Effects of social worker services in rural secondary schools on learner academic performance in Vhembe district
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Date
2020
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University of Zululand
Abstract
The social worker services are crucial to the success of a lifelong learning process, as they provide assistance, guidance, counselling, and advice to learners so that they can improve and make better-informed decisions and improved academic performance. The purpose of the study was to find out the effect of social worker services in rural secondary schools on learner academic performance in the Vhembe District in Limpopo. The investigation was conducted using the mixed methods approach which was driven by both quantitative and qualitative approaches. A sample of 130 participants was selected from rural secondary schools. The study was underpinned by the ZPD theory. Twenty (20) educators (5 from each school) and 100 grade 12 learners (20 from each school) and 5 heads of departments (1 from each school), were simple randomly selected and they answered a questionnaire with closed and open-ended questions, while 5 social workers (1 from each school) were purposively selected for the in-depth interview session. The findings revealed that the school social workers' motivation strategy used in their schools reduce poor academic performance, based on the results of the in-depth interviews conducted with heads of departments and school social workers. Motivational tools and parental involvement topped the effectiveness. The researcher recommends that for the school social worker services to run smoothly, there has to be a provision of suitable space for school social workers to be effective in rendering their support services to the learners and to keep confidential information safe. Furthermore, enough time should be given for learners to consult a school social worker.
Description
A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies, Faculty of Arts, at the University of Zululand, 2020.
Keywords
social worker services, academic performance, rural secondary schools