South African Journal of Childhood Education 2(2):a14 Exploring the role of the speech-language therapist in city centre preschools
Type
E-Journal
Authors
ISSN
2223-7682
Category
ECCE, Preschool
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Publication Year
2012
Publisher
Aosis OpenJournals, Durbanville, Cape Town, South Africa
URL
[ private ]
Pages
23 p.
Subject
Early childhood education, Preschool teachers, Preschool learners, City Centre preschools, Challenges, English language, Mother tongue, Multilingualism, Speech-language therapists, Communication, South Africa
Tags
Abstract
This study investigates the perception of the strengths and challenges that face city centre preschool teachers and preschool learners in the acquisition of English as medium of instruction and to use the results to explore the role of speech-language therapists in this context. A descriptive survey, incorporating a quantitative data collection method, was selected as the research design and a questionnaire was developed as a survey instrument. The findings identified the strengths as including the creative communication strategies employed by the pre-schoolers and the innovative techniques of the teachers. Perceived challenges include a cultural and linguistic mismatch between teachers and learners and communication barriers that cause emotional and behavioural problems in classrooms. The study suggests that speech-language therapists need to consider and employ service delivery models instead of traditional models with the preschool teachers.
Description
Article
Number of Copies
1
