Mixed-method study exploring the challenges of and possible solutions for underperforming Grade R learners in one school in Namakgale district in Limpopo.

Abstract

The study explored the needs and challenges of underperforming Grade R learners in a school in the Namakgale District of the Limpopo Province. As there is not necessarily a specific method for how young learners should be developed in their homes and communities before entering school, Rossi and Stuart (2007:139) make us aware of the fact that “many learners are at a disadvantage when they enter school, since they have not had the latitude to develop skills, values and attitudes that are expected of learners in the first grade.” The school is situated in a rural district where unemployment is a challenge, and this causes poverty, negatively impacting living circumstances. Negative living circumstances, in turn, worsen the high rate of drug abuse. Most residents of Mashishimale village, South Africa, where the school is situated, are unemployed parents who rely on the South African Security Agency (SASSA) to maintain their families. Because of these socio-economic conditions, schools face children with barriers to schooling, providing teaching challenges. Links (2009:12) adds to the debate by saying that when you have a school with learners from different cultural groups and clans, you will find that a variation of barriers to learning will exist.