that sometimes there are different interpretations to policy documents, but when these ideas are put together, it allows for collective consensus to be arrived at. Mr Pillay explained that internal subject policies based on the CAPS document were drawn up by teachers at his school, protesting:
Teachers who work alone might not see requirements that others might see…but if they work together, teachers become au-fait with the subject matter. We also have networking where we meet with the subject heads or circuit managers from the department. We listen to each other during these forums…they also get information from us who are working with policies first-hand…and this knowledge helps them to better understand the challenges we experience, so hopefully they can develop the subject areas better….
Exploring Mr Ken’s proposal about setting up PLCs for teachers, is to be found his declaration that he would prefer to see such a network centrally coordinated. He contended that since PLCs are linked to CPTD, subject advisors in the education sector were urged to provide networking sessions for their teachers. He expressed his desire to see them take an active role in the network system and to ensure that these networks of teachers were run efficiently and successfully, advancing:
In setting up one within this facility, we have to look at the logistics. We have to look at gathering teachers in schools surrounding this school, getting a central point to locate this, getting permission from these schools’ principals, and gathering teachers together either in subjects or phases, depending on the needs for the networking sessions.
In like manner as Mrs Maharaj, Mr Pillay and Mr Ken who asserted that teacher networking is an integral component of CPTD, Johnson, et al. (2011) posit that social capital, which refers to relationships among teachers, require collaboration, professional teacher community and teacher teams, in order to build a PLC community. In response to the researcher’s enquiry of the potential of networking, Mr Ken’s stance in relation to the above, together with his postulation that networking promotes professional development, the benefits of belonging to PLCs, networking as a forum for unpacking of the curriculum and that it is beneficial for teachers to belong to a network of teachers, will now be explored from his stance about
networking. The next section focuses on the benefits of belonging to networking stations from the perspectives of the SMT members from GPS.
Emanating from the above, Mr Ken avowed that it was beneficial for teachers to belong to networks of teachers, as this ensured that they operated as professionals. He was of the opinion that it is at these teacher-cluster meetings that teachers learnt from each other on how to conduct themselves in an acceptable manner. Nevertheless, Mr Ken regretfully noted that many networks of teachers were not as fully operational as they used to be, with most having since fallen away, purporting:
This is largely due to the fact that there is very little co-ordination, very little support provided in these areas. But I do believe belonging to a network is beneficial for teachers. It allows for growth and development, it allows for the sharing of ideas and methodologies and techniques….
Professing that she judged networking to be an excellent initiative, Mrs Alark volunteered that their school was in partnership with Wade Collegiate, asserting:
Although we can’t always compare with their circumstances because they are a private school with all the resources at their disposal…plus, they serve a rich community.
Because they have adopted our school, they donate lots of stuff to us, especially since most our learners are indigent. But we still learn a lot from them, and I know for a fact that they also pick up ideas from those of us who are long in the profession. It’s so good because we learn from each other, and we often try to implement the ideas we get from them in our school. And our teachers look forward to it as well. So this one-on- one networking has revived that passion for teaching within us.
Supplementing the above assertions by Mrs Alark with regard to the inherent merits of PLCs, Kools and Stoll (2016) similarly aver that trust and respect between members of staff must be maintained at all times. Additionally, members of the SMT are advised to encourage networked learning whereby collaboration and dialogue among staff is fostered through regular staff meetings, presentations during conferences, peer coaching, having longer-serving staff mentor new teachers, and making time for colleagues to observe each other. These members of staff are urged to meet regularly so that they may reflect together on how to address
challenges and solve problems, and learn how to enhance learners’ learning and teaching practice. Additionally, Kools and Stoll (2016) volunteer that in schools as learning organisations, teachers are expected to share their insights on learning and teaching with each other in a collegial and collaborative manner. The following document confirms Mrs Alark’s submission that teachers from her school were invited to network with teachers from Wade Collegiate.
The above is an extract from an invitation extended to GPS primary school to participate in their Partners-in-Education (PIE) PLC initiative.
These aversions by Mrs Alark are consistent with the argument by Hord (2009), who advances that well-established PLCs are affiliated with efficient teachers, and that a positive undercurrent of social collegiality pervading through teachers’ interactions with each other, helps to boost teachers’ self-esteem and inspire them to revamp their teaching practices. In pursuance of the above, research by Coutinho and Lisbôa (2013) concerning the role and purpose of networks, confirm that networks help to improve the school’s COLT, to advance the knowledge and skills base of teachers, and to contribute to teachers’ gratification and contentment levels in pursuing their career.
Although the responses elicited indicate that it is not much of a challenge to encourage the ideology of networking in Glow Primary school, Moolenaar (2012) nevertheless warns that although teachers depart from PD enterprises feeling refreshed and revitalised, the danger is that this passion and eagerness may diminish if networking is not perpetuated in the workplace.
Thus, like Moolenaar (2012), I suggest that SMT members be active partners in this networking enterprise by encouraging these teachers upon their return, to share the content they acquired from their networking session with others. Bearing the above in mind, this chapter will now conclude by offering a succinct picture of the findings from GPS.