EDITORIAL
FUNDA UJABULE – “LEARN AND BE JOYFUL” ARTICLE BY THE UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG, INSTITUTE OF CHILDHOOD EDUCATION.
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INTEGRATION OF EARLY SCHOOL EDUCATION, TEACHER TRAINING, RESEARCH, AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
The Funda UJabule elementary (foundation phase) school in Soweto is the only one of its kind in South Africa. It was found- ed as a teacher training and research school in the Faculty of Education of the University of Johannesburg (UJ) in 2010. In addition to its educational and training functions it is also the site of unique, integrated research on cognitive development of children, language and literacy practice in the early school grades, mathematics and science learning, and home and care- giver roles in formal education. The school also hosts commu- nity engagement projects related to childhood education and early childhood development (ECD).
TEACHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Pre-service teachers in the Foundation Phase degree program spend on average three hours per week in the first three years of their education as classroom observers and as assistants in the school. Student also study child development over four years by writing up longitudinal case studies. The teachers in the school assist in training of UJ students. Students, school staff, and the University Faculty collaborate in this integrated project of pre-service education of teachers.
An important aspect of this education is the foregrounding of families’ and caregivers’ role in early formal education. The school and the UJ Faculty write a bi-weekly column in the com- munity newspapers of Soweto, “Funda nge Funda UJabule” (learn with Funda UJabule).
In these columns issues related to ECD and also childhood education are discussed. Special attention is given to how par- ents and other caregivers can assist young children in making progress in school.
The column content is the precursor to programs for the school’s community program in which aspects of the school curriculum will be shared with the children’s families and care- givers in order to prepare them for their supportive role.
The UJ Institute for Childhood Education (UJICE) is the home of research and development and is also the organisational home of these initiatives. There are currently two strands of research: the children in the school will be assessed annually, utilizing the JSAIS instrument, which has been translated into Sesotho and isiZulu. This standardized test for cognitive devel- opment is a South African instrument and the (first) translation was done for the purpose of the UJICE research.
Each of the annual intake of 60 children will be assessed over four years, and two control groups will be assessed in comparable schools. The two main strands of research are led by Prof Max Bergman (University of Basel and visiting Professor in the Faculty of Education) and Prof Elizabeth Henning (UJ researcher, who is a 2010 AERA Fellow). This research will indicate whether the inter- vention at the Funda UJabule School may have had specific benefits.
Other research looks into home and caregiver support to for- mal education in the early grades. Here another intervention will be tracked, namely parent and caregiver training in the school curriculum. The teacher education model, using the same site for researching the children and for teacher training, which is a first in South Africa, is also researched.
UJ INSTITUTE FOR CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
The Institute will be based on the Soweto campus, where its research will be coordinated by the UJ’s Centre for Education Practice Research (CEPR).
The Funda UJabule School is the core of the Institute and most of its activities will be launched from the school.
GOVERNANCE OF THE SCHOOL
The Funda UJabule School is a public school that is governed jointly by the University of Johannesburg and the Gauteng De- partment of Education. Children who attend the school come from the community where the school is based.
In order to ensure the viability of the special programs based in the school, and also to ensure that teachers and school man- agement members are remunerated adequately in future, the school will have a trust fund, managed by trustees form the main benefactors and the University.
” 92 CHAPTER 4 | SCHOOLS AT THE CENTRE OF THE COMMUNITY
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