This working paper by Timothy Köhler for the COVID-Generation project analyses the evolution of the labour market returns to education and their drivers in post-apartheid…
For most South African learners, the destination language of instruction (typically English) is not their mother tongue; thus, proficiency in English is necessary for educational success. However, research has shown that development of linguistic skills is more effective in the mother tongue, and that these skills can be transferred to a second language (especially when high levels of proficiency are reached in the first language).
The 2023 Back-on-Track (BoT) programme, launched by the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), aimed to address significant learning deficits caused by the COVID-19 pandemic over a period of three years. This R1.2 billion initiative targeted improvements in mathematics and language through interventions for learners and teachers in grades 4, 7, and 8. Using Systemic Tests and School-Based Assessments (SBAs), this evaluation assesses the programme’s impact on grade 4 and grade 7 learners.
In the quest to understand and address educational challenges, particularly in the realm of mathematics performance, the exploration of underlying microdata becomes paramount. Martin Gustafsson’s…
In this research report, Gabrielle Wills and Jess Qvist collate existing and new evidence on grade repetition and school dropout in South Africa before, during and two years after the COVID-19 pandemic.
In this Covid-Generation working paper, Bianca Böhmer and Gabrielle Wills contribute new evidence on pandemic effects on reading scores and inequalities in reading in South Africa through an in-depth analysis of data from the 2016 and 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) – a Grade 4 reading comprehension assessment.
As part of the Covid-Generation project, Gabrielle Wills examines early grade repetition patterns in South Africa and the effects of early grade repetition on the development of foundational reading skills.
Three international testing programmes, including PIRLS, point to educational quality improvements in South Africa during the period 2002 to 2019. The gains were substantial, relative to the steepness of improvements seen in other countries. What lay behind these trends? National education quality trends are not easy to explain, and this is seldom attempted in a systematic manner.
An emerging interdisciplinary literature explores how kinship practices affect household resource allocation through efficiency of production and consumption. This paper focuses on a key gender norm – how a resource transfer to households affects school drop out of girls relative to boys, under different kinship practices.
The South African economics of education has so far been largely silent on the role of non-cognitive skills in the learning process. This contrasts noticeably with an international literature that recognises non-cognitive skills as both an important input and outcome of education.
Events surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic threatened to undo 20 years of sustained expansion in access to early childhood care and education (ECCE) in South Africa. In this paper, we explore the underlying structural weaknesses in non-grade R ECCE provisioning that were exposed through the pandemic, and the strengths that have surfaced.
A PART OF THE ECD WORKING PAPER SERIES BETWEEN ILIFA LABANTWANA & RESEP. NO. ECD WP 003/2021
The Ilifa-Resep ECD Working Paper Series is a collaboration between Ilifa Labantwana and Research on Socio-Economic Policy (RESEP) at Stellenbosch University. The working paper series aims to promote research that addresses the major systemic issues facing the ECD sector in South Africa.
The Ilifa-Resep ECD Working Paper Series is a collaboration between Ilifa Labantwana and Research on Socio-Economic Policy (Resep) at Stellenbosch University. The working paper series aims to promote research that addresses the major systemic issues facing the ECD sector in South Africa.
Citizens ought to hold the state accountable for service delivery. This is usually done through the power of the vote. Literature on democratic governance suggests that theoretically, when good quality public services are provided, citizens would continue to vote for the political party in power. Therefore, it is expected that the inverse would occur should poor quality public services be provided.
Stellenbosch Working Paper Series No. WP01/2021
Publication date: February 2021
Stellenbosch Working Paper Series No. WP23/2020
Publication date: December 2020
Stellenbosch Working Paper Series No. WP22/2020 Publication date: December 2020
Stellenbosch Working Paper Series No. WP20/2020
Publication date: November 2020
This working paper presents the findings of research into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the curriculum in South Africa. Four research questions frame the report:
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