Developing ECED Teachers’ Knowledge and Skills to Meet the Demands of Quality Education in a Rural Context

Abstract South Africa’s rural environment makes quality Early Childhood Education and Development difficult. Poor teacher qualifications, curriculum implementation and school management make rural ECED susceptible (Aubrey, 2017; Adebunmi, Aina, & Bipath, 2022; Hannaway et al., 2019). Palmer’s (2011) theory of lived experience in flexible education is used to examine ECED instructors’ educational expectations in a remote Northwest Province. The qualitative technique comprised individual and focus group semi-structured interviews with four ECED teachers and classroom observation of teaching activities and resources. This research was part of UNISA’s Community engaged Scholarship. This research found that departmental assistance focusses on curriculum completion, teacher progress and teaching accountability. This ignores more pressing issues including bad infrastructure, congested classrooms, school location and a lack of assistance for multi-level students. With high expectations and little support, teachers feel mentally exhausted trying to balance classroom realities with expectations. The study recommends prioritising teacher voices and community realities in planning, funding infrastructure improvements and providing relevant, context-sensitive professional development. It also suggests that future research focus on practical support strategies and models specifically designed for the unique challenges of rural ECED environments.