Business Education Learners in the Further Education and Training Phase: Towards the Development of a South African Readiness Model to Strengthen Learners’ Academic Performance

Abstract

African and coloured students continue to perform poorly both at public schools and institutions of higher learning. There are two main reasons for their weak performance -a lack of literacy and numeracy skills, and being under-prepared. This article reports on two findings of a study that was conducted at two high schools in the Western Cape Province. The one high school was a quintile 1, and the other a quintile 4 school. The study aimed to implement intervention strategies over a threeyear period for Grade 10 to 12 learners in the business-related subjects, Accounting, Business Studies, and Economics. The objective was to develop a readiness model that public schools in South African could use to overcome the challenges so that learners could be equipped with a strong foundation in their primary schooling. The study was situated within a critical education science paradigm and used a critical participatory action research design. Two groups of 30 learners formed the main research participants. Interventions strategies were implemented with the learners when they were in Grade 10 in 2017, in Grade 11 in 2018, and in Grade 12 in 2019 The results show that both groups of learners did not have an adequate rating of 50% and more subject content knowledge and skills when they arrived in Grade 10 in 2017 in all three subjects, and they did not manage to obtain a 50% or more rating in the three subjects in their final examinations at the end of Grade 12 in 2019. Based on the four key principles of the readiness model, recommendations are proposed that would assist public schools to develop and support the learners during the early childhood and foundation phase so that a solid foundation in literacy and numeracy skills could be laid.

Towards inclusive teaching and learning practices: A guideline for commerce academics

“…The legacy of apartheid and current socio-economic conditions in the country dictate that these students experience discomfort from the onset. This discomfort stems from the conflicting dichotomies that they encounter, specifically the differences between their personal lived experiences and the privileged university environment (McGhie et al 2020;Mpofu 2015;Sartorius & Sartorius 2013;Terblanche & Waghid 2020). For many years, fully accredited accounting qualifications accredited by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants were only offered at historically white institutions (HWIs) (Lubbe & Coetzee 2018;Verhoef 2014).…”

“…The socio-economic legacy of the country dictates that black citizens remain subjected to poorer socio-economic conditions, the impact of which cannot be outlived irrespective of the passage of time (Mpofu 2015). As a result, black students who are studying in business-related programmes, such as accounting, may face difficulties in university because of their limited exposure to business concepts during their earlier years of education (McGhie et al 2020). Additionally, apprehension towards mathematics and related subjects that may have been developed in childhood can be difficult to overcome within the relatively short period of time that students spend at university (Spaull & Kotze 2015).…”

“…The persistence of this trend suggests that urgent intervention is needed to address its underlying causes. Previous literature attributes and aligns these unfavourable trends to systemic challenges emanating from the substandard education offered to the black population under apartheid, which has not ceased post-democracy (McGhie et al 2020;Spaull & Kotze 2015). What is, however, scant in literature is an account from black students themselves of the underlying causes of their frustrations.…”

Modelling Customised Student Support Framework to Enhance University at-risk Students’ Study Skills

“…The emerging complacency may lead to poor performance in their studies. These new attitudes are sometimes attributed to academic under-preparedness (McGhie et al, 2020).…”