The influence of the South African learner progression policy on learners in the FET phase

Abstract

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of the South African learner progression policy on learners in the FET phase, the challenges experienced by the progressed learners, and the support available for them. The South African schooling system experiences underperformance of learners, particularly in the low quintile (poor communities) schools, following the progression policy. The policy stipulates that multiple repetitions in one grade are not permissible. This policy implies that a learner who fails any grade in a single phase for the second time cannot be retained in that grade and should be allowed to progress to the next grade. This study was specifically focused on the grade 12 progressed learners. The study was approached from a social constructivism paradigm through the adoption of two theoretical frameworks: the ecological model of Bronfenbrenner, and the stress and coping transactional model of Lazarus and Folkman. A qualitative research paradigm was followed to collect data where semi-structured interviews were done with ten grade 12 progressed learners, five boys and five girls, and three grade 12 teachers from one township secondary school in Tshwane west district, Gauteng Province. Furthermore, document analysis was used to investigate the learner progression policy. An inductive thematic analysis was used to analyse the research data. Although progressed learner challenges are commonly known from the existing literature, this study uncovered the fact that the participants experienced academic and psychological challenges, and that the availability of intervention strategies is inadequate. Thus, this study has contributed by providing an in-depth understanding that the progression policy still negatively influences progressed learners, and that the available support strategies are inadequate as they are not tailored specifically for the progressed learners. This study, therefore, makes recommendations in which the progressed learners could be supported to cope in the progressed grade.

Key words: learner progression policy, progressed learners, academic challenges, psychological challenges, intervention strategies.