1

Remedial Education: the need to revisit the practice, assumptions, tools & multi-

cultural/generation challenges

Ronald Thifulufhelwi RamabulanaSAPA Conference Presentation

Bloemfontein06 September 2012

ronramabulana@webmail.co.zaMobile: 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?

11

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