Corinne Meier

Hear our voices : student teachers' experiences during practical teaching

Abstract Practical teaching forms an integral part of teacher training. Teacher education programmes at the University of South Africa (Unisa) are no exception. However, there are two sides to this coin. On the one side, research studies led to the conclusion that teaching practice is a valued and a very necessary part of teacher education for students to become competent teachers. On the other side, it was also concluded that teaching practice was less than satisfactory because of deficiencies in the quality of supervisor teachers and in the application of theory in practice. Given the critical importance of practical teacher education, there has been a concern among lecturers at Unisa about how student teachers experience their teaching practice periods. A survey based on two unstructured questions and open-ended semistructured questions as a data collection instrument was undertaken with a sample population of third-year teacher training students to determine the negative and positive experiences of student teachers during their teaching practice. It was evident from the findings that the most outstanding positive experience of the student teachers concerned was the support system offered to them by the supervisor teacher. Negative experiences included exposure to bad discipline in the classrooms and the enlistment of students as cover teachers, thus precluding the presentation of lessons as planned. These findings compelled the researchers to prepare students during their training more thoroughly for what they might experience while doing their teaching practice.

Student teachers’ understanding of multicultural education in public schools

Abstract As schools in South Africa become increasingly multicultural, pressure is being put on them to meet the needs of all learners. The South African Schools Act, No 84 of 1996, affirms the recognition of all forms of diversity in public schools. It seems clear from media reports, however, that diversity in schools is not readily accepted and that teachers are largely held accountable for racial prejudice in schools. This raises the question whether teachers fully understand multicultural education as a means to adequately manage diversity in schools. Against this background, a project was undertaken to establish what student teachers’ understanding of multicultural education is, and what they regard as the most important aims of multicultural education. Data were obtained by the use of semi-structured questions serving as a self-report instrument. The data collected were consolidated and categorised into themes. It became clear from the data that most respondents showed a seriously deficient conception of the nature, aims and material manifestations of multicultural education. It is therefore recommended that teacher education programmes should be scrutinised to ascertain whether they are providing the right kind of knowledge content to prepare student teachers to function competently in multicultural schools.

Windows of Opportunity: Early Childhood Development Prospects in South Africa

Abstract Early childhood development (ECD) is regarded as critical for establishing the foundation for academic success in schools. The results of the South African Annual National Assessment systemic evaluation (ANA) register particularly poor school performance in the first three years of school in literacy and numeracy. The question that comes up irresistibly, therefore, is whether the provision of ECD in South Africa is opening windows of opportunity for young children, and if so, whether such windows are being opened to best advantage. These questions will be examined through a systematic literature review by utilizing a fusion of contextual as well as conceptual review methods which will focus on selected child development theories that are predicated on the huge potential that every child has for self-actualisation, the latest findings on neurological research, the universal right to education and policy development in the ECD field. These issues are mirrored against ‘care’ as the overarching conceptual framework. It is found that the South African government seems to display a mediocre ‘caring-about’ attitude towards the provision of ECD in that it contributes funds and policies but do not see to the implementation thereof. Several interventions are considered imperative prerequisites for immediate implementation in order to vitalise the prospects of ECD in South Africa.

Problems and Prospects in Early Childhood Education Provisioning in Turkey and South Africa

The benefits of early childhood development (ECD) programmes are strongly supported by evidence of reduced school dropout and repetition rates. However, the literature on ECD is primarily grounded in research based in the United States (US); in the light of this gap in the literature, this paper provides a comparative overview of ECD policy and practice from outside of the US, namely in South Africa and Turkey. As a theoretical framework the paper has followed the World Bank’s Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER)-ECD Analytical Framework. Findings indicate that both countries have established an enabling policy environment for ECD but implementation and the setting of and compliance to standards for quality is still emerging, in spite of massive strides made in this field during the past fifteen years.

Learning to Live Together: Cross-cultural Perceptions of Student Teachers

Abstract Historically the socio-political landscape in South Africa has been shaped by colonial rule and segregation policies. Some ethnic groups were from the outset of colonial rule suppressed and according to the social identity theory, this issue can have an impact on the forming of a critical self-consciousness in and about suppressed groups. When South Africa became a democracy in 1994, South Africans had to learn to live together in an integrated country. This article encapsulates the findings of a quantitative study undertaken to determine how three sample populations of student teachers from different ethnic backgrounds perceive themselves and the groups different from themselves. The research instrument took the form of a multiple-choice questionnaire. The findings suggest that Black respondents’ perceptions of their ability to achieve certain objectives differed meaningfully from their perceptions of Whites as well as Asians ability to achieve the same objectives. Implications for the design of teacher training programmes are considered in view of its critical role in improving students’ capacity for unbiased thinking about cross-cultural issues.

The development and application of progressive education in the Netherlands and some implications for South Africa

Abstract The charge that schooling is poorly adapted to modern conditions in South Africa and abroad has been debated since the beginning of the twentieth century, with the result that two strands of competing paradigms - traditional and progressive - crystallised from the discussion. This article delineates the salient features of progressive education to prepare the ground for a comparison of outcomes-based education (OBE) in South Africa with education in the Netherlands and thereby determine the influence, if any, of progressive education on OBE and Dutch education respectively. The data gathered to determine the progressive influence on Dutch education showed that some elements of progressive education had been combined with traditional (tried-and-tested) practices to create an effective primary educational system. The implication for South Africa is that teachers should be allowed to adapt their teaching styles and curriculum development to accommodate learners who cannot benefit optimally from progressive teaching, and that progressive principles can be implemented in South Africa, provided it is done as in the Netherlands without trying to force everybody into the same mould (i.e., on the crude principle that ‘one size fits all’),

Parents as consumers: a case study of parent satisfaction with the quality of schooling

Abstract In marketised school systems schools are financed by taxes and school fees, which effectively turns parents and children into consumers of education. This legitimises a claim to quality schooling. This paper deals with parent satisfaction with children’s schooling and is based on a case study carried out at a public primary school with a predominantly white learner population in a middle-class neighbourhood. Results indicate that although parents expressed appreciation for the school, they identified specific weaknesses. Recommendations were made regarding the timing of surveys, the degree of teacher buy-in to this endeavour and the importance of using open-ended questions to gain an indication of parent satisfaction.

Growing Early Childhood Education Teachers in Rural Areas

Abstract Currently in South Africa, there are over 20 000 underqualified Grade R teachers who are enlisted into service to ensure that Grade R teaching can continue. The aim of the study reported on was to investigate the challenges and needs faced by underqualified teachers in order to promote the professional development of teachers teaching in rural areas. Phenomenology was used as the research design. By means of a qualitative research approach, purposeful sampling selected only underqualified early childhood education (ECE) teachers teaching in rural schools for more than five years or more in three provinces, as well as their school principals. The findings revealed the following needs and challenges: the need for resources; poor infrastructure; lack of parental involvement; overcrowded classrooms; the need for in-service training; needs of the rural communities; and support from an open distance learning (ODL) institution.