Foregrounding Academic Literacies in (TVET) Colleges

Presenter

Abstract

Most students entering vocational programmes at colleges perform poorly predominantly due to low numeracy and literacy levels linked to their school leaving certificates. According to Gewer (2010), underperformance “[is] a consequence of the poor outcomes of basic education in combination with poor labour market absorption”.  

In the last couple of years, TVET colleges have responded by developing models of academic support services to address identified gaps in curricula. Entry level baseline assessments for both numeracy and literacy practices have been conducted to determine the level of competency, to which academic support services should be based upon.  Drawing from the SESD/HSRC Research report of 2006, three models of academic support were proposed at South Cape TVET College namely that of foundational, literacy- in- context and separate literacy. 

The primary objectives of these three models were to create, establish and sustain an enabling environment which offers supplementary support to underprepared students to steer improvement in both student certification and student retention rates.  These academic support services included peer tutoring, basic primary school level numeracy and literacy support, additional tuition to reinforce challenging concepts in course content, and additional time allocation with tutors and mentors. The impact of these support interventions is continuously being monitored against the baseline tests, internal assessment marks and external examination results.

This presentation will reflect on the benefits, challenges and impact of the academic support initiatives at the South Cape TVET College taking both the under-preparedness and affective state of students into consideration.

Presentation