Grade 12 learner achievement in Business Studies in working-class communities in two schools in the Western Cape, South Africa

Abstract

The researcher was concerned about the underachievement of Grade 12 learners in Business Studies, particularly, in schools in working-class communities in the Western Cape. The research was presented as a case study of the learners and the teachers to learn more about factors that possibly contributed to the lack of success in Business Studies in the 12th grade. According to the National Senior Certificate results, the Education District categorised schools into groups. It was clear that many schools from the ex-House of Representatives, ex-House of Delegates and Department of Education and Training (DET) were at the bottom half with reference to the results and should receive high-priority intervention from the district level. Learners from new Western Cape Education Department (WCED) schools in specific areas also underperformed in the subject. The study sought to identify the reasons for this underperformance and made recommendations to ensure improved performance. The objectives of this investigation were, therefore, to define performance and underperformance, to determine the effect of learners’ socio-economic circumstances on their ability to succeed, and to investigate how changes in the curriculum influenced the knowledge and methodology of the Business Studies teacher. Conceptually, the study drew on understanding the term underperformance or underachievement. A review of the literature included the historiography of curriculum changes in the Business Studies curriculum over the past twenty years and the extent to which teachers were prepared for these changes. Other factors considered in the teaching and learning process were the relationship between socio-economic circumstances and academic achievement and the availability of quality learning spaces that are conducive to academic success. In this regard, the researcher reviewed similar studies in the literature. The research focused primarily on the learners’ and teachers’ perceptions of why learners underperform in Grade 12 Business Studies. To be able to make meaning of the phenomenon of underperformance, a qualitative research methodology was used in association with an interpretive approach. The instrumental case study (Stake, 2005:445), as a qualitative research design, was used to enable the researcher to facilitate understanding of the problem of underachievement of high school learners in Grade 12 Business Studies.