CHALLENGES FACED BY HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARIES IN LIMPOPO

PROVINCE .

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

• Limpopo is one of the rural provinces in South Africa.

• It is a merger of two former self-governing homelands, Lebowa and Gazankulu, and former independent state, Venda designated specifically for Black people under Apartheid rule.

• It is named after the Limpopo River that flows across the province; the name "Limpopo" has its etymological origin from the Northern Sotho (Sepedi) word diphororo tša meetse - meaning strong gushing waterfalls.

• 78.9% of the population lives below the national poverty line (STATS SA 2011)

• The province is 89% rural and 97.1% Black (STATS SA 2011)

• 74.4% of the households are in rural environments compared to a national average of 27.1%. (STATS SA 2011)

STATUS OF SCHOOL LIBRARIES IN SOUTH AFRICA (NEIMS 2011)

Province %

Western Cape 25

Gauteng 18,4

Free State 8,8

North West 6,4

KwaZulu-Natal 6,1

Mpumalanga 6,1

Eastern Cape 2,9

Northern Cape 2,3

Limpopo 2,3

NATIONAL 7,2

PROBLEM STATEMENT

• Well-stocked, equipped and functional school libraries are indispensable to support and enhance the quality and standard of teaching and learning (education) in schools (Hart 2002:2).

• Learners and teachers need various library-based resources including the Internet to source information to meet their curricular and non-curricular needs.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

• According to Equal Education (2011), Library and Information Services Transformation Charter (2009) and National Education Information Management Systems (2011), only 7,2% of the schools in South Africa have functional school libraries

• Only 2,3% of the schools in Limpopo province have functional school libraries (NEIMS 2011)

• Only 10% of the population has excess to the library-based resources in public or community libraries (Limpopo Department of Sport, Arts and Culture The Draft Plan 2009/10)

• Library-based-resources are essential for learners to do their assignments, homework and research projects to achieve the outcomes and goals of the curriculum.

• When learners are exposed to a wide variety of library-based resources such as books, magazines and journals to cite but a few, they develop reading habits which are essential for life-long learning.

• They also develop reading skills which will make them responsible citizens so that they can cope with challenges posed by modern life. Tiemensma (2006:13) adds that “reading is an essential competency in the 21st century. The school library plays the most important role in the acquisition of the technical skills of reading and writing.

• School libraries are important to enhance teaching and learning in schools

• An NGO called Equal Education is advocating for “one school, one library, one teacher librarian” to ensure that teachers and learners have access to information to support curriculum

FRAMEWORKS

The study is premised amongst others by the following frameworks or guidelines: • Limpopo Department of Education. School Library

Policy. The Draft 2012 • South Africa. Department of Education. 1997. A

national framework for school library standards. Pretoria: The Department.

• Equal Education, 2010. We can’t afford not to: costing the provision of functional school libraries in South African public schools. Elonwabeni: Equal Education.

• South Africa. Department of Education. 2012. National guidelines for school library and information services. Pretoria: The Department.

• IFLA/UNESCO School library manifesto 2006 • KZN. Department of Education. School library

policy 2003

AIM OF THE STUDY

• To determine challenges faced by school libraries in high schools of the Limpopo Province to support resource-thirsty curriculum.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

• Which school library models have been adopted by the schools in the province?

• Do schools have resources? • Are schools getting support to establish a

functional school library system? • Which challenges prevent schools to establish,

develop and maintain functional school libraries?

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

• Both qualitative and quantitative paradigms or methods were blended in the study

• The study triangulated utilising questionnaires to collect data from principals and teacher-librarians

• Education officials were interviewed face-to-face • Four schools were physically visited by the

researcher to assess the situation • The study targeted all 1437 public high schools

and sampling was essential

• Two sampling techniques were employed in the study.

• Firstly, stratified random sampling • Secondly, systematic random sampling was

adopted to both rural and urban school sampling frames to ensure fair selection of schools in each stratum or subgroup to obtain an inclusive and representative sample

RESPONSE RATE

• 25 schools were targeted (sample size) • 23 schools responded = 92% • 3 education officials were targeted • 3 education officials responded=100%

DATA COLLECTION METHODS

• Self-administered questionnaires with self-addressed envelopes were posted to the principals and teacher-librarians separately to ensure confidentiality of the responses.

• Education officials were interviewed face-to-face using interview schedule. Notes were taken in a diary.

