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Educational Decision making among Grade 9 learners in Cape Town
The need for higher skill levels in South Africa’s labour market warranted an investigation into why some learners from poor communities make the decision to leave high school at the end of Grade 9, whilst other learners continue to Grade 12 or tertiary education. This exploratory, longitudinal s...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Sociology
2019
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| Summary: | The need for higher skill levels in South Africa’s labour market warranted an
investigation into why some learners from poor communities make the decision to leave high
school at the end of Grade 9, whilst other learners continue to Grade 12 or tertiary education.
This exploratory, longitudinal study investigated the Educational Decision Making (EDM) of
16 Grade 9, Coloured, male learners from poor neighbourhoods in Cape Town. This study
identified the socio-economic factors that influenced participants’ EDM to consider leaving
the school system at the end of Grade 9, or continue their education. The study applied Miles
and Huberman’s (1994) approach to identify links between the socio-economic factors that
influenced EDM, and to understand the learners’ educational context. These interactions were
investigated using Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Framework, comprising 5 traversing and Huberman’s (1994) approach to identify links between the socio-economic factors that influenced EDM, and to understand the learners’ educational context. These interactions were investigated using Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Framework, comprising 5 traversing layers, namely, the micro-system, meso-system, exo-system, macro-system, and chronosystem (Watts, Cockcroft & Duncan, 2009). This qualitative study drew on semi-structured, one-on-one interviews with learners in their Grade 9 year in 2015, and makes use of followup telephonic interviews (2016) and enrolment records (2017) to verify the findings. All learners made the decision to continue to Grade 12 or tertiary education. Examples of negative influences on EDM included socio-economic challenges presented by South Africa’s transition to democracy (Chrono-system), which impacted on other systems, including inadequate school facilities (exo-system), a family history of school dropout (mesosystem), and financial instability (micro-system). Examples of positive influences on EDM included financial stability in the household (mesosystem), and the resilience and agency of learners (microsystem). |
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