This study addresses such a gap in the academic literature by examining the acquisition of professional knowledge through informal learning at their school where they teach and formal learning through the Post-Graduate Certificate in Education. PGCE Postgraduate Certificate in Education SACE South African Council of Educators UKZN University of KwaZulu-Natal UTE Unprotected Temporary Educator.
Introduction
Background and context of the study
Teacher education schools are designing programs that help future teachers deeply understand a wide range of things about learning, social and cultural contexts, teaching, and putting these insights into practice in complex classrooms, serving increasingly diverse learners (Darling-Hammond & Young , 2002 ). To make novice teachers competent, student teachers at teacher training colleges are offered professional and academic programs to equip them for practice.
Rationale of the study
My interest now lies in how educators acquire professional knowledge "on the job" in the teaching profession. Interest in the area of teacher education grew as a result of my involvement with literature on teacher learning and teacher knowledge, as well as my personal experience in the teaching field.
Purpose of the study
This research will also enable me to reflect on my own tutoring practice in the teacher training of part-time, under-qualified teachers who are currently upgrading their teaching qualifications. I will reflect on the extent to which my tutoring practice requires changes in the teaching profession, so that I can make a positive contribution in the field of education.
Key research questions
My deep motivation to undertake this study will enable me to understand that acquiring knowledge in teacher learning is a lifelong process. How do part-time NGOS students talk about learning to teach 'on the job' and what kind of professional knowledge did they develop before enrolling in the NGOS programme.
Becoming a teacher in South Africa via the PGCE
Purpose of the PGCE
How do part-time PGCE students talk about their learning from the PGCE core modules and specialization modules. For these teachers to become professionally qualified teachers, they must complete the PGCE course, which lasts one year full-time or two years part-time.
The structure of the part-time PGCE at UKZN
The professional development module in the second year gives the students the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills in diversity, inclusive teaching, education law and politics. This is done in the schools where they are, because it saves time in relation to the dissemination of teaching practices.
Overview of the dissertation
Conclusion
The history of teacher education and training in South Africa will be discussed with a particular focus on the PGCE. This chapter begins by describing the history of teacher education and training in South Africa.
History of teacher education in South Africa
The current educational situation in South Africa will be described, but the emphasis will be on the NGOS, as this is the focus of the study. The introduction of the Bantu Education Act in 1953 made possible a racially stratified teacher training system in South Africa.
Teacher training colleges during apartheid
In the 1970s and early 1980s there were concerted efforts to improve the qualifications of teachers as a whole and to increase the numbers of teachers in black schools (Welch & . Gultig, 2002: 21). In short, these teachers had unequal professional qualifications driven by racially divided streams of teacher education.
Teacher education after 1994
However, the problem with upgrading qualifications was that most teachers were poorly trained through rote learning and had unequal professional qualifications from different high schools. These professional inequities made it difficult for enrolling institutions to provide additional professional development for these teachers.
The closing of teacher education colleges
This process meant that universities would be the main providers of both primary and secondary teacher education. The current system of making teacher education part of higher education seems much more manageable.
Present professional teacher education
In this perspective it is implied that teacher education programs should be structured in ways that help educators increase their subject content and pedagogical content knowledge. Curricula in teacher education mainly emphasize content knowledge of subjects, knowledge of pedagogical content and teaching practice.
Post-Graduate Certificate in Education
PGCE curriculum
Below is a description of the PGCE professional qualification for teachers, which is the qualification under scrutiny in this study.
Teaching practice
Part of the curriculum for part-time PGCE students is school experience or teaching practice. In this study, the terms school experience and learning practice are used interchangeably.
Assessment in PGCE
Students will be given a grade of pass, pass, referred (supp) or fail, following the assessment of the teaching practice. If students fail to meet the satisfactory standard, supplementary teaching practice may be required in order for the student to meet the required standard (UKZN PGCE, 2010).
Teacher knowledge
- Development of teacher knowledge
- Informal learning
- Learning communities
- Formal learning
- Mentoring
For these learning communities, teachers are not only users of pedagogical knowledge, but also creators of knowledge as they work together. Although propositional knowledge is necessary, it is not sufficient and therefore educational practice is important (Lieberman & Pointer Mace, 2010; Stuart et al.
Conclusion
This chapter will focus on the model and its sub-concepts which constitute this framework for teacher knowledge. The chapter also describes in depth the domains of teacher knowledge and professional learning that form the basis of the study.
Theoretical and conceptual frameworks of teacher knowledge
- Subject matter knowledge
- General pedagogic knowledge
- Pedagogical content knowledge
- Knowledge of context
Content knowledge refers to knowledge of key facts and concepts within a domain (Grossman 1990). The second component of pedagogical content knowledge concerns knowledge about students' understandings, concepts, and misconceptions about particular topics in a subject” (Grossman, 1990:8).
Conclusion
Knowledge of students' cultures and backgrounds varies from place to place, as does the knowledge that comes from regular contact with students. Anderson (1995) believes that contextual knowledge includes knowledge of the historical, philosophical and cultural foundations of education in a particular country.
Research paradigms
Sampling
Of the 10 participants, five were student teachers specializing in humanities and the other five in natural sciences. In this current study, only potential participants who were interested and understood the expectations of the study while providing appropriate data were able to participate.
Data collection methods
Interviews
Data analysis
The process of sorting the data into different categories was not straightforward for research questions two and three, where participants were asked to describe their learning from specialization modules and core modules. That is, the data were condensed into common phrases and then key themes were identified from the data.
