RCE 2601
ASSIGNMENT 2
2024
, Title
The impact of overcrowded classrooms with focus on the challenges
teachers experience during teaching.
2. Introduction
South Africa performs poorly in both national and international
assessments, such as the Annual National Assessment (ANA1 ) and the
Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS). In the ANA Home
Language (as referred to by the Curriculum and Assessment Policy
Statement [CAPS]) tests conducted in 2014, Grade 1 learners reached an
average of 63%, Grade 2 learners had an average of 61% and Grade 3
learners had an average of 56%. In the 2016 PIRLS assessment, the South
African literacy results were also alarming. Grade 4 learners averaged a
reading score of 320 out of a 1000 on the PIRLS scale2 , which is
concerning because it falls far below the PIRLS ‘low international
benchmark’ of 400 (Mullis et al. 2017:20). This describes a disturbing
picture of education and its ‘outcome quality’ in South African schools
(Modisaotsile 2012:s.p.). These results indicate the urgency for
improvement in the quality of education, especially during the Foundation
Phase because it is one of the phases (early years of schooling: grades 1–
3) that directly affect learners’ academic success later in life (Department of
Basic Education [DBE] 2014a:42). In 2008, the South African Ministerial
Committee on Learner Retention observed high repetition rates as early as
Grade 1 (Department of Education [DoE] 2008:xii). The then DoE reported
that out of 1000 people born between 1980 and 1984 (aged 23–27 years in
2007), about 984 entered Grade 1 and only 456 reached Grade 12. This
means that not even 50% of this cohort who started Grade 1 reached Grade
12 (DoE 2008:xiii).
3. Problem statement
South Africa’s increasingly poor Grade 12 outputs and current retention
rates further indicate that there is a crisis in education. One of the influential
factors associated with poor performance and grade repetition is
overcrowded classrooms. Overcrowded classrooms occur as a result of a
ASSIGNMENT 2
2024
, Title
The impact of overcrowded classrooms with focus on the challenges
teachers experience during teaching.
2. Introduction
South Africa performs poorly in both national and international
assessments, such as the Annual National Assessment (ANA1 ) and the
Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS). In the ANA Home
Language (as referred to by the Curriculum and Assessment Policy
Statement [CAPS]) tests conducted in 2014, Grade 1 learners reached an
average of 63%, Grade 2 learners had an average of 61% and Grade 3
learners had an average of 56%. In the 2016 PIRLS assessment, the South
African literacy results were also alarming. Grade 4 learners averaged a
reading score of 320 out of a 1000 on the PIRLS scale2 , which is
concerning because it falls far below the PIRLS ‘low international
benchmark’ of 400 (Mullis et al. 2017:20). This describes a disturbing
picture of education and its ‘outcome quality’ in South African schools
(Modisaotsile 2012:s.p.). These results indicate the urgency for
improvement in the quality of education, especially during the Foundation
Phase because it is one of the phases (early years of schooling: grades 1–
3) that directly affect learners’ academic success later in life (Department of
Basic Education [DBE] 2014a:42). In 2008, the South African Ministerial
Committee on Learner Retention observed high repetition rates as early as
Grade 1 (Department of Education [DoE] 2008:xii). The then DoE reported
that out of 1000 people born between 1980 and 1984 (aged 23–27 years in
2007), about 984 entered Grade 1 and only 456 reached Grade 12. This
means that not even 50% of this cohort who started Grade 1 reached Grade
12 (DoE 2008:xiii).
3. Problem statement
South Africa’s increasingly poor Grade 12 outputs and current retention
rates further indicate that there is a crisis in education. One of the influential
factors associated with poor performance and grade repetition is
overcrowded classrooms. Overcrowded classrooms occur as a result of a
