6.1. Introduction
6.2.8 Contradictions
Since contradictions are understood as historically accumulating structural tensions within and between activity systems (Saka, Southerland & Brooks, 2009, p. 1001) inner contradictions were also accumulating within the elements of the revision workshops activity systems. The following is Figure 2 shows the inner contradictions existing in the revision workshops of the Commerce Teachers’ Association.
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Figure 18: Flow of contradictions in the revision workshop
Firstly, there were subjects/objects contradictions (Business Studies teachers) and the object (Porters, a new Business Studies topic that came with the new curriculum) because subjects were having challenges when teaching this topic. These contradictions led to learning through the workshops although it was not possible to establish the extent of the learning. Another subjects/objects contradiction occurred due to learners’ language barrier, this contradiction was evident when Sebenzile spoke about the language (English medium of instruction) challenge of their learners.
Secondly, subjects/objects of the activity/divisions of labour/rules contradictions occurred.
The subjects did not enact (revise) all the topics because the starting time of the workshop was delayed as teachers had not paid their R50 membership fees. This meant that subjects did not act according to their division of labour. Yet another contradiction manifested between subjects and rules of the Commerce Teachers’ Association because the Constitution of Commerce Teachers’ Association stipulates that all individual members should pay membership fees. However, this type of contradiction did not lead to any learning.
Tools: classroom, tables, power point presentation, handouts, chalkboard, flip charts, graphs, subscription fees, experiences, knowledge
Outcomes: Knowledge and skills to revise in Grade 12
Object: To revise certain topics Subject: Economics and
Business Studies teachers
Community:
CES, DCES, Economics subject advisor
Executive committee Subject Expert
SMTs
DBE electoral officer
Division of labour:
Teachers engage in tasks Expert lectured
Economics subject advisor monitored teachers Rules: Constitution,
attendance punctuality
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Thirdly, the contradictions that emanated from the division of labour and community (DBE officials) starting from the election and planning systems were also evident in the Economics revision activity system. The DBE were acting outside their division of labour as ex-officio members of Commerce Teachers’ Association. Their presence appeared as that of monitoring a DBE workshop because of the leading role they took during the workshop. The Economics subject advisor appeared to be assuming the role of the Chairperson when she was coordinating the programme of the workshop.
Fourthly, misunderstanding between the facilitator (community) and the subjects about the price maker (in the topic on markets) manifested contradictions of subjects, community and object because Economics teachers did not understand the meaning of the concept, hence enacting the object (learning) did not take place. These contradictions resulted in multi- voicedness which had a positive impact because it raised the participation of teachers from where they probably benefitted some learning. However, the multi-voicedness became negative when the subjects were making a noise (when the Economics teachers were talking amongst themselves without being allowed to do so). In this case multiple views further promoted contradictions between the subjects and the rules because teachers were unable to listen to each other. According to Engeström (1999), learning is a long process of internalization and externalization in response to contradictions as well as appropriation of available cultural resources to design a novel form of practice. Contraction of subject, community and object occurred in the process of internalization. When teachers were trying to understand, they could not and this created a contradiction. Due to this contradiction they then needed to read more or get clearer explanations to internalize, thereby addressing the contradiction. In other words, more reading and more consultation is the appropriate response to contradiction.
From a CHAT perspective for a variety of reasons, contradictions may be resolved, unresolved and ignored. There is little evidence from the findings which shows how some contradictions were resolved. The CHAT literature states that ignoring the contradictions may have a negative impact on the activity system. However, it is possible that the activity system would continue to exist and operate in a kind of unstable equilibrium (Feldman and Weiss, 2010. p. 39).
This section has synthesized contradictions that were emerging from the elements of the activity system. Most of the contradictions (embedded in the division of labour were issues
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which arose between DBE officials and Commerce teachers) were evident in all three activity systems that were observed. In conclusion, the findings suggest that tasks that were facilitated by the external facilitators during the revision workshops were an attempt to overcome poor performance of learners in grade 12 final examinations. However the contradiction did not lead to the expansive learning as envisaged by CHAT. The findings suggest that there was reproductive and repetitive learning rather than expansive learning. This was evident from both Economics and Business Studies tasks. For example in the Business Studies Sebenzile reported that they were taught how to answer examination question, this was a repetition of what they have already seen. In the Economics workshop the dominance of the facilitator and little teachers’ interactions suggests restricted learning than expansive learning. Therefore the actions during the Economics workshop did not follow the order presented in the seven steps of expansive cycle in Figure 4 of Chapter 3.
In this section I have used CHAT elements to show the picture of the revision workshop as an activity system of the Commerce Teachers’ Association in order to understand how learning happens in the Commerce Teachers’ Association. The activity system, together with the schedule of meetings discussed in chapter five, suggest that Commerce teachers as subjects come together normally in the third term to enact the object (to learn to revise with grade 12.
The object was not enacted fully because the workshop ran out of time before teachers could revise all the topics that were scheduled for the workshop. Jita and Mokhele (2014) argue that the sharing and exchanging of expertise are improved when teachers learn together and solve problems collaboratively. However, in the Economics workshop the interaction was mainly between the expert and teachers. In line with William (2007), the workshop appeared to run out of time before the Economics teachers were able to talk about what they had been doing.
Furthermore, the group was too large; it would not have been possible for 72 teachers to interact individually with the expert.
The literature maintains that: “teacher learning depends on the extent to which teachers can integrate their knowledge drawn from both school and in professional development context”
(Pournara, Hodgen Adler & Pillay, 2015, p. 4). However, the findings seem to suggest that the learning of the Economics teachers during the revision workshop is in line with the cognitive perspective because teachers were not interacting with one another but were expected to transfer their learning to their Grade 12 learners. This learning is facilitated by
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the expert, a member of community, in cooperation with the Commerce subject advisors who are also members of the community. In the Economics workshop, the expert was using his experience, knowledge and questions as mediating artefacts to facilitate the object. The subjects were using their knowledge of Economics to answer the revision questions. There is little evidence that suggest that they engage in more conceptual issues, this is evident from the two Business Studies teachers who reported that they have learnt very little of the difficult topic. The next section discusses the kinds of teacher knowledge that is learnt in Commerce Teachers’ Association.