Ethical measures
Informed consent
Trustworthiness in qualitative research
Profile of the participants
Tom is 25 years old and one of the youngest participants, having taught for two years before entering the PGCE programme. Kim is a young teacher aged 26 and taught for four years before entering the PGCE programme.
Conclusion
How part-time PGCE students talk about learning to teach 'on the job' and what kind of professional knowledge they developed before enrolling on the PGCE programme. How part-time PGCE students talk about their learning to teach from PGCE teaching practice.
Reasons for joining the PGCE part-time programme
Summary of the reasons for doing the PGCE
According to the policy document, these teachers required a PGCE after an approved first degree to be recognized as qualified. To answer the central research question, the themes that emerged from the interviews are listed below.
Learning on the job before the PGCE
Drawing on memories of their own schooling experiences
She learned GPK from her previous teachers by copying their teaching methods so that she could teach. In relation to using their own school memories to learn how to teach, new teachers said that they learned how to teach from an unconscious act of reflecting on their previous teachers' practices.
Formal learning (undergraduate degree)
Very few (two in 10) did not find their undergraduate degree useful for teaching purposes. Her undergraduate degree did not prepare her for classroom teaching and she seems to think that the content does not match well with what she was teaching at the time.
Informal mentoring experiences
- Positive informal mentoring experience
- Unsupportive mentoring experiences
She got notes for her class and was helped on the issue of discipline. Most teachers noted that they also learned GPK at work, with the help of colleagues and mentors.
Learning from the PGCE core modules and specialisation modules
- Teaching strategies
- Lesson planning and assessment
- Knowledge of learners
- Confidence
- Pedagogical content knowledge
The majority of participants talked about how they learned the teaching strategies from the PGCE programme. From her experience, Pelly pointed out that she learned lesson planning from the PGCE programme.
Learning to teach from the teaching practice
- University tutor mentoring during school experience
- Mentoring by school mentors during school experience
- Unsupportive mentoring
- Positive mentoring
She was happy with her practical teaching experiences because she received good, encouraging responses from her university teacher. Lily felt that she would have benefited from being supported by her school mentor during her teaching practice.
Other issues emerging from the data
Administration work
Perhaps this question is not part of the syllabus because it is assumed that these teachers have taught and are aware of such record keeping. Lily said she didn't know about the intervention book she was supposed to use to record misbehaving students in her class.
Inspired by PGCE to study further
They believed that it was important to at least make the student teachers aware of such administrative work before they go to their teaching practice. It was fascinating to note that some teachers had a deep appreciation for their learning from the part-time PGCE program and wanted to continue their studies.
Conclusion
However, although she claimed she benefited from the PGCE programme, PGCE records showed she failed some modules and was unable to graduate with her class members. The key results are linked to relevant reviewed literature and to the study's conceptual framework.
Discussion of findings
Learning “on the job” before the PGCE programme
Memories of own their schooling experiences
It is generally agreed that memories of their own schooling played a role in getting the participants to start teaching. It can be said that memories of their own schooling have a positive or negative influence on shaping the way novices do their work, depending on the teacher role models that they.
Informal mentoring (positive and negative) experiences
Two participants in my study indicated that they did not receive any constructive feedback from their mentors. If you would help them professionally, they would acquire more practical professional knowledge and thus develop knowledge of the profession.
Formal propositional learning in the undergraduate degree
Another reason may be that the level of content taught in their schools may be lower than that taught in undergraduate programs. Research has generally shown that high school math and science teachers who have core subjects in the subjects they teach elicit more benefit from their students than teachers who lack subject matter knowledge (Darling-Hammond & Young, 2002).
Professional knowledge learned from the PGCE
- Teaching strategies repertoire
- Planning and assessment
- Knowledge of learners
- Confidence
- Pedagogical content knowledge
Many respondents emphasized that learning on the PGCE program had developed their confidence. One of the key aspects cited by teachers was learning pedagogical content from the PGCE programme.
Practical professional knowledge learned from the PGCE teaching practice
Mentoring by university tutors during school experience
Mentoring by school colleagues during school experience
Pillay noted that "in South Africa, in most public schools, the educators who volunteer their support to mentor students and novices generally carry heavy teaching loads and use personal time to fulfill their mentoring roles and responsibilities" (Pillay. Med regard to mentoring, the Department of Higher Education and Training (2010) review of teacher education in South Africa found that many students, particularly in PGCE programmes, are not given sufficient opportunities to engage in practice learning, and the problem is exacerbated by weak institutional school relationships, poor communication and inadequate supervision and mentoring arrangements.
Conclusions of the study
Therefore, one can conclude that the NOS program met the specified outcomes of teacher education programs to a large extent. The NOS part-time program served as a stepping stone for the personal development of some of the teachers.
Reflection on the framework
Turner-Bisset (1999) says that knowledge of self is an important element of reflection in practice. It found that knowledge of self was an important requirement for reflection at the higher levels.
Limitations of the study
The work of some scholars has shown that it is an important knowledge base for teaching (Turner-Bisset, 1999). This study revealed that self-knowledge is a key element in the way teachers view themselves and understand the nature of work.
Recommendations for further research
It is silent on the teacher's awareness of his own values, goals, strengths and weaknesses related to teaching.
Conclusion
Paper presented during the Proceedings of the 6th international conference on self-study of teacher education practices, University of Nothen Lowa. A Psychological View of Teachers International Encyclopedia of Teaching and Teacher Education (2nd ed., Vol. 1, pp. 20-24).
