English First Additional Language: Teachers’ written feedback practices in multi-grade classrooms in rural South African primary schools

Multi-grade teaching is a widely accepted phenomenon in both developing and developed countries. In this article I report on a phenomenological inquiry into written feedback practices of teachers in multi-grade classrooms and how they described and interpreted their feedback practices pertaining to...

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Main Author: Matshidiso Joyce Taole
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Education Association of South Africa 2022-11-01
Series:South African Journal of Education
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sajournalofeducation.co.za/index.php/saje/article/view/2145/1210
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author Matshidiso Joyce Taole
author_facet Matshidiso Joyce Taole
author_sort Matshidiso Joyce Taole
collection DOAJ
description Multi-grade teaching is a widely accepted phenomenon in both developing and developed countries. In this article I report on a phenomenological inquiry into written feedback practices of teachers in multi-grade classrooms and how they described and interpreted their feedback practices pertaining to learners’ writing activities in English First Additional Language. Written feedback is widely believed to be central to learners’ learning and achievement. Feedback is assumed to change learners’ thinking or behaviour towards their work and is regarded as a tool to focus their attention on improving their learning. Despite the benefits of written feedback, however, there is a widespread belief that many learners are disengaged from the feedback they receive. The population in this study comprised 4 English First Additional Language teachers from 4 multi-grade primary schools. Content analysis was used to analyse the data collected from the participants through semi-structured interviews. The findings indicate that participants differed in their understanding of what was involved in feedback, and that there was a shared view that feedback was a product and not viewed as a process that could be used towards developing learners’ learning. It was also shown that feedback practices used by the teachers of multi-grade classes included providing correct answers and providing delayed feedback to learners. This study adds to the ongoing debates on multi-grade teaching and attempts to shed some light on the nature and the type of feedback that could motivate and enhance learners’ learning in multi-grade classrooms.
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spelling doaj-art-30786c5c0e0043779e6d20492096fd5f2025-08-20T02:35:19ZengEducation Association of South AfricaSouth African Journal of Education0256-01002076-34332022-11-014241910.15700/saje.v42n4a2145English First Additional Language: Teachers’ written feedback practices in multi-grade classrooms in rural South African primary schoolsMatshidiso Joyce Taole 0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1398-7946Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies, College of Education, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South AfricaMulti-grade teaching is a widely accepted phenomenon in both developing and developed countries. In this article I report on a phenomenological inquiry into written feedback practices of teachers in multi-grade classrooms and how they described and interpreted their feedback practices pertaining to learners’ writing activities in English First Additional Language. Written feedback is widely believed to be central to learners’ learning and achievement. Feedback is assumed to change learners’ thinking or behaviour towards their work and is regarded as a tool to focus their attention on improving their learning. Despite the benefits of written feedback, however, there is a widespread belief that many learners are disengaged from the feedback they receive. The population in this study comprised 4 English First Additional Language teachers from 4 multi-grade primary schools. Content analysis was used to analyse the data collected from the participants through semi-structured interviews. The findings indicate that participants differed in their understanding of what was involved in feedback, and that there was a shared view that feedback was a product and not viewed as a process that could be used towards developing learners’ learning. It was also shown that feedback practices used by the teachers of multi-grade classes included providing correct answers and providing delayed feedback to learners. This study adds to the ongoing debates on multi-grade teaching and attempts to shed some light on the nature and the type of feedback that could motivate and enhance learners’ learning in multi-grade classrooms.http://www.sajournalofeducation.co.za/index.php/saje/article/view/2145/1210assessmentassessment for learningdelayed feedbackenglish first additional languagefeedbackfeedback formatsfeedback frequencymulti-grade teachingtiming of feedbackwritten feedback
spellingShingle Matshidiso Joyce Taole
English First Additional Language: Teachers’ written feedback practices in multi-grade classrooms in rural South African primary schools
South African Journal of Education
assessment
assessment for learning
delayed feedback
english first additional language
feedback
feedback formats
feedback frequency
multi-grade teaching
timing of feedback
written feedback
title English First Additional Language: Teachers’ written feedback practices in multi-grade classrooms in rural South African primary schools
title_full English First Additional Language: Teachers’ written feedback practices in multi-grade classrooms in rural South African primary schools
title_fullStr English First Additional Language: Teachers’ written feedback practices in multi-grade classrooms in rural South African primary schools
title_full_unstemmed English First Additional Language: Teachers’ written feedback practices in multi-grade classrooms in rural South African primary schools
title_short English First Additional Language: Teachers’ written feedback practices in multi-grade classrooms in rural South African primary schools
title_sort english first additional language teachers written feedback practices in multi grade classrooms in rural south african primary schools
topic assessment
assessment for learning
delayed feedback
english first additional language
feedback
feedback formats
feedback frequency
multi-grade teaching
timing of feedback
written feedback
url http://www.sajournalofeducation.co.za/index.php/saje/article/view/2145/1210
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