SAQA ID: 94833 Operate a Windows System NQF Level 06 Credits 00

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION
Purpose:
The purpose of the Diploma in Grade R Teaching is to produce learners who have respect for all created life and the whole creation and who will see the teaching profession as a lifelong task with an eye to the reconstitution, transformation and restoration of society.

The qualification is intended to deliver Grade R teachers who can act ethically and professionally, and who can justify their decisions and actions drawing on appropriate ethical values within the organisational and ethical contexts. On completion of the qualification, teachers will be able to demonstrate integrated knowledge of the main fields and disciplines associated with Grade R Teaching. They will be able to educate Grade R learners while adapting to the changing legislation and policies in a meaningful and innovative way. They will be able to interact effectively with all stakeholders.

Rationale:
The Strategic Plan 2010 – 2013 of the Department of Basic Education (2010) and the Action Plan 2014: Towards the Realisation of Schooling 2025 (Department of Basic Education, Government Gazette 02/08/2010, Notice 752) emphasised the need for access for all children to quality education prior to Grade 1. This led to the target of universalising Grade R by 2014. The inclusion of Grade R in the Foundation Phase has pinpointed the lack of training opportunities in the field of Grade R teaching as well as a shortage of suitably qualified Grade R teachers. The shortfall of well-trained, competent Grade R teachers is discernible amongst all language groups, schools and communities. Against this background the institution aims to provide an opportunity for suitable learners to qualify as a Grade R Teacher. The focus of the qualification is on Grade R as the first year of the primary school.

The qualification has been reviewed by a number of professional experts. The design of the institution’s Diploma in Grade R Teaching accords with the current national education requirements as detailed in the Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications (Government Gazette 15 July 2011 No 34467). The mode of delivery, namely distance education with a strong element of contact between learners and lecturers, promotes a high level of engagement of all role players. The Christian, values-driven character as summarised by “love others as you love yourself”, promotes the inclusion of values in all teaching and learning. A caring and engaged teacher is an asset in any school. In this way the institution aims to benefit the learner and the school where the learner will work once the qualification has been successfully completed.
Thus the institution aspires to contribute to the pool of highly educated and fully equipped teachers in order to address the need for professional educators in South Africa. The Christian values-driven approach promotes the concept of viewing teaching as a calling where the best interest of learners and schools are served.