Identifying personal and environmental assets to enrich pre-school learning within a culture of poverty : an ethnographic study

Abstract

This research entails an ethnographic study of a community that has a culture of poverty. The aim of this research was to identify personal and environmental assets that could be used to enrich pre-school learning within a culture of poverty. These assets included anything that could be used for pre-school learning, observations, field notes, interviews, photographs and artefacts were used to study the community while participating as a member of the community. Numerous assets were identified. Seven main themes were derived from a collective summary of data. The main themes were: children, culture, man-made products, the natural environment, local institutions and citizens’ associations, crafts and caretakers. The themes were expanded into categories and sub-categories. Each sub-category is discussed as an asset in the light of various activities the asset can be used for, the skills and the learning outcomes practiced by these activities. Using these assets as stated by the Revised National Curriculum, all the learning outcomes for the Foundation Phase were covered. Literature that relates to the theme of this research study is incorporated to verify the results from this study. The results of this research study suggest that this particular community is rich with potential, opportunities and material to enrich the pre-school learning of children.