PILOT STUDY:
THE IMPACT OF THE MINICHESS PROGRAMME ON SCHOOLREADINESS IN AN INFORMAL SETTLEMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA
Joreta Parsons
Dept. Educational Psychology, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
Abstract
Enhancing South-African learners from disadvantaged communities’ ability to perform successful in an academic environmentcurrently proves to be challenging. Intervention at an early age seems to be critically important.The purpose of this study was to determine if the implementation of a structured chess programme at early childhood level could address this crisis successfully. A Pilot study with pre-school learners was implemented in the informal settlement region of Tembisa, with positive results.Statistical analysis shows that while no significant statistical differences in performance were indicated with the Control Groupthere were significant differences between the pre-test and post-test performances of learners inthe Experimental Group. All experimental participants had a significant better post-score than pre-score on all 7 dimensions. Learners in the Experimental Group significantly increased their performance in relation to the control group. This means that the learners in the Control Group that did not take part in the programme, showed no significant increase in ability over this period of time, despite the fact that they did attend pre-school with the Experimental Group. The MiniChess programme proved to be a reputable instrument to increase the performance of early childhood learners by means of an instrument that is based on play. Learners become actively involved in the process. While opportunities do not present themselves sufficiently, learners in disadvantaged areas have the ability to enhance their performance significantly. The MiniChess programme presents a solution.Keywords: Cognitive development, disadvantaged learners, limited pre-knowledge, performance enhancement, chess.
Limited academic progress and achievements, especially in Mathematics and Science is a current problem is South Africa. This leads to negative consequences in development, education and training, job opportunities and general economic growth (HSRC 2009). According to the Annual National Assessment (ANA), a South African home ground initiative to assess basic literacy and numeracy in order to assess the progress of learners, the following came to light:
Table 1: Performance spread across levels of achievement for Grade 1 - 4 in % achievement levels (ANA2011:8).
Grade / % Of leaners that achieved over 50% / % Learners below 50%1 / 67% learners >50% / 30% (1/3)
2 / 57% learners >50% / +40%
3 / 41.9 % learners >50% / Almost 60%
4 / 16.9% learners >50% / More than 80%
The decline in the 1st four years of performance in schools, leave us with 80% of learners performing below the 50% level. It is evident that backlogs that lead to high dropout levels starts at the early learning stages. Cognitive developmental theories from both Piaget and Vygotsky claim that infants are born with basic materials/abilities for intellectual development (Barohny 2010:403). Questions arise as to “Why do these backlogs exist?” and “What can be done to access the undeveloped potential of underachieving children?” Current assumptions are that learners start school with limited pre-knowledge needed for formal schooling. Basic academic developmental skills and building blocks needed for future learning is not significantly present. Intervention at an early age seems to be critically important.The Numeracy Handbook for Foundation Phase Teachers: Grades R – 3 (2009:1) states: “There is a very good chance that those children who do not develop a strong sense of numbers were not given sufficient opportunities to work with concrete objects, and those who struggle with space and shape concepts later in life were not given opportunities to play/work with building blocks at an early age”. Teaching children from a young age to master skills this way has become a priority.
In 2011 I was asked by Marisa van der Merwe, developer of the MiniChess programme (Van der Merwe 2007), to perform school-readiness testing in Tembisa, a township near Johannesburg, South Africa. The Moves for Life Organisation wanted to implement the MiniChess program as part of a pre-school development initiative in this informal settlement area. They needed pre- and post-testing in order to evaluate the significance of the MiniChess program, not only as a chess programme, but rather as an educational school readiness initiative.
As soon as the project started, a world unaware to most of us was opened up. As an educational psychologist one are prepared for the expectations of a testing environment, but these circumstances proved to be challenging and very different. Our appointment at the school was for 9 o’clock, but the learners only started to arrive around that time. Small groups arrived in drips and drabs and it took some time to become organised for the procedures. The testing procedures only started almost two hours later.
One of the major challenges we immediately had to cope with was the language barrier. Learners came from different ethnic language backgrounds and we had to divide the class in small language groups. Each group had their own teacher, who had to translate the instructions to the specific group. Surprisingly the learners were unable to execute group instructions by themselves. It was not certain whether they did not understand the instructions or just did not know the answers to the questions. It was probably a bit of both.
What was evident though was that these learners were not up to the demands expected from them. It seemed as though they were not trained to operate in a classroom environment or execute tasks by themselves. They did not know how to react to group assignments and most of the learners waited for individual help or attention, before they tried to execute a task. Instructions had to be repeated several times and obviously the testing took a lot of time. The procedures could not be finished in a single day and the testing had to be stretched over two consecutive days.
