use kiSwahili as an official language - language of instruction is mother tongue to about year 5 or 6 and then it changes to English. That said, there is a pan-African movement to introduce African languages into universities, not just for their litereature, but as a language of learning, discourse and research. My alma mater, Rhodes University, under the leadership of Professor Russel Kaschula (we studied together) is a key, international proponent of this.
I should find, and send you in a DM, if you're interested, a timeline of events in South African history and how they correlate with events affecting the training of artisans and the separate education systems. It was evidence as part report and recommendations to a corporate client a few years ago. From 1948 politics and education were even more inextricably linked.
Oh, and of course, let's not get into how the role of universities has changed from one of the pursuit of knowledge to job mills in the guise of knowledge production.
Ok, it's time I got on with something else before I really get going.
Good afternoon from the other side ;)
As I know south africa is a key partner of the OECD, but they are not actually an OECD member (there are 36 and none in Africa). SA are BRICS amd G20 though. They are upper middle development and I'm not sure why they aren't a full member or on the list.
Now I'm really curious about this.
I do think research and academic studies should be conducted more in native languages especially if there is demand and if it will improve edication.
Ah, yes, there is a distinction and South Africa is a member of the Commonwealth and sometimes there is a connection between OECD work and Unesco. It all gets a bit confusing. I've been to conferences where the findings of OECD research in South Africa is shared for the first time. That said, it's all now in a past life...and I watch it all from the periphery and weigh in. From time to time. Like this.
I think the increasing use of mother tongue can only be of benefit to improving the general level of education and the way the general population gets on with life. I do know from the work I was doing that, again, my alma mater was the first university in South Africa to graduate mother tongue (isiXhosa) foundation phase teachers, i.e. qualified to teach in that language and not English. And that was in the last few years and was in the "happening" before I stopped working in the area.