Plus Time

Plus Time is an action research project that aims to test whether allocating significantly more time to learning assistance both outside or within the structured school timetable would result in increased personal mastery and improved performance for high school learners, who often face sever challenges in the South African context.

A majority of learners from public schools in South Africa have limited access to physical resources. The challenging conditions they face often include not having their own desk or workspace, no electricity at home and dealing with overcrowding with many family members or entire families sharing small dwellings. Their surroundings are often filled with interruptions and they do not have adequate access to stationery, assistance and other resources.

These conditions cumulatively prevent learners from capitalising on their introduction to knowledge contents during school time and extending it into repetition exercises through homework. This lowers the potential performance levels of learners who would be capable of far more had they better access to resources and without the presence of other challenges.

The core question is how opportunities can be found to amplify school-based work contents and rates through tuition that takes place outside of the regular school timetable, or with assistance. This question carries with it the understanding that schools themselves have often severe challenges to face.

The project plans to research this by allocating more time to teaching assistance and believes that this will have other positive benefits. The sense of being involved in integrated and coordinated efforts from additional sources may steer both learners and teachers towards a situation of confidence and increased impetus towards better achievement. It may also free up time in the school environment for other important activities.