• Observation - Four schools were physically visited the schools to assess the situation

CHALLENGES FACED BY SCHOOLS TO ESTABLISH AN ACTIVE AND VIBRANT

LIBRARY SYSTEM

LIBRARY SPACE OR BUILDINGS School library models adopted by schools: • Classroom libraries = 52% • Staffroom or office = 30% • Central libraries = 13% • Storeroom libraries = 13% • Collections of books kept in boxes in classrooms = 9% • Mobile trolleys in various classrooms = 0 (0%) • N=23

RELEVANCE OF THE RESOURCES FOR CURRICULUM SUPPORT

• 41% = Suitable materials • 59%= Unsuitable materials • Regrettably, no school rated its resources as

highly suitable.

LIBRARY STAFFING AT SCHOOLS

• 13% = Schools have full-time teacher-librarians

• 87% = Schools do not have full-time teacher-librarians.

Functionality of the school libraries is adversely affected by lack of school library posts.

QUALIFICATIONS

• 13% = teacher-librarians have certificates in LIS

• 87% = teacher-librarians have no qualifications in LIS

• No teacher-librarians have diplomas, degrees in LIS

STAFFING AT HEAD OFFICE

• Senior manager = 1 • Chief education specialists = 2 • No deputy education specialists • No senior education specialists • Education officials lack capacity to assist and

encourage schools to establish functional school libraries. (Three officials for all schools in the province (Existing staff is at managerial positions).

ALL POSTS ARE FROZEN

• Five departments including education are under national administration

• All posts are currently frozen

SCHOOL LIBRARY POLICY

• No legislated national school library policy in South Africa –only guidelines which lack credibility and mandate to force the Department of Basic Education and schools to provide well-stocked school libraries.

• The province has a draft or discussion document.

• 16%= Schools have school library policies • 84%= Schools do not have school library

policies

SCHOOL LIBRARY COMMITTEES

COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT

CORE COLLECTIONS

• 9% =schools received core collections • 80% = schools which did not receive core

library resources • 11% DID NOT RESPOND

Evaluation of the library-based resources

• 24%= Schools evaluate their resources • 62%= Schools do not evaluate their resources • 14% = No responses

Weeding of resources

• 17%=Schools weed their schools • 26%= Schools do not weed • 57%= No responses

NEEDS ASSESSMENT

• 35%= Schools conduct needs assessment • 61%= Schools do not conduct needs

assessment • 4% = No respones

ADVISORY SERVICES

• 7%=Schools got get advisory services • 89%= Schools did not get advisory services • 11%= No responses

PROCESSING OF LIBRARY MATERIALS

• Most library materials are unprocessed in most schools making retrieval a nightmare.

ANNUAL BUDGET

• 20% = schools have annual budget • 76% = schools do not have annual budget • 4% = respondents did’nt respond

FUNDRAISING

• 2% = schools fundraise • 96% = schools do not fundraise. • 2% did not respond.

Donations

• 20% = Schools received donations • 76% = Schools did not receive donations • 4%= Schools did not respond.

WORKSHOPS

• 22%= workshops were conducted • 78% = workshops were not conducted

COMPUTERS

• 51 of the respondents have access to the computers in their schools

• 47% of the respondents do not have access to the computers in their schools

• 2 respondents did not respond

Infrastructural challenges

• Most roads are gravel especially in rural communities

• Some rural schools are still without electricity • Telecommunications infrastructure is a

nightmare in this rural province making accessibility to the Internet a daunting challenge.

SECURITY ISSUES

• Education officials indicated that schools are vandalised where computers and their accompanying technologies are stolen

• Other library resources such as books and encyclopaedias are stolen due to lack of digital security measures in most schools.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Teacher-librarians’ posts should be created to ensure

accessibility to the library-based resources in schools More professionally LIS qualified education officials

should be employed to capacitate the teacher-librarians to establish functional school libraries

A library period should be on the time-table A certain percentage of the Norms and Standard grant

should be ring-fenced for schools to buy new and recent library-based resources

• Schools should request for free donations of library-based resources from private companies and NGOs such as Biblionef, Room to Read and Community HEART.

• The education officials should supply newly-established schools with core library materials to establish their library collections

• Government officials should equip schools with computers for teaching and learning purposes.

• Mobile libraries and courier services should be introduced between depot libraries and schools even if majority of the roads are in terrible (bad) conditions.

• National and provincial school library policies should be formulated and implemented as matters of urgency.

THE END

• Thank you • Dankie • Siyabonga • Ke a leboga