Local Language Numeracy Kindergarten Prototype Design to Support Home-based Learning During and Post COVID-19 Pandemic

Oct 15, 2026

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The outbreak of COVID-19 disrupted education systems worldwide, intensifying challenges for policy decisions where teacher-learner contact became impossible. Limited access to textbooks and teaching materials reduced parents’ ability to support home schooling, especially in developing contexts. The study develops a numeracy-based app prototype that uses IsiNdebele for kindergarten learning in classrooms or home-based settings. Findings show teachers viewed the prototype as useful, easy to use, and simple, with learners likely to be eager to engage, supporting technology-optimized early teaching.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Local Language Numeracy Kindergarten Prototype Design to Support Home-based Learning During and Post COVID-19 Pandemic Vusumuzi Maphosa Lupane State University, Department of ICT, Zimbabwe ORCID: 0000-0002-2595-3890 Bekithemba Dube University of the Free State, South Africa ORCID: 0000-0003-4327-7838 Received: 9 May 2020 Accepted: 28 Jun 2020 Abstract The outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has caused unprecedented global socio-economic disruptions. One of the areas negatively impacted is the education system. The country’s over reliance on traditional face-to-face teaching has brought about serious challenges to policymakers who have to decide how learning would proceed in the absence of physical contact between the teacher and the learner. This has been exacerbated by the general lack of access to textbooks and other teaching and learning materials which makes it difficult for parents to assist with home schooling. The potential use of mobile apps to support and enhance early childhood learning has received little attention in developing countries such as Zimbabwe, yet its impact in supporting early childhood education would be enormous during and post the COVID-19 pandemic. The study seeks to develop a numeracy-based app prototype that uses a local language (IsiNdebele) in a classroom or home-based schooling in response to the COVID- 19 pandemic or other natural disasters or man-made situations that may make face-to-face interaction impossible. The analysis showed that kindergarten teachers had positive opinion towards the app as they perceived the prototype to be useful, easy to use, simple and that learners would be eager to use it. The results of this study can inform policymakers and educators on optimising technology based early teaching and learning at school and home. Keywords: COVID-19, kindergarten, mobile apps, home-based learning, technology acceptance model INTRODUCTION The COVID-19 has become a global threat to humanity and taken the world by storm, reconstructing the terrain of every aspect of life (Akwa, Ning,& Maing, 2020; Papapicco, 2020; Sintema, 2020), after its first outbreak in Wuhan city of Hubei province in the people’s republic of China (Tanhan et al., 2020) . By the 27th of April 2020, there were slightly over three million confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 211,321 deaths globally while Zimbabwe had recorded 31 cases and 4 deaths (Roser et al., 2020) . The global academic calendar was disrupted as schools and higher education institutions shutdown and adopted precautionary measures to contain the spread of the virus through social distancing (Demuyakor, 2020) . Zimbabwean education system was not an exception, igniting the need to explore new ways of teaching such as online to compensate the lost time due to COVID 19. Schools were prematurely closed on the 24th of March 2020 to limit physical contact and thus contain the spread of the acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19. Among other measures that have been adopted by governments across the world to contain the spread of COVID-19 include social distancing, closure of non-essential services and frequent testing and wearing of protective gear and have been known as a state of lockdown. Given this context, thereis new normal, which Usak et al. (2020, p. 180) describe it as “fireplace where we all are burning”, yet thereis need to find alternative to continue life such as resorting to online learning. A coalition of donor agencies specializing in education reported that Zimbabwe’s 4.56 million school going children aged between three and 12 years were affected by the school closure while 1.2 million will require emergency and specialized learning and teaching (OCHA, 2020) . Before the COVID-19 outbreak, the country’s education sector was battered by the country’s prolonged economic crisis, drought, high levels of unemployment, limited supply of electrical power and fu

FAQs

What problem does the study address during the COVID-19 pandemic?

The study addresses disruption to education and the difficulty of continuing learning when face-to-face teaching is impossible, compounded by limited access to learning materials for home schooling.

What does the proposed prototype do?

It is a numeracy-based app prototype that uses the local language IsiNdebele to support kindergarten learning in classroom or home-based schooling contexts.

How do teachers perceive the prototype?

Kindergarten teachers had a positive opinion, viewing it as useful, easy to use, and simple, and expecting learners to be eager to use it.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by nayy☆