Open Sesame! Learning Life Skills from Takalani Sesame: A reception study of selected Grade One learners in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa Geraldine Coertze Student Number 203 503 100 Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Science, in the Graduate Programme in Culture, Communication and Media Studies, School of Literary Studies, Media and Creative Arts, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa. Supervisor: Professor Ruth E. Teer-Tomaselli University of KwaZulu-Natal Howard College Campus November 2011 Ethical Clearance number: HSS/0297/07M DECLARATION I, Geraldine Coertze, declare that this dissertation is my own unaided work. All citations, references and borrowed ideas have been duly acknowledged. It is being submitted for the degree of Master of Social Science in the Faculty of Humanities, Development and Social Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa. None of the present work has been submitted previously for any degree or examination in any other university. Signed: _____________________ November 2011 The financial assistance of the National Research Foundation (NRF) is hereby acknowledged. Opinions expressed and conclusions arrived at are those of the researcher and are not necessarily to be attributed to the NRF. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the University of KwaZulu- Natal and the National Research Foundation for funding this research. Without this financial support, I would not have been able to embark on a project of this nature. I am indebted to my supervisor, Prof. Ruth E. Teer-Tomaselli for her guidance, advice and expertise, but perhaps most notable, her patience over the course of this research. I sincerely appreciate all your input, thank you. I would also like to thank the Centre for Cultural and Media Studies at UKZN, in particular Prof. Keyan Tomaselli, for assistance and support given to me during the course of completing this degree. To the SABC education team, in particular Mr Charles Owen and Ms Gloria Britain, I would like to thank you for your interest in and engagement with this research, especially during the early stages. To the principal and staff of the primary school at which the research was conducted, thank you for your assistance and support in making this research successful. To the learners who took part in the research, including their parents/caregivers, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for giving me a window into your world and for your time and valuable input. Without your co-operation there would not have been any research! To Dr Russel Kirkby– thank you for your unending encouragement, advice, kindness and support. You have played an integral role in me reaching this point, for which I am very grateful. To Carol Browne and also to John Lengwe Kunda, thank you for your patience, support and encouragement to see this research through to completion. To Dave and Carol Wright, I am grateful for your support and a very big thank you to Carol for generously giving of your time to assist with editing, proofreading and advice– it is greatly appreciated! To Thirusha, Deon, and now little Isabella too, thank you for being wonderful, supportive and prayerful friends in Christ – I am grateful for all that you have been to me over the years. ii To my HP Church family, especially Jacques, Jenny, Colleen, Jacqui, Steven and Anita – thank you for supporting me through the last critical stage of completing this degree – God hears our prayers, He is forever faithful! To my father, Andre, and my late mother, Sharon, I salute you for the many sacrifices you made to raise Wayne, Kenneth and me. I am especially grateful to my mother for leaving a lasting legacy of love and compassion, as well as to my father for his empathy, love, concern and financial support. Thank you also to Gay for your quiet support and love, I could always count on you to understand. To my aunt, Jackie, who has filled the maternal role since 2000 - I cannot express enough gratitude for the support – financial, emotional and practical, including editing and proof- reading. Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, patience and your unwavering belief in me. You have shown me the true meaning of the unconditional love of family. May our awesome God continue to bless you richly! To Shanna Gabriella, my precious daughter – thank you for reigniting my passion for „all things Entertainment Education‟ and restoring my joy through your exuberance! Thank you also for allowing me the time and space to complete this research, even though it was difficult for you to understand. You have made all the hard work worthwhile. To God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit – thank you for your faithfulness, strength, guidance and unending love. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Phillipians 4:13. Dedicated to God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit, with whom we are seated in Heavenly places. “But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint”. Isaiah 40:31 “I will live to love you, I will live to bring you praise, I will live a child in awe of You” (Hillsong) iii ABSTRACT Early Childhood Development (ECD) programmes are important in the promotion of intellectual development and school readiness in children. Equally important is the opportunity to learn in one‟s mother tongue. This study aimed to determine the value of using the multilingual television series Takalani Sesame as a Life Skills educational resource in specific South African schools, amongst Grade One learners. The focus lay on researching a possible mechanism for allowing children who had not attended quality ECD programmes to „catch up‟ in terms of knowledge they may be lacking, as well as providing a form of mother tongue instruction to African learners in schools where the language of instruction is English. A field experiment and a reception study were carried out at a primary school in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Two groups of twelve Grade One learners (from two different Grade One classes at the same school) were included in this research, which spanned a period of 6 months. The children in the test group watched a television series of Takalani Sesame (with guided viewing) and completed related activities including post viewing and homework activities. The children in the control group were not shown the series at school. Both groups were administered the same questionnaire both pre- and post-test in order to determine changes in Life Skills related learnt data. Other research methods included participant observation, focus group discussions, interviews with parents/caregivers and interviews with educators. These used Social Cognitive Theory as their basis, taking constructs that impact on behaviour change, such as modelling, outcome expectancies and behavioural capabilities into account. The research included a large focus on interpersonal communication between researcher and learner, and caregiver and learner, plus a concentration on the children‟s knowledge of and attitudes surrounding HIV/AIDS. Results showed satisfactory levels of attention to the series, as well as high levels of engagement with and enjoyment of the series. Levels of identification with characters were also noted to be high, increasing the possibilities of learning and behaviour change taking place. Decoding of messages was, for the most part, in line with the intentions of the producers, although oppositional readings, erroneous and creative iv decoding were also noted in some instances. The guided viewing component did well to increase levels of attention to the episode as well as allow for erroneously decoded messages to be corrected almost immediately. Positive changes in learnt data in the Life Skills areas of HIV/AIDS, Nutrition and Safety and Security were identified and these were noted to be impacted on by the homework activities which were included in the intervention to promote parent/caregiver-child communication. The research intervention was deemed to be a success in the selected school, and could possibly be recommended for use in similar South African primary schools where learners are taught in a language which is not their mother tongue. Possible areas for future related research were outlined. This research study contributes to the body of Entertainment Education (EE) research by identifying a new and valuable application for an EE intervention in the South African setting. This highlights the important aspects of localisation, in the South African context, promoting mother tongue learning and ECD. v LIST OF ACRONYMS DBE – Department of Basic Education (as of 2009) DHET – Department of Higher Education and training (as of 2009) DoE – Department of Education (refers to the national education department prior to 2009, as well as currently referring to the DBE and DHET as a whole) ECD– Early Childhood Development EE – Entertainment Education EFA – Education for All Ep – Episode (of the Takalani Sesame television series) FET – Further Education and Training FGD – Focus Group Discussion GET – General Education and Training Grade R – The reception year of formal schooling, which is complete before the learner enters Grade One HSRC – Human Sciences Research Council HW – Homework (Takalani Sesame homework activities) LiEP – Language in Education Policy LoLT – Language of Learning and Teaching LTSM – Learner