HOW HAD TEACHER LEARNING OCCURRED? CONSTRUCTING A WEBERIAN STYLE 'IDEAL TYPE'
5.1 INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this study was to investigate Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) teachers' learning in a community of practice, designed in accordance with the principles of social practice theory (as espoused by Lave and Wenger 1991; Wenger 1998 and Wenger, McDennott and Snyder 2002). As outlined in Chapter 3, the study drew primarily on Wenger's (1998) work, and used his conception oflearning as constituting four essential components, namely, meaning, community, practice and identity.
As noted earlier, in South Africa teacher biographies and individual contexts are compelling factors in teacher development. These factors were also important in this study, as they represented significant determinants of the extent of individual 'learning'.
Wenger's work offers limited insights into factors affecting the development/learning of individualsin a community of practice.Inthis research the work of Bourdieu (1986) is accordingly drawn on to supplement our understanding of the individual dimension.
Although Bourdieu (ibid.) did not address learning directly, his constructs, namely, economic capital, social capital and cultural capital were useful in understanding and analysing factors that contributed to or impeded the learning of individuals within the community of practice. Differences in 'capital' in all its forms certainly influenced individuals' levels of participation and learning in the TEMS community. This analysis begins in Section 5.7.
The decision as to how to proceed with the data analysis and its subsequent presentation was indeed a challenging one. While Wenger's (1998) work offered a theoretical
framework and the conceptual tools, the dilemma as to how to apply Wenger's
framework to the data that was gathered was a matter that needed to be resolved. Various options for the data analysis and presentation were explored, each presenting particular
difficulties. The work of Graven (2002) was useful and it was for this reason that a strategy similar to that used by Graven was pursued.Itmust be noted though that the current study attempted to extend on Graven's approach by embracing Wenger's later work (Wenger et a12002) and the work of Bourdieu (1986) in the analysis.
This chapter begins with a generalised finding that will be supported and nuanced as this chapter proceeds and in the chapters that follow. This generalisation is:
As the TEMS project proceeded, itbecame clear that teachers' participation in the project had resulted in learning taking place for all participating teachers. Evidence of
such learning could be gleaned from the way teachers demonstrated changes with regard to:
The way they made meaning of the new EMS learning area;
Their actual practice in their EMS classrooms;
Their changing professional identities within and outside the TEMS programme;
Their participation in the TEMS community.
Itmust be noted that although Wenger's framework provides a useful tool for an analysis of learning as constituting four components, these components and the changes that took place within them were inextricably linked to one another. This complex relationship between the components is presented in the ensuing analysis.
From the data sets for each participant, it was evident that movements and shifts had taken place for all participating teachers. Itwas clear that the changes for each were in fact positive changes that manifested themselves in the form of improved
'involvement/performance' in respect of all four components. All participating teachers in the study demonstrated improved ways of talking about their changing ability to experience the new EMS learning area and make meaning thereof. Participants had also developed and enhanced their pedagogic and subject matter knowledge with regard to EMS. They had become more active in an expanded range of school and community activities. All participants had grown in terms of who they were and what they were becoming in the context of their communities. However, the rate and extent to which
individual participants changed differed. Teachers' biographies, personal epistemologies and motivations influenced the extent to which their learning 'progressed' in terms of the four elements of learning as espoused by Wenger. While some teachers were attracted by the excitement of learning new commerce content knowledge, others emphasised the importance of developing pedagogical content knowledge. For some participants, the social aspect and networking provided by the TEMS project was particularly appealing.
For others, TEMS provided an opportunity to develop and refine personal identities, a means for personal growth and advancement.
This chapter provides a detailed narrative vignette of one research participant, a strategy gleaned from Graven (2002). The reason for the selection of one teacher is to provide an analysis using a 'thick' description (Geertz 1973) so as to illustrate with richness and fine-grained texture the nature of the change that had occurred for this teacher. An analysis of this teacher's learning in terms ofWenger's (1998) four components of learning is presented. This is summarised and consolidated in tabular form and captures the key difference in terms of these four components of learning (see Section 5.7, figure 5.2).
Wenger's framework provides a basis for theorizing the frame for the data analysis that follows in Chapters Six and Seven. Full data sets for all participating teachers were compiled. These included initial interviews, lesson observations, records of conversations and interactions with teachers (made in my journal) and data from final interviews.
Interviews were recorded, transcribed and returned to teachers for verification (see Chapter 4).
From the data sets, John's data set was selected to demonstrate the nature, extent and complexity of teacher learning that had occurred during the TEMS project. The rationale for this selection was that John demonstrated the most significant changes with regard to Wenger's four components ofleaming. A narrative vignette was constructed from selective transcripts drawn from interviews, informal conversations, classroom observations and TEMS workshop observations. In qualitative research, selection is
unavoidable and should be informed by the overall purpose and theoretical perspective of the study (Carspecken 1996). All science involves selection as well as abstraction.
Abstraction is essential for the understanding of any particular social phenomena. 'Ideal Type' is a constructthat serves as a methodological tool that can be used in the analysis of social phenomena (Weber 1949).An 'Ideal Type' is constructed from elements and characteristics of phenomena under investigation but is not intended to correspond to all of the characteristics of any one case. The concept 'Ideal Type' enables the creation ofa composite picture against which all the cases of a particular phenomenon may be
compared.
