Intense after-school tutoring holds many lessons – for learners and teachers

Abstract

Pre-service teachers must spend a few months working in schools to practice their craft and learn from qualified educators. This is an important part of their training, but it doesn’t allow pre-service teachers to work for an extended period with the same group of learners.The absence of such a sustained, intense interaction deprives pre-service teachers of an important opportunity to understand their learners' challenges – and their own shortcomings – before entering a classroom full time.

A project in a peri-urban area about 75 kilometres from Cape Town is exploring what happens when trainee teachers are able to spend a full year tutoring the same one or two children. The early results are extremely encouraging for both the pre-service teachers and their 52 learners. It is also reaching a much wider pool as learners share their experiences with their peers.