Closing the Achievement Gap in Disadvantaged Communities: Lessons from Successful Schools

The fact that all children must attend school has characterised South Africa over the past two decades. While many schools are struggling to address this challenge, others have made strides and progress in closing the gap between groups. This article recounts how these secondary schools have been able to narrow the achievement gap and sustain their success over time. The three schools described here are all large public schools that serve disadvantaged communities in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Data was collected during meetings with the three schools which consisted of two rounds of focus group and one whole group session. These meetings helped the researcher to gather important information about each school’s characteristics, school change process, school climate, role of the curriculum and instructional practices in promoting learner achievement. While each of the participating schools has unique characteristics, a set of important common practices emerged.