Following, then, the account of the learning ofthe selected teacher (John), the next two chapters examine the most important trends that emerged for teachers in relation to their learning, and concentrate on the similarities and divergences across the teachers.
Animportant element within the study is the question of how teacher biographies impacted on their implementation of the new EMS curriculum in the classroom and the effect that the contexts in which teachers worked had on their learning.Itis for these reasons that the account that follows begins with a description of the teacher and the school in which he worked.
5.2 A NARRATIVE VIGNETTE OF JOHN AND
ms
SCHOOL5.2.1 John's biography
John was an Indian teacher in his mid forties. He had been teaching for twenty-three years. Having grown up in an extended family of teachers, he had been influenced by them to join the teaching profession. He described himself as coming from a poor family.
As a child, he remembered growing up in a tin house in an area on the periphery of urban development. He recalled how his family had been forcibly removed from their first home as a result of the notorious Group Areas Act. As a result, John felt that as a pupil he had been robbed of a stable school experience. Because his family had had to uproot and move from the area in which they originally lived, he was forced to move to another school. The authorities subsequently closed his old school.
He received his schooling under the Ex-House of Delegates (Ex-HOD). He felt that while facilities in former Indian schools were 'very good', they were not as good as the former white schools, but definitely much better than the former Black schools. He regarded the teachers who taught him as a 'dedicated band of teachers', and that the dedication of his teachers was motivation for pupils to want to work hard and produce good results. He identified his high school sports teacher as a source of inspiration to him and recalled that this teacher personally took him (John) to the hospital when he had broken a collarbone during an athletics meeting. That experience motivated him to act in a similar way. When children injured themselves or fell illat the school at which he was teaching, he did not hesitate to use his personal vehicle to transport them to the doctor or a hospital.
John regarded himself as being fortunate to have received a bursary to attend a teacher training college where he completed a teacher education diploma. Although he was a level one teacher, he had served as acting principal of his school for a short period of time.
In terms of his attire, John always was very casually dressed, often wearing a pair of jeans and aT-shirt to school. Possessing a very calm disposition, he appeared to be in control of what was going on around him and created the impression that there was no need to 'panic' or become unnecessarily anxious or excited about anything untoward that happened.
John felt that his school was managed very well, and as a result functioned very well.
According to him, management at his school did not regard themselves as 'management' separate from the teaching staff, but tried to create a 'family' atmosphere at the school.
This, in his opinion, was good for morale, as teachers were generally happy to be at the school.
5.2.2 John's school: Neon Primary
Neon primary was a former Ex-HOD school located in one ofthe poorer former Indian suburbs outside Durban.Ithad an enrolment of three hundred and thirty pupils. The teaching staff was made up of Indian teachers. Although the school was relatively small, it had classes from grade one to grade seven. Individual class units were large, with average class sizes of forty-five pupils. Pupils came from basically two race groups.
About sixty percent of the pupils were Indian pupils, with the remainder being Black Africans with Sotho, isiZulu or Xhosa as mother tongue. English was the medium of instruction. About five percent of the pupils came from very poor families living in informal settlements near the school. Most of the children, although not from affluent families, had most of the basic requirements for school.
Neon primary had a pupil-feeding scheme. Disadvantaged pupils were provided with sandwiches on a daily basis. These were prepared by a local religious organization. The school encouraged children to make available their used uniforms and clothing to less fortunate pupils. The school had developed a good relationship with the local community and often had local dentists and doctors administer medical check-ups to children free of charge.
The school buildings, being only eight years old, were in excellent condition. High razor . wire fencing surrounded the school. The school's electronic gates led into a huge car
park. Gardens were immaculately maintained, with a just-watered look. Flowerbeds were freshly tilled. The school campus was in immaculate condition with a well-maintained sports field. On entering the foyer of the administration building, one was greeted with an appealing display of well-positioned posters, school achievement boards, and staff photographs. The foyer was spotless, with shiny floors and a shiny staircase. The school secretary was ideally positioned with a view of the school gate, which she could open electronically from where she was seated. The school was equipped with the basic necessary communication equipment, namely, a telephone, a fax machine and two computers.Itdid not have Internet facilities, but did have a well-equipped library. The
school regularly updated the books in the library. A library allocation was provided for in the annual school budget.
The following extract from my journal (dated 12 March 2003) depicts the kind of ethos that existed at Neon Primary:
The school secretary let me into the car park - electronic gate access. I made my way up to the admin foyer, thinking about how bright and appealing this school appeared compared to Pecan Primary's dark and gloomy foyer/reception area and dusty fields. The secretary greeted me and immediately informed the principal that I had arrived. The principal of this school always appeared to be very relaxed - always made time to stop and chat with me - enquiring about the university and 'the merger' [between the former University of Natal and University of Durban-Westville] and the status of my research project. He appeared to have his school well under control.Onarrival at the school, one gets the distinct impression that this school is well managed. During teaching time it was rare to find a teacher in the staff room or children out oftheir classrooms. All classes were always supervised. As I walked through the school I could see teachers and pupils busily engaged in their classrooms.
