What role is played by the environment on the academic

Literature and empirical findings have revealed that an environment plays a significant role in the academic achievement of learners. Environment refers to the external conditions or surroundings in which people live. In this sense, the homes, community as well as the school are environments in which learners spend most of their time, and they can therefore influence how learners perform.

Children are dependent on their parents for financial support. In poverty-stricken households children are poor by virtue of their parents’ economic limitations. They are harshly affected at times by this set of circumstances and they fare worse than other children from well to do families. Studies have found that very poor communities face many hardships and children, families, and the schools that serve them, confront a host of challenges. Low-income learners have a probability of lower achievement than learners from a higher socio-economic status backgrounds, and these lower-income learners may very well continue into the cycle of poverty. Low- income learners come to school less ready and with weaker educational support at home compared to those from more advantaged backgrounds. Teachers also perceive that schools with large proportions of learners from poor families offer harsher working environments than those schools serving more advantaged

learners. A child’s family background and the school’s socio-economic make up are the best predictors of academic success (see 2.2.2).

Literature has found that the environment in the low-performing schools is often uninviting and unpleasant. The premises (buildings, furniture and other facilities) are neglected, unkempt and damaged. There is poor waste collection; the school environment in general reflects the poor state of buildings in the community. Learning does not begin at school, and the background of a child who learns more at home can lay a better foundation at school. The support or lack of support at home plays a significant role in the child’s learning. Home environment is therefore critical in the learning process of the child - it must be stimulating and help prepare the child for a conducive learning environment at school.

High-performing, high-poverty schools offer conducive environments for learning and teaching because of the culture of high expectation that exists there. The culture of high expectations in high-performing, high-poverty schools is embedded in a caring and nurturing environment where adults and young people alike treat each other with respect. In order for learners to do well, teachers have to provide a caring environment in which learners are viewed as the most valuable resources of the school, and in such a culture of caring, teachers do not expect learners to repress their own background knowledge. The environment, therefore, plays a significant role in the academic achievement of learners.

5.4. RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the conclusions of the study, the following recommendations are made on the managerial challenges facing principals of high-poverty schools.

5.4.1. Recommendation 1

The Provincial and National Departments of Education should take into cognisance the host of socio-economic challenges experienced in the so-called high-poverty schools which have a determining impact on the delivery and acquisition of education. These challenges should be addressed by building more schools with better facilities and appointing more teachers.

5.4.2. Recommendation 2

The allocation of funding based on the quintile system should be reviewed by the National Department of Education. The highly impoverished schools in the disadvantaged communities should be allocated more funding in order to address the wide gap that exists in terms of resources between the more affluent and more impoverished schools.

5.4.3. Recommendation 3

There must be continuous and sustained support for the principals, staff and learners of high-poverty schools by all sections within the local Education Districts so that relevant support is readily available. This support could be in the form of training, the supply of resources and financial support.

5.4.4. Recommendation 4

In appointing principals, it must be recommended by the Provincial Education Department that principals should follow a comprehensive leadership course such as the ACE in School Leadership.

5.4.5. Recommendation 5

The district officials should play a supervisory role in the functionality of the School- based Support Teams who are, amongst others, tasked to help identify and provide support to learners with different scholastic, socio-economic and behavioural challenges.

5.4.6. Recommendation 6

The National and Provincial Departments of Education should acknowledge that within the system there are many so-called “deadwood” type of teachers who are weighing the system down. The issue of performance management should be revisited and teachers could be required to sign performance contracts.

5.4.7. Recommendation 7

Principals should ensure that schools become community centres and that the gap that exists between schools and the communities be narrowed. Principals should be part of the communities in which they operate and be caring for the people in the community so that the community itself could own the school and protect it from all the social ills.

5.4.8. Recommendation 8

The study recommends that the principals leading high-poverty schools should develop strategies to better deal with the challenges facing their learners. This includes being compassionate and supportive and to inculcate into the broader staff a culture of high expectation and caring for the learners irrespective of their backgrounds.

5.4.9. Recommendation 9

It is recommended that principals of high-poverty schools should build a network with principals of other high-performing schools so as to foster an exchange of ideas and sharing of best-practices. Constant support and guidance from other successful schools will be to the benefit of all.

5.4.10. Recommendation 10

The principals of high-poverty schools should instil in their staff a culture of accountability. Teachers must at all times be held accountable and they must develop improvement strategies of which the effective implementation is regularly monitored by the principals. Measures should be put in place to effectively control and eradicate the high absenteeism rate of both learners and teachers. Principals must at all times strive to protect teaching and learning time, thereby ensuring that contact time with learners is used profitably.