The role of school progression policy on grade 12 Learners’ self-esteem in Motheo education district
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Date
2021-06
Authors
Khobe, Mamello Admirrow
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Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
School Progression Policy (SPP) is a mitigation strategy for high dropout rates in South Africa’s education system. It has social and emotional implications for progressed learners. Thus, the SPP is still a debatable policy, considering the concerns around the changes facing the progressed learners. Whereas the SPP affords learners an opportunity to advance in their school career, it also affects their self-esteem. This study aims to explain the role of SPP in affecting the Grade 12 learners’ self-esteem in the Motheo Education District. This study determined the nature of Grade 12 learners’ self-esteem and explored how the SPP affected the self-esteem of progressed Grade 12 learners at selected schools in the Motheo Education District. The study is mainly conceptualised within the Social Comparison Theory, the Labelling Theory, and the Social Identity Theory. This theory triangulation enables the researcher to explain the role of SPP in the development of Grade 12 learners’ self-esteem. The study is rooted within a pragmatist research paradigm underpinned by a mixed methods research approach which combines quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The researcher adopted the mixed-method approach using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale questionnaire and face-to-face semi-structured interviews. The scale registered a Cronbach’s Alpha reliability score of 0.623. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics for the quantitative component and thematic analysis technique for the qualitative component of the study. For the quantitative component of the study, the researcher used purposive sampling with a sample of 50 learners (females = 29 and males = 21) recruited from five schools. From the 50 learners, the qualitative component involved 37 learners (females = 23 and males = 14) and 15 teachers and/or SMTs (females = 7 and males = 9) from four of the five selected schools in the Motheo Education District. The findings revealed that SPP adversely affected the self-esteem of the Grade 12 learners in Motheo Education District. The study recommended, among others, that schools should become centres for care and support to mitigate the effects of SPP, labelling and comparison of learners at schools. The value of this study lies in its contribution to the body of knowledge on enhancing academic performance, and it is hoped that its findings and recommendations will assist schools in shaping their interventions to intertwine the development of progressed learners’ self-esteem.
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Keywords
Dissertation (M.Ed. (Psychology of Education))--University of the Free State, 2021, School Progression Policy (SPP), Progressed learners, Self-esteem, Social-Comparison Theory, Labelling Theory, Social Identity Theory