Exploring capabilities of learners in a quintile 1 school in Metro Central of Cape Town

Abstract

This study explore the capabilities of Intermediate Phase (grades 4-6) learners in a Quintile 1 school in the Metro Central of Cape Town, through the lens of the capabilities approach theorized by Amartya Sen. This approach relates to how learners are able to utilize their capability sets to attain functionings in the face of poverty i.e. attain the freedom to live the kind of life they value. The study has chosen the capabilities approach because of its high interdisciplinary and multidimensional characteristics. This makes it appropriate to the South Africa context which is characterized by inequality, deprivation and segregation. In this regard, the study explores the features of poverty and forms of capabilities in relation to Intermediate Phase Learners in Quintile 1 Schools. Furthermore the study attempts to explain the effect of poverty on the capabilities of this group of learners in a selected Quintile 1 school in the Metro Central of Cape Town.