Another surprising observation was that some of the learners did not know how to hold or handle a pencil. Some were not sure how to go about with a book - how to turn pages and work from left to right. Most, if not all learners did not know left from right. Ultimately these learners were not ready or equipped for the task at hand and certainly showed no signs of being on route for school readiness.
Due to the challenges presented to us we decided to change plan and thought it to be a good idea working with a smaller group. At that time we met an extraordinary woman with an extraordinary school. Her name is Olga Sinoboloand she started Mvelaphanda Pre-school in the informal settlement area of Tembisa. Olga cleaned up an old rubbish dump area and built the school there. There is no running water or electricity but Olga provides basic care and schooling plus two meals a day for the children.We decided to do the pilot study in this informal settlement area.
As soon as we started with the programme we realised the learners were not up to the programme level at all. Basic adaptionswere made to meet the challenges we were presented with. We realised they were not acquainted with forms such as squires, circles and triangles. They did not know colours and could not distinguish left from right, top from bottom and did not understand mathematical concepts such as halves or the middle.Ability is an individual’s existing potential to perform. These learners ability to work with basic educational concepts were limited and we had to start at the level they presented to us.
Piaget and Vygotsky believe that young children are curious and actively involved in their own learning as well as in the discovery and development of new understandings/schemata (Doolittle 1995:4). One of the main characteristics of the human brain is plasticity. Functional plasticity is the ability to change behaviour based on experience” (Thomas & Knowland 2009:1). When children are exposed to structured educational environments such as schools or to a programme such as MiniChess, they can acquire high-level cognitive skills. Abilities that are put in place early are the relevant perceptual discriminations on which later academic skills rely.Chess can be considered a possible instrument to establish a foundation, irrespective of background, deficits or possible shortfalls. Studies have shown that gr 2-7 pupils’ ability (as part of an educational curriculum) in problem solving was raised from 62% - 81% (Kemm & Cloete 2009:3). “The capacity of kids to learn this game far exceeds that of any adult” (Kitsis 2009:5). This confirms the importance of utilizing sensitive periods in cognitive development.
One critical goal is to teach children to reason and think critically. The MiniChess programme involves learners in this process by means of play.
Programme
The MiniChess programme was developed my Marisa van der Merwe over a period of ten years, working on a practical basis with learners and teachers in the classroom environment. The concepts of chess are used as an educational tool to develop and enhance numeracy skills, self discipline, life skills analytical and critical thinking, The programme is age-specific, developing progressively for learners from pre-school to approximately 9 years of age (See appendix for sample material). This programme empowers and supports teachers by means of structured lesson plans, teaching tools and assessment instruments. Ongoing teacher training and support systems ensures the quality, sustainability and success of this programme. The method in which this programme can be applied, lends it towards successful application for educational benefit on a broader scale. For more information see
Methods
Participants
The pre-school group was tested and 25 learners whose parents signed permission took part in the MiniChess programme. This group was compiled of 14 girls and 11 boys between the ages of 5 ½ and 6 ½ years old, about to attend school the following year. Some of the children in the experimental group attended school on an irregular bases and none of the children attended the full programme. Unfortunately, at the time we did the post-test, many of the children had already left for the end of the year vacation(this time-schedule was unknown to us) and only 9 of the experimental participants were available for post-testing. The control group was made up of 6 participants at the same school who attended the pre-school during the year.
Materials
The Aptitude Test for School Beginners was used. This is a group, sifting test to determine what the basic skills are that the child is familiar with, and are needed to perform and learn in a structured school environment.It gives an indication of the child’s potential for basic academic achievement.It also gives an indication of areas where the specific child is not achieving and that can lead to potential causes for backlogs.It is a structured group test with norms and standardisations.
This battery includes the following tests:
Perception: This test shows pictures of everyday objects such as animals, plants and houses – in other words concepts known to the child. With each item there are four pictures and the child must recognise the correct one, and marks this specific picture.This tests visual perception. The focus is on analytical perception and the ability to recognise similarities and differences. This is needed for reading- and writing skills.
Spatial: In this test the child must identify which picture, out of an irregular arrangement of four pictures, looks the same as the first one when it is rotated to the left or right. The first few items consist of known objects while the later items are more abstract figures. This does not include three- dimensional figures and rotation is on a flat surface only, and not rotated more than 180 degrees.This measures the child’s ability to rotate a given object in an imaginary way. Primary abilities needed to do this include visualisation and spatial orientation. This has an affect on general academic success.
