SITE VISIT - Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and ...
SITE VISIT - Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and ...
SITE VISIT - Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and ...
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communities that might ordinarily not have access to formal educati<strong>on</strong> in general <strong>and</strong> early<br />
childhood development in particular. This is critically important in South Africa since about half<br />
of the populati<strong>on</strong>, including pre-school age children, live in rural areas which often do not have<br />
basic educati<strong>on</strong> facilities or trained teachers <strong>and</strong> <strong>on</strong>ly 8% are reached through traditi<strong>on</strong>al training<br />
mechanisms.<br />
In South Africa, there are already organisati<strong>on</strong>s in place committed to bringing quality educati<strong>on</strong><br />
to more people using this strategy. Am<strong>on</strong>g them are Open Learning Systems Educati<strong>on</strong> Trust<br />
(OLSET), the University of South Africa (UNISA), Technik<strong>on</strong> RSA, Technisa <strong>and</strong> commercial<br />
colleges such as Damelin. The South African Institute for Distance Educati<strong>on</strong> (SAIDE) says its<br />
goal as removing unnecessary restricti<strong>on</strong>s <strong>on</strong> educati<strong>on</strong>al opportunity so that all people can have<br />
maximum access to learning <strong>and</strong> knowledge, when <strong>and</strong> where they need it. The organizati<strong>on</strong><br />
hopes to "liberate the existing educati<strong>on</strong> system from ritualised, expensive <strong>and</strong> uneducati<strong>on</strong>al<br />
rigidities."<br />
Distance educati<strong>on</strong> at its best is a form of open learning, available to every<strong>on</strong>e. That is essential<br />
to the building of a viable educati<strong>on</strong> system in the new, democratic South Africa. By using<br />
various technologies <strong>and</strong> media, it is a way of "leapfrogging" over existing problems to soluti<strong>on</strong>s<br />
to the myriad problems facing educati<strong>on</strong> here.<br />
South Africa has a l<strong>on</strong>g history of corresp<strong>on</strong>dence educati<strong>on</strong>. But the previous approaches have<br />
had their limitati<strong>on</strong>s, n<strong>on</strong>e were directed toward children, few incorporated principles of<br />
interactivity <strong>and</strong> learning theory <strong>and</strong> not much was available to further the educati<strong>on</strong> of those in<br />
the field of early childhood development. The traditi<strong>on</strong> of corresp<strong>on</strong>dence educati<strong>on</strong> has not<br />
included active student support systems. However, much of the vital infrastructure for distance<br />
educati<strong>on</strong> is in place, such as a good radio <strong>and</strong> televisi<strong>on</strong> broadcasting network as well as<br />
community-based organizati<strong>on</strong>s that can be used to get informati<strong>on</strong> to the target groups.<br />
According to the experts at SAIDE, distance educati<strong>on</strong> should include a combinati<strong>on</strong> of print,<br />
broadcasting <strong>and</strong> face-to-face educati<strong>on</strong> because these elements reinforce each other. SAIDE<br />
cites research that indicates students benefit if more than <strong>on</strong>e single method or medium is used.<br />
Multi-media courses have resulted in the greatest success. Despite the costs, satellite <strong>and</strong><br />
computer links should not be ruled out as they are also quite effective. There are different costs<br />
<strong>and</strong> organisati<strong>on</strong>al comp<strong>on</strong>ents but used in t<strong>and</strong>em allow for ec<strong>on</strong>omies of scale adding to<br />
savings that make distance educati<strong>on</strong> ec<strong>on</strong>omically attractive.<br />
Studies have shown that computers can be quite effective, especially when it comes to training<br />
teachers. Computer-managed instructi<strong>on</strong> provides a private n<strong>on</strong>-threatening way of learning<br />
because it minimises the embarrassment of different ability levels in the same class.<br />
When c<strong>on</strong>sidering the strategies of media-based educati<strong>on</strong>, it is important to train staff who are<br />
able to combine teaching, administrative <strong>and</strong> curriculum design skills in ways that are different<br />
from classroom educati<strong>on</strong>.<br />
The SABC<br />
SABC, the state radio <strong>and</strong> televisi<strong>on</strong> network, was in fact a mouthpiece of the apartheid<br />
government. During the anti-apartheid struggle, many South Africans were focused <strong>on</strong><br />
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