5.3 HOW DID JOHN MAKE MEANING OF THE NEW EMS
CURRICULUM?
In the initial interview, each participant was asked a range of questions ranging from questions on biography to questions that tried to establish teachers' understandings of the new EMS curriculum and their expectations of the TEMS project.
John indicated that although EMS was a new learning area, he believed that he had more knowledge about it than most teachers in other primary schools. He reflected on how he had attended a short course on consumer education about fifteen years previously.
Although he could not find the actual documents from the course, he could still
remember aspects of the course, which he was able to apply to his own teaching of EMS.
He said that he had a 'general' idea as to what EMS was all about. The following is an extract transcribed from his initial interview:
MM1; How would you describe your own knowledge of EMS?
IMM refers to myself, Murthi Maistry, as the interviewer
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John: You know in terms of EMS although I'm handling it for the first time, I do believe I've got more knowledge than most teachers and I'll tell you why. Some years ago, they offered a course in consumer education and it was conducted at Springfield College and nobody wanted to go for it in the school and I looked at it and said hey this might be beneficial to me and I went and I find that most of the data that I collected there I can use now.
MM: Are you drawing on that in your teaching of EMS?
John: J a, the only problem is I gotta look. I had this information for 15 to 20 years. I got to find them now but I do know what it was. And people like Sanlam and Absa, well it was United Bank that time, they sponsored material in terms of banking, in terms of insurance, in terms of savings, in terms of budgeting and in terms of being a good shopper. See those were the things that were covered in that consumer education.
So it gave me a broad perspective as to what EMS would be.
With his everyday knowledge, together with knowledge from informal programmes that he had been exposed to, John had a basis for the teaching of EMS in his school. There is a distinct gap between everyday knowledge and the concepts and processes of formal knowledge (Taylor 1999, Muller 2000). Formal knowledge is specific to a subject and organised in a disciplined way. Later, (in Section 5.4.1) we see evidence of this gap in John's knowledge.
John projected a very positive attitude towards the new curriculum. He in fact welcomed the new curriculum and felt that it articulated with what he had already been doing in the past. He had been teaching 'life skills' at his school for many years. When he first arrived to take up his teaching post at this school, the neighbourhood had consisted of houses that were made of tin. The community had been living in 'abject poverty'. Most children left school and either looked for jobs or started their own businesses to sustain themselves and their families. Twenty years later, people who had achieved only a grade seven pass had been able to progress. He described the houses around his school as 'mansions' and identified people who had risen from being poverty stricken to becoming very affluent. He believed that the main reason for this progress was that these people were able to use their 'life skills' to progress. He identified people who were not 'good students' in school and who eventually dropped out of school, but had gone on to succeed at what they were doing. John felt that the new curriculum would help facilitate the economic development of people. He remembered people whom he regarded as not being academically superior to him at school (people who did not finish matric), but who had
gone on to become really wealthy. InJohn's view, the overemphasis of schools on pure academic development in the past had been a serious problem. He welcomed OBE and Curriculum 2005 as he felt that it formally introduced the aspect ofteaching skills to pupils compared to the previous narrow focus on academic knowledge. He was very positive about the possibilities that the new curriculum opened up in terms of 'skills development' .
His view of his own education was that it had been very limiting. He regarded himself as not having acquired any skills besides that of teaching and said that there was 'nothing' for him to turn to ifhe decided to leave the teaching profession. This, according to John, was a serious flaw in the education he had been exposed to.
MM: What are your views on the new curriculum, Curriculum2005, OBE? How do you feel about it? What do you think it will mean for your own classroom practice?
John: I think it's been a joy to me because I think for a long time I've been teaching life skills because Jacaranda2 if you go into now you'll find houses like this and like this.
This might be one of the small houses in Jacaranda, but when I went there every house was a tin house. People lived in abject poverty there and they left school at standard 6, grade 7 and they started looking for work. So it's, ... very few learners went onto high school. Then Waterfall 5econdary3opened at.the top, so far the last 20 years we had children going up and finishing matric. So it was rare cases before the 20 years, now it's the norm the whole class goes up to high school. So in a sense, you look at the people there who didn't finish matric but they used their life skills and they became millionaires and they're still living in that area... And there are fellows who we passed in school; they are waving to me from a Mercedes or a BMW (Laughs). Ok, so what I'm saying is if we concentrate on developing the skill rather than academics, we will go a long way.
While John declared himself to be 'quite positive' in his approach to the new curriculum, he did concede that the complex jargon contained in the original curriculum document was difficult to comprehend. He explained that the new Revised National Curriculum Statement appeared to be easier to understand. Although he indicated that he was 'quite familiar' with the outcomes, in the extract that follows, it became clear that he was unable to make full sense of the economic cycle and the economic problem of scarcity and choice. John admitted that he 'seldom' referred to the curriculum document and elected to teach from his own experience as well as that of his pupils.
2Pseudonym for the area in which John's school was located.
3Pseudonym for the secondary school John referred to.