, PLEASE USE THIS DOCUMENT AS A GUIDE ONLY
1. Matseeng Secondary School is a public school situated in a diverse township community.
The school has limited resources—overcrowded classrooms, few textbooks, and minimal ICT
tools. However, the community around the school is rich in human resources, cultural strengths,
and informal learning spaces (church groups, sports clubs, NGOs, caregivers, and local
professionals). How will you assist learners in the classroom to succeed academically in Life
Orientation by using an asset-based approach and an individual personal attribute-based
approach?
ASSISTING LEARNERS IN LIFE ORIENTATION USING AN ASSET-BASED AND
PERSONAL ATTRIBUTE-BASED APPROACH
INTRODUCTION
Matseeng Secondary School, situated in a diverse township community, presents both significant
challenges and remarkable opportunities for teaching Life Orientation. The school faces resource
constraints typical of many South African public schools—overcrowded classrooms, limited
textbooks, and minimal ICT infrastructure. However, the community's rich human resources, cultural
strengths, and informal learning spaces provide a solid foundation for an asset-based and personal
attribute-based approach to learner success. As the TMS3722 Study Guide emphasises, Life
Orientation requires teachers to take learners' actual social, cultural, political and socio-economic
circumstances into account, and to adapt teaching strategies accordingly (TMS3722, Study Guide, p.
16). This essay explores how these approaches can be systematically implemented to help learners
succeed academically in Life Orientation.
UNDERSTANDING THE ASSET-BASED APPROACH
The asset-based approach represents a fundamental shift from focusing on deficits and problems to
identifying and mobilising existing strengths within individuals, classrooms, and communities.
Research has demonstrated that both teachers and learners possess assets that may support teaching
and learning, and that this approach can support teachers to attend to a variety of needs in one
classroom . Positive changes resulting from implementing asset-based teaching include increased
confidence and self-knowledge of learners and teachers, increased motivation and trust, a decrease in
behaviour difficulties, and learners working more independently .
The TMS3722 Study Guide explicitly supports this approach when it states that Life Orientation
teachers should have insight, sensitivity and understanding, and should be observant regarding the
specific challenges facing the school so that they are able to anticipate ways of addressing potential
problem situations in advance (TMS3722, Study Guide, p. 14). This observational capacity is
essential for identifying the unique assets present in the Matseeng Secondary School community.
1. Matseeng Secondary School is a public school situated in a diverse township community.
The school has limited resources—overcrowded classrooms, few textbooks, and minimal ICT
tools. However, the community around the school is rich in human resources, cultural strengths,
and informal learning spaces (church groups, sports clubs, NGOs, caregivers, and local
professionals). How will you assist learners in the classroom to succeed academically in Life
Orientation by using an asset-based approach and an individual personal attribute-based
approach?
ASSISTING LEARNERS IN LIFE ORIENTATION USING AN ASSET-BASED AND
PERSONAL ATTRIBUTE-BASED APPROACH
INTRODUCTION
Matseeng Secondary School, situated in a diverse township community, presents both significant
challenges and remarkable opportunities for teaching Life Orientation. The school faces resource
constraints typical of many South African public schools—overcrowded classrooms, limited
textbooks, and minimal ICT infrastructure. However, the community's rich human resources, cultural
strengths, and informal learning spaces provide a solid foundation for an asset-based and personal
attribute-based approach to learner success. As the TMS3722 Study Guide emphasises, Life
Orientation requires teachers to take learners' actual social, cultural, political and socio-economic
circumstances into account, and to adapt teaching strategies accordingly (TMS3722, Study Guide, p.
16). This essay explores how these approaches can be systematically implemented to help learners
succeed academically in Life Orientation.
UNDERSTANDING THE ASSET-BASED APPROACH
The asset-based approach represents a fundamental shift from focusing on deficits and problems to
identifying and mobilising existing strengths within individuals, classrooms, and communities.
Research has demonstrated that both teachers and learners possess assets that may support teaching
and learning, and that this approach can support teachers to attend to a variety of needs in one
classroom . Positive changes resulting from implementing asset-based teaching include increased
confidence and self-knowledge of learners and teachers, increased motivation and trust, a decrease in
behaviour difficulties, and learners working more independently .
The TMS3722 Study Guide explicitly supports this approach when it states that Life Orientation
teachers should have insight, sensitivity and understanding, and should be observant regarding the
specific challenges facing the school so that they are able to anticipate ways of addressing potential
problem situations in advance (TMS3722, Study Guide, p. 14). This observational capacity is
essential for identifying the unique assets present in the Matseeng Secondary School community.
