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Emotional experiences of student teachers during teaching practice: A case study at Unisa
Get PDFStudents’ teaching practice plays a significant role in preparing them for the teaching profession. This study focused on the emotional experiences of open distance learning
(ODL) student teachers during their teaching practice at schools. A previous investigation by Du Plessis, Marais, Van Schalkwyk and Weeks (2010) indicated that student teachers have to deal with emotions that can be problematic, especially when they have to teach in formal education. The aim of this study was to investigate the emotional experiences of student teachers who were teaching in the Foundation Phase (Grade R to Grade 3) and to make recommendations on how they could deal with their feelings. Students who were enrolled for the BEd (Early Childhood Development and Foundation Phase) were purposely sampled to gather data. The data was collected by means of document analysis (questionnaires) and semi-structured interviews. The social learning theory of Bandura (1971) and the cognitive theory of emotions by Schacter and Singer (1962) were used as theoretical frameworks to evaluate the emotional experiences of the student teachers while they were doing their teaching practice at schools. The findings of this study emphasised three negative emotions, namely feelings of anger, fear and confusion. The majority of the participants indicated that they felt scared. Positive emotions like feeling happy (highest ranking); then proud and pleased were also experienced. These findings are significant for improving tutorial matter to provide guidelines for student teachers about how to deal more effectively with their emotions
Student teachers’ perceptions, experiences, and challenges regarding learner-centred teaching
Get PDFLearner-centred teaching education generally involves methods of teaching that move the focus of instruction from the teacher to the learner. The “learner-centred” label is subsequently attached to teaching strategies, learning events, classroom layout and learning programmes. Aspects such as active learning, learner commitment and the construction of own knowledge are among the principles of learner-centred teaching. Worldwide, the thorough training of teachers is crucial. Every organisation preparing teachers should establish whether they offer suitable qualifications that empower student teachers to cope with the abundant difficulties of the teaching occupation, including learner-centred teaching. The aim of this article is to explore student teachers’ perceptions, experiences, and challenges of learner-centred teaching. To this end, an inquisitive research strategy and qualitative research approach were selected as suitable methodology. Data was collected through a voluntary written assignment set out in student teachers’ teaching practice notebooks. The participants were fourth-year students enrolled at a higher education institution for the Bachelor of Education (BEd) qualification (with speciality in the Foundation Phase). These students were placed in productive, successful schools for the duration of their teaching practicum by the teachers training institution. In addition to their placements, they had to complete their teaching practice at schools in widely differing social environments. The schools’ locations ranged from well-off areas, with good teaching means, to schools in poor areas that were lacking learning support materials. The participants were from diverse cultural groups. Furthermore, the constructivist learning theory was used as theoretical framework. The findings reveal that student teachers have a limited understanding of learner-centred teaching and are currently experiencing three serious challenges with regard to learner-centred teaching. To combat this, guiding principles involving lecturers’ support and involvement, reflection, and the accountable intervention of mentor teachers are suggested.
Keywords: community of practice; constructivism; internships; learner-centredness; mentor teachers; pre-service teaching; student teacher
Die essensie van morele waardes in die konteks van ‘n parallelmedium skool
Get PDFMoral values are interwoven in all aspects of teaching: in the curriculum, in the school culture, and as moral examples in teachers’ behaviour. Working with values is an
essential part of teaching. The task of the teacher as moral educator increases in a time where more and more learners receive less or no moral education from their parents, where the influence of the church is decreasing, while the media has the largest influence in their moral life. The aim of this article is to determine how schools can inspire and teach learners to be moral people – to care about and take responsibility for others, to think clearly about and pursue justice, to sacrifice for important principles. A qualitative research approach was undertaken to determine the views of a purposefully selected sample of school teachers in a parallel-medium school context regarding moral values. Data were collected by means of interviews. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. The participants’ answers were critically analysed by open coding and the ethical
correctness was determined by evaluating them against the ethical and moral ideas identified in the theoretical framework. Results highlighted the importance of mutual values in all cultures. The findings are thus significant because the views clearly indicated that moral education contributes towards the development of a healthy community and behaviour. It illustrates the viewpoints of teachers on challenges facing them regarding creating moral-based practices in education
The voices of student teachers on e-learning initiatives in a distance education community of practice
