Early literacy experiences of two children during Covid-19 lockdown in South Africa: A semi- ethnographic study

Abstract

As the world came to grips with the coronavirus diseases (COVID-19), educational institutions and the society at large faced the challenge of figuring out how to continue with teaching and learning in such a context. Many countries, including South Africa made efforts to help contain and suppress the spread of Covid-19. In the South African education sector, about 13 million learners and 440 000 teachers were released before the end of the first school term in March 2020. In addition, 30 000 Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres, about 100 000 teachers were also required to end their term before the official closing date. For many young learners, the lockdown period meant that they would be at home with (a) Limited access to age appropriate, fun and explicitly educational resources to play with as many shops considered resources that could be used to develop children’s sensory skills as not essential goods (b) They had limited exposure to structured learning and play as most caregivers are not qualified ECD practitioners (c) Children could not play outside, visit playgrounds and parks, yet, freedom of movement, activity and exercise is important for every child’s development and young children learn best through play and experimenting (d) Most of their curriculum content cannot be fully taught using online platforms. Given this background, through a semi-ethnographic study, the paper documents the early literacy experiences of two 3 year old children during the Covid-19 lockdown in South Africa. In addition, analysis of parents or caregivers’ feedback about their experiences in providing assistance to the young learners during the lockdown is presented. Findings of the study show that in both research contexts, literacy practices were different, but not lesser. Challenging as it was for the caregivers to support the development of literacy, the home environment provided many opportunities for learning.

The impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on teaching practices and teacher-learner professional relationships in a rural school context.

“…Rural schools sat at just 7.6% of online teaching and learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Nkomo et al's (2023) statement is a testament to the statement by Manamela along with the findings of this study.…”

“…Teachers expressed great concern for their learners in rural contexts with limitations that prevented online teaching and learning. In an article, Nkomo et al (2023) state that only 11.7% of South African schools offered e-learning platforms in 2020. They (2023) further narrate that within that number, geographical divides presented the country with 24.7% of urban school learners that adopted online teaching and learning.…”

“…Learners and parents of such communities would rarely afford to purchase technological gadgets to enable this type of learning method. Nkomo et al (2023) asserts that, as the cost of mobile data rises, parents of these communities would struggle to purchase data, let alone purchase gadgets such as smart phones and laptops. Internet connectivity is another limitation mentioned (Chisango & Marongwe, 2021).…”