Reasoning: This test consists of four pictures and the child must indicate the pictures that do not fit with the others. The child must be able to perceive the connection between the pictures and then make a conclusion. This item consists of everyday objects such as three cats and one bird; whereas the bird will be different.This tests understanding, logical thinking and the ability to classify. Understanding and logical thinking are important aspects of the learning process, and predict successful school performance.
Numerical: This test gives an indication of the child’s counting ability, quantity-, relation- and numerical understanding. Verbal understanding, logical thinking and ability to concentrate are important.
Gestalt: With this test the child is expected to copy a specific pattern drawn by connecting a given arrangement of dots. The patterns are mostly known objects such as boats, birds etc. Gestalt refers to the physical structures, physiological and psychological functions of symbolic units. The child has to have the ability to copy simple objects correctly. The position of horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines must be copied on the dots according to the perceived example.
This is needed for writing and reading to develop as indicated in the distinguishing of ‘b’ and ‘d’. It involves the ability to perceive letters and words in sequence and also place them in the correct sequence in sentences. It also involves accurate visual perception and spatial relations. Awareness, concentration, foreground – background perception is also needed for this test. Motor ability may play a role but is not what is tested.
Coordination: This item consists of two lines, 5mm apart and the child must draw a line in between these, starting with a dot and ending at the star. The child should not lift his/her pencil and must not touch the lines. These line items come in different patterns. This tests the fine motor coordination and indicates the child’s ability to work with pencil and paper – needed for writing.
Memory: Each item consists of four pictures. One of the four pictures must be identified as a picture coming from a test from the previous pages, while the other three, did not feature in the paper. The correct picture must be identified and marked. The child was not advised to be aware of these pictures before.Thus the unintentional memory is tested. This indicates the child’s visual memory ability needed for general scholastic success.
Table 2: Norms used for the ASB raw scores
Standard mark / Test 1 / Test 2 / Test 3 / Test 4 / Test 5 / Test 6 / Test 7Perception / Spatial / Reasoning / Numerical / Gestalt / Co-ordination / Memory
1 / 0-5 / 0-1 / 0-2 / 0-2 / 0-35 / 0-8 / 0-1
2 / 6-7 / 2-3 / 3-6 / 3-4 / 36-62 / 9-17 / 2-7
3 / 8 / 4-6 / 7-8 / 5-7 / 63-86 / 18-24 / 8
4 / 9 / 7-9 / 9 / 8-9 / 87-98 / 25-28 / 9
5 / 10 / 10 / 10 / 10 / 99-100 / 29-30 / 10
Table 3: Five-point scale
Standard point: / Percentage: / Grading:1
2
3
4
5 / Lowest 7%
Next 24%
Middle 38%
Next 24%
Top 7% / Very weak
Weak
Average
Good
Very good
Procedures
All the learners attending the pre-school class at the Mvelaphanda Pre-School took part in the testing procedures. The ASB is a group test and two learners sat side by side at their desks, facing the front of the class. Each tasks was explained in English, and then translated by the teacher and two colleagues who at the same time moved around in the classroom, making sure the learners understand and complete the given tasks. Language does present a problem and there is uncertainty whether the instructions are translated correctly and to what extend the teacher and helpers corrects the learners responses. Examples from the test was enlarged and used to visually demonstrate the tasks that had to be completed. Breaks were given in between tests and the procedures were spread over two days. The post-test though was concluded in a single day.
Results
Data analysis:
A Non-Parametric t-test, the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test was used for data analysis of the dependant means. This test was used due to the small sample group that took part in the test procedures. A cut off difference of 0,05 is used as indication for significance. A score bigger p>0.05 would not be significant but if the statistical difference is smaller than p<0,05 it will indicate a significant difference in performance.
Table 4: Control group standard scores
Test description / Z distribution / P - valuePerception / - 1,361 / 0,174
Spatial / - 1,000 / 0.317
Reasoning / - 1,604 / 0.109
Numerical / - 1,414 / 0,157
Gestalt / - 0,577 / 0,564
Co-ordination / - 0,966 / 0,334
Memory / - 2,271 / 0.023
Statistical results that describe the Control group standard scores were as follows:
The Wilcoxon Signed Rank test showed that there were no significant differences between the pre-test and post-test performances of learners in the Control Group except for the test on memory ability. Although there was a significant increase in their memory ability, the cause for this could be assigned to the nature of this specific subtest. (See discussion)
Figure 1: Average percentages achieved - Control GroupResults