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Student teacher learning in rural contexts: Challenges and opportunities
Full text linkThis paper explores particular aspects of the learning of Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) student teachers in the Wild Coast Rural Schools’ Partnership Project (WCRSPP). In considering how PGCE student teachers might be prepared to teach effectively in a deeply rural context, with its tensions and challenges, the paper’s objectives are to understand the complexity of the process of what student teachers learned and how they learned in this context.
The article highlights the situated nature of the student teacher learning as well as the multidimensional and expansive nature of the learning that emerges through significant moments of mediation. By highlighting the contradictions in the context, and the potential for deep learning that can emerge in unexpected ways, the notion of teacher learning being clearly defined and stable is challenged. Findings and discussions in this paper are drawn from the bigger PhD research project which explored student teacher learning in the WCRSPP
Transatlantic Telehealth Research Network (TTRN) International Scientific Conference 2023
Full text linkAre we there yet? An intersectional take on Black women academics’ experiences in a South African university
Full text linkIt has been just over 8 years since the emergence of the #RhodesMustFall and #FeesMustFall protests in the South African higher education with students and academics calling for the transformation and decolonisation of the academy (Buthelezi, 2017; Chikaonda, 2019; Maringira & Gukurume, 2016). Part of the critique of the South African academy was the idea that Black academics in general and Black women in particular continue to be isolated, overworked, marginalized and pushed to the periphery of higher education. In this paper, we adopt an intersectional lens to explore and to theorise the complex experiences of Black women academics in a research-intensive university in South Africa. We purposively recruited ten Black women academics, ranging from early career academics, lecturers to senior professors in the field. We relied on the intersectionality to theorise Black women academics’ challenges in navigating and negotiating their belonging in the university. We used semi-structured interviews as data generation method to illicit the narratives/ stories/ experiences of Black women academics. The findings revealed two things. Firstly, they revealed that a 1) large number of the research participants are what we could call “accidental academics” in higher education due to the nature of entry and access to the university. And secondly, 2) the findings also showed the important role of both formal and informal mentoring in higher education as a catalyst in helping Black women academics access, negotiate and potentially succeed at university. We end the paper with some concluding thoughts on the much needed institutional and national interventions required to continue supporting the access and success of Black women academics in South African higher education
Students’ and lecturers’ perceptions of computerised adaptive testing as the future of assessing students
Full text linkThe COVID-19 pandemic has been a catalyst for the increased adoption and acceptance of technology in teaching and learning, and assessment. Using a quantitative research design, the study surveyed 640 lecturers and students in higher education institutions in South Africa, using an online survey platform to attain lecturers’ and students’ views of adopting computerised adaptive testing (CAT) in their respective modules, and their perceptions of such a testing methodology. The study found that lecturers and students were comfortable engaging in online learning, with a large percentage being the most comfortable with assessing and completing exams, tests, and activities online. Positive perceptions of adopting CAT as an assessment tool for their qualifications were expressed, with the majority recommending their HEI to implement CAT. A statistical difference was found between race and personal perceptions of CAT. It was further established that the higher the level of knowledge and understanding of CAT exist, the higher the academic perceptions levels of CAT are
Hybrid problem-based learning in Technology teacher preparation: Giving students a voice in their learning process
Full text linkTechnology education instils technological literacy in South African learners, preparing them for life and employment. Yet, few high school level Technology teachers are being trained and, therefore, ensuring that the few students who study to become Technology teachers are optimally prepared is vital. Learning strategies such as problem-based learning need to be implemented to provide students with opportunities to have a voice and be actively involved in their education. Hybrid problem-based learning (hPBL) has been successfully implemented in Geography and Life Sciences teacher education, but its utilisation in Technology teacher preparation has not been reported. Therefore, a concurrent triangulation research study was conducted at a South African university offering extensive Technology teacher preparation. The study explored how teacher students experienced and perceived hPBL as a teaching-learning strategy and how this gave them a voice in their teacher training. The study substantiated hPBL as a beneficial teaching-learning strategy to give Technology student teachers a voice - and actively involve them - in their learning construction
Using critical pedagogy in English education: Disjunctures between pre-service teachers’ preparation and opportunities for implementation
Full text linkEnglish education in South Africa has a long-standing relationship with Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy theory. In many universities offering qualifications in education, critical pedagogy features prominently in curricula for pre-service teachers of English. These teacher students are prepared with the knowledge and skills that critical pedagogy offers to be able to teach English effectively in their classrooms upon graduation. Yet, there are multiple constraints in the school system that impede the implementation of critical pedagogy in the English classroom. These constraints range from employment shortage to lack of incentives for teachers. As a result, it becomes evident that there is a disparity between teacher preparation to teach English in critical ways and teacher opportunity to actually do so. In this article, we explore this disparity between teacher preparation and opportunity to apply critical pedagogy in the English classroom, and on the basis of that we conceptualise learning to teach as a blend of adaptive and adoptive teaching in the real-world context
EDITORIAL
Full text linkThe Journal of Inclusive Cities and Built Environment Issue Number 3 Volume 2 of 2022 comprises of eight (8)papers. These papers revolve around critical issues that have been trending globally and negatively impacting oncities. While some of these issues have become a perpetual negative emblem of cities (such as informal settlementsand spatial exclusion); others (such as floods and covid-19) are new entrants with equally devastating effects oncities. These papers are contextually driven by imperical evidence from African cities – however, their depth ofanalysis goes beyond the African context. Hence cities, accross the global, can be depicted in the same contextespecially when observed from the maraunding effect of floods and the covid-19 pendemic
Life Orientation teachers' pedagogical content knowledge and skills in using a group investigation cooperative teaching approach
Full text linkThis qualitative phenomenological study explored the life orientation teachers' pedagogical content knowledge and skills using a group investigation cooperative teaching approach. This study employed a purposive convenient sampling of (N=7) teachers from the Northern Cape province in South Africa who responded to face-to-face interviews and observations. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis and supported by the literature review and the study's theory. Findings revealed that the participants had adequate content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge of life orientation congruent to their teaching praxis. They experienced difficulty in implementing group investigation without proper in-service training and support. The study showed that cooperative learning approaches are valued, despite the teachers' lack of knowledge, lack of training, and overcrowded classroom challenges