Get PDFIn distance teaching institutions where fourth-generation e-learning initiatives have become integrated in the modes of delivery, and where implementers struggle with effective adaption and implementation of technology-enabled education, student teachers' views on e-learning initiatives are assumed to be of significance. This article reports the findings of student teachers' views about access to e-learning facilities in a distance education (DE) community of practice. The research focused on 600 UNISA students who were enrolled for a PGCE qualification. Data was collected mainly by means of a quantitative survey. Findings indicated that student teachers don't have enough access to the internet and a need for training on the use of e-learning was identified as a high priority.Curriculum and Instructional Studie
Assessing for learning: Teacher Training in Practice Involving 14 Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) Students
No full textIn this age of answerability, assessment is a dominant factor that can either promote or weaken learners’ education internationally. Yet many of the usual practices followed by institutions show that assessments in the classroom continue to be a challenge for teachers. This signifies that assessment is either not well understood or not done effectively during all stages of education. The study reported in this article attempted firstly to detect how prepared teachers were to perform assessments for learning, and secondly to enhance teachers’ assessment practices. It focused on the qualities of good assessment practices, different methods of assessment, types of assessment, and feedback and assessment to enhance learning in the classroom. A qualitative approach was used, involving 14 participants who had completed a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) at a distance teaching institution. Results revealed inter alia a need for longer teaching practice periods, the use of taxonomies on different cognitive levels, and subject-specific workshops. It is recommended that more practical examples, like lecture videos, taxonomies, and rubrics, should be employed, and assessment processes should embrace technology.Curriculum and Instructional Studie
Learnership in South African Schools as a Community of Practice: An Open Distance Learning Approach
Get PDFABSTRACT The appropriateness of Learnership Programs (LPs) that combine work-based experience for teacher training through an Open Distance Learning (ODL) Institution motivated this research. The specific aim of this paper was to investigate the experiences of student teachers participating in LPs and to empower them towards a
career in teaching. A qualitative research approach was chosen as the research methodology. Interviews with semi- structured and open-ended questions were used to gather data from 35 participants. The theoretical framework focused on the situated learning theory by Lave and Wenger. It is evident from the findings that student teachers experienced their learnership appointments at schools as mostly a very valuable positive learning experience. These LPs could be a key influence in the success and/or failure of
enticing and keeping student teachers in schools. The recommendations indicate LPs as the way forward to improve teacher training
Versoening tussen leerders: Is parallelmediumskole die antwoord op die probleem van rassisme?
No full textThe South African Constitution explicitly prohibits unfair discrimination on the grounds of race or sex. In our schools, this means that every learner in the country has a right to good education, a safe school environment and access to information, irrespective of his or her skin colour or sex. Mother tongue education in 11 official languages has proved to be a challenging matter. A possible solution to this challenge may be the introduction of only English and Afrikaans in parallel-medium schools, a possibility that should perhaps be investigated. One of the topical issues in our society is not so much realising equality by means of legislation (although the manner in which legislation attempts to achieve equality does indeed require further consideration), but rather how to overcome our various prejudices. For some of us, irrespective of race, the true meaning of equality remains something that eludes us (Kruger 2013). Will all schools become culturally and racially integrated? This is a question being raised by worried parents in South African schools since Prof Jonathan Jansen, former principal of the University of the Free State, suggested that English be made the primary medium of instruction in schools (Beeld 2 October 2013). According to Garner (2009) racism or racial discrimination refers to social, economic or political discrimination against a person (or group of persons) on the basis of cultural differences. It does not necessarily refer to hatred on the part of one race for another, but rather to exclusion from – or the refusal of – certain rights and privileges, as applied by the apartheid government for instance. Because of affirmative action, white people are often not appointed to available posts, even though they may be the best candidates. The number of single-medium Afrikaans schools in South Africa has dropped drastically since 1994. While parents previously resisted the idea of parallel-medium schools, they now display a positive attitude towards such schools. Jackson (2014:12) states that education in parallel-medium schools is successful, a point of view confirmed by a school principal in Limpopo. The potential success of parallel-medium school education can be measured by the community’s conviction that a long-established Afrikaans-medium school has the right to retain Afrikaans as medium of instruction while making provision for learners from the community who prefer to be taught through the medium of English. This would, however, require excellent leadership (Jackson 2014:12).
The aim of this article is to determine how schools can promote multicultural education and how to address racism by inspiring and teaching learners to be moral people.
