Peter Beets

Reflection as learning about the self in context: mentoring as catalyst for reflective development in pre-service teachers

Establishing a close alignment between teacher education programmes and the realities of the actual classroom remains a challenge in preparing pre-service teachers at higher education institutions. The literature indicates that reflection is a core quality of effective teachers. We investigate how the development of reflective practice through mentoring programmes can facilitate the inevitable transitions that students have to make to the professional sector. Through a narrative analysis, we report on the insights of a selected group of Postgraduate Certif icate in Education (PGCE) students participating in the initial development phase of a mentoring system during their practice teaching in schools guiding them to reflect critically on their learning and practice. The data suggest that mentoring can act as a catalyst to enhance reflection. The development of reflection as praxis can assist in bridging the gap between theory and practice.

HAS GEOGRAPHY CURRICULUM REFORM IN POST-APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA STRENGTHENED CONTINUITY AND PROGRESSION?

ABSTRACT Continuity and progression are hallmarks of quality learning. Continuity relates to the extent to which significant features of a discipline are emphasised as a learner moves through the school system. Progression refers to the way a learners knowledge, skills and understanding are deepened in a given knowledge area as he or she moves through the school system. In this article we investigate the extent to which these two constructs form part of the design features of post-apartheid Geography curriculum frameworks. We further examine whether revisions to curriculum frameworks have strengthened continuity and progression in South African school Geography. We conclude that elements of continuity and progression are evident in both the Human and Social Sciences document of Curriculum 2005 (C2005) and the Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS) for Social Sciences. However, several shortcomings concerning continuity and progression are evident in the documents, requiring teacher competence in both geographical and pedagogical knowledge.

Strengthening Morality and Ethics in Educational Assessment through Ubuntu in South Africa

While assessment is regarded as integral to enhancing the quality of teaching and learning, it is also a practice fraught with moral and ethical issues. An analysis is made of current assessment practices of teachers in South Africa which seem to straddle the domains of accountability and professional codes of conduct. In the process the position of the teacher as mediator between policies and diverse learner needs is explored in the light of moral and ethical considerations. Based on the notions of ethical caring and caring about, the article suggests the infusing of principles of ubuntu in assessment practices may provide a framework to embed and strengthen morality and ethics in South African school assessment practices.

Social justice implications of South African school assessment practices

Abstract Central to the pursuit of education and its functions like assessment, is social justice. Given the (still) existing inequalities brought about by years of neglect, it is clear that the building of a just society is indeed fraught with challenges. This article explores the extent to which all learners in South Africa are afforded fair treatment and an impartial share of what the education system through assessment practices can offer them. In attempting to illuminate this issue, we will start by providing a brief overview of assessment policy initiatives and the current assessment system in South Africa. This will be followed by a conceptual analysis of assessment practices and their social justice implications for learners by using Cribb and Gerwitzs (2003) key dimensions of social justice, namely the distribution of educational resources, recognition and respect for cultural differences and participation. Through this analysis we conclude that, while acknowledging the massive impact of family/community circumstances and poor educational provision, unfair assessment practices as discussed remain an important dimension of the degradation of social justice in the South African education system. Many learners, despite efforts to ensure more just assessment practices, are still marginalised and do not reap the benefits that can support them in developing their full potential.

An Analysis of Education Assessment Policies in South Africa after 1994

Abstract Assessment practices and systems played a critical role in maintaining the oppressive apartheid policies and entrenching inequality at different levels in the South African education system. The changes in the education system after the 1994 elections brought hope and the promise of a fair assessment dispensa tion for learners and teachers. However, today assessment remains a contentious issue despite the Government’s efforts to transform the education system, especially since national and international benchmark tests indicate poor achievement in numeracy and literacy by South African learners. The question can therefore rightly be asked: Who or what controls the assessment policy agenda in South Africa, and what are the consequences and possibilities? This article offers an analysis of educational assessment policies in schools. The tension between the centralising and decentralising forces is becoming more apparent in the way that the administration of the curriculum is operationalised; this article examines this tension. It is argued that the pendulum is rapidly swinging towards greater centralisation. Assessment, as mediated by policy in South Africa, has become primarily an instrument of managerial accountability and an indicator of systemic efficiency. The challenge of emphasising quality teaching and learning in assessment policy seems to be embedded in initiatives that can reconcile centralisation and accountability, on the one hand, with decentralisation and support for teaching, on the other.