Abstract:
This research set out to explore the acculturation of immigrant children from Zimbabwe in the Foundation Phase with reference to its influence on academic performance. Participants were immigrant children from Zimbabwe aged six to seven years old and their parents and teachers. The study was navigated via the qualitative route using narrative and case study designs. Data were collected using semistructured interviews, observation and document analysis. This study was based on the theory of Legitimate Peripheral Participation (LPP) by Lave and Wenger (1991) and Wenger’s (1998) theory of learning in communities of practice (COP). Findings that emerged from the study were fivefold. First it was found that the initial investment in the LoLT initiated at the home front assisted the immigrant children from Zimbabwe to engage with the curriculum content on the periphery of the COP. It was found that quick understanding of the LoLT enhanced their acculturation to the school as well as their academic performance. Zimbabwean immigrant children who understood the indigenous South African languages adapted well to the academic environment. Consequently they had a sense of belonging to the school, a resource which seemed to have focused their attention on academic matters. Second, teachers had no prior arrangements to address the linguistic concerns of immigrant children in the Foundation Phase. However, they arranged ad hoc solutions to meet the linguistic and academic challenges of immigrant learners. Third, parents of Zimbabwean immigrant learners who participated in this study discouraged their children from totally imbibing the cultures of South Africa. They only agreed to their children’s academic acculturation rather than mainstream acculturation. They were determined to focus the attention of their children on coping with the curriculum. Some of them offered assistance to their children regarding the LoLT and their homework. Fourth, it was found that comprehension of curriculum content was enhanced by the acquisition of the LoLT. Fifth, it was found that issues of discrimination were uncommon among immigrant children and their indigenous peers in the Foundation Phase. Recommendations were made for policy and practice.