The theoretical framework on which this study was based are Kohlberg’s theory of moral development (1963), Whitehouse’s theory of universal values (1995) and mainly on Gandhi’s theory of social morality (1946). Kohlberg’s theory focuses on three levels of moral development namely, pre-conventional morality, conventional morality and post conventional morality (Maduane 1992:115-123). Whitehouse’s theory of universal values promotes universal values that are valued by various cultural groups. According to Ghandi, morality is a very complex matter, especially because values linked to morality are not easily distinguished from a multitude of matters that are presented as values and that often contradict each other. He evolved his principles of morality education along the lines of three main themes, namely (1) morality as a decision of will, (2) the pursuit of spiritual cleanliness and (3) morality as a prerequisite for responsible self-actualisation (lyer 1973:65). Document research (also known as document analysis), which was used in this research, involves the systematic analysis and evaluation of documents that need to be interpreted to reveal their meaning with a view to gaining understanding and generating empirical knowledge from them (Corbin & Strauss 2008 in Joubert, Hartell & Lombard 2016). The researchers approached this study from an interpretivist perspective as well. The leadership of school principals and teachers becomes manifest in their attitudes towards all cultural groups and the way in which they realise those attitudes in their personal lives. They ought to be moral-ethical examples for learners in multi-cultural schools. Without implying that Gandhi’s points of view are unreservedly acceptable, one can say that he was an exceptionally good example of a moral-ethical leader. His leadership was characterised by submission to absolute, non-negotiable values. His values were based on respect for all cultures and on service. The authors remain convinced that parallel-medium schools can contribute towards solving the problem of racism
Utilizing the expectancy value theory to predict lecturer motivation to apply culturally responsive pedagogies in universities in Botswana
Get PDFThe expectancy value theory (EVT) has been used in many studies to predict the motivation processes of individuals with regard to how they think and act in particular ways. Critical to how individuals think and act are the three elements of the EVT, namely the expectancy cognition (expectancy), instrumentality cognition (instrumentality) and valence. This study therefore seeks to establish whether the EVT could be used to predict and explain the motivation of lecturers to apply culturally responsive pedagogies (CRPs) in the teaching of culturally heterogeneous classes in universities in Botswana. Using a sample of 291 lecturers from three selected universities, the study employed a structured questionnaire for data collection. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used for data purification. Structural equation modelling (SEM) using AMOS version 22 was used for data analysis. The study established that the expectancy (β = .419; p < .001) and instrumentality (β = .315; p < .001) cognitions of lecturers as well as the valence (β = .268; p < .001) had a significant influence on the motivation of lecturers to apply CRPs in the teaching of culturally heterogeneous classes in universities. These results also showed significant relationships between expectancy cognition and valence (β = .316; p < .001) and also between instrumentality cognition and valence (β = .301; p < .001). These results therefore demonstrate that the EVT could be used to predict the motivation of lecturers in universities to apply CRPs in their teaching of culturally diverse university students.Curriculum and Instructional StudiesN/
Does the Department of Basic Education Take the International Call to Provide Quality Education for all Seriously?
Get PDFGovernments, across the globe are accountable for training teachers to provide learners
with quality education to face the challenges of globalisation and curriculum change. Arising from this challenge, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) in South Africa introduced, over the last decade, several curriculum changes, which had an influence on the delivery of quality education for all. The present research focuses on the question of whether the DBE can train in-service teachers and provide quality learning and teaching
support materials (LTSM) to comply with the challenges of the implementation of a new national curriculum, the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS). The theoretical frameworks for this study are based on social constructivist and critical theory constructs. A qualitative research approach has been employed in this study. Data collection consisted of a literature review, document analysis and collection of empirical evidence. The findings revealed that CAPS is being implemented impulsively, without proper in-service training or the provision of quality LTSM to schools. This paper concludes with recommendations concerning the DBE’s role in assistance of in-service
training
Semesterisation: The downfall of a great system? A case study
Get PDFThe vulnerable part of open distance learning (ODL) is usually viewed
as systemic, that is, the misalignment of processes and procedures. For example, ODL fails when marked assignments and tutorial letters with examination guidance do not reach the students in time to help them prepare for the examinations. This article critically reflects on the views of lecturers in the College of Education at University of South Africa (Unisa) regarding the adoption and implementation of the semester system. The specific aims of the research were to:
Compare the advantages and disadvantages of a semester system with a year system in the training of teachers in an ODL institution;
Investigate whether lecturers’ workload increases in a semester system;
Look at the quality of teaching regarding feedback and study material in terms of notional
hours.
The Systems Theory was used as the theoretical background to this research. The focus group consisted of lecturers from the College of Education. The data for this study were collected by means of a literature study, questionnaires and interviews. As respondents, lecturers answered open and closed-ended questions, and indicated their experiences of semesterisation.Curriculum and Instructional Studie
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