Teachers speak for themselves and about themselves

Makano Morojele reports on a research initiative carried out as part of a broader investigation into issues in teacher supply, utilization and development in Gauteng. The research was conducted amongst eight focus groups of teachers.

The findings of the National Teacher Education Audit of 1995 painted a bleak picture of teacher education in South Africa. The Audit found that teacher education was offered in a fragmented and uncoordinated manner, without a vision to work towards and often by institutions not involved in the task of improving the quality of schools. Furthermore, these institutions were locked into making hard distinctions between contact and distance education and between pre-service and in-service professional development.

The MEC for Education in Gauteng, Ms Mary Metcalfe, called together a Steering Committee, comprising representatives from different teacher development agencies, as well as teacher organizations and existing professional associations, to serve as a resource to the Gauteng Department of Education. The main task of the committee was to prepare, in a consultative and collaborative way, a new vision and implementation plan for the professional development of teachers in Gauteng.

The committee conceptualized a project, known as the Gauteng Ongoing Professional Development of Teachers (GOPDT), and developed a funding proposal for submission to DANIDA. The project later became part of a broader national initiative to develop provincial policies on teacher supply, utilization, and development.

With funding from DANIDA, research was carried out to investigate teachers' perceptions, experiences, and understandings of initial teacher development and ongoing professional development as a platform for participatory policy formulation and the development of a holistic strategy for teacher education in Gauteng. The research will contribute to developing a vision and plan that will seek to harness the efforts of all teacher development agencies to support and strengthen the functioning of Gauteng schools, the Gauteng teaching profession, teacher groups, and individual teachers.

The vision and plan will set out roles of different agencies, ways in which these agencies can work together, the staff and support mechanisms and structures which will coordinate the implementation of the plan, in-built evaluation to ensure the evolution of a plan, and any additional resources that might be required.

METHODOLOGY

Eight focus groups were constituted according to geographical communities, which in South Africa are largely defined in racial terms given historical segregationist policies. The groups were drawn from the following regions: Pretoria West, Mamelodi, Sandown, Joubert Park, Etwatwa, Eldorado Park, Lenasia, and Sebokeng. Sampling in this way was designed to allow for comparison between historically separate forms of provision of teacher education.

Semi-structured interviews with focus groups allowed for exploration of issues from the standpoint of the teachers. Focus group interviews offered teachers a particularly powerful vehicle with which to contribute towards changing their own realities as individuals and as members of the collective. More often than not, teachers are not afforded the opportunity to articulate their own experiences, even on matters that affect them directly.

The focus group discussions created ". the space for teachers to speak for themselves and about themselves in relation to their own realities as they have experienced them." ¹ Freire adds that the descriptions of experiences are ". not mere narratives of experiences rather they provide the possibilities for change.²

RESEARCH FINDINGS

Whilst some of the findings of the research were particular to certain focus groups, others cut across all groups. Overall, similar concerns about the quality and relevance of teacher development to what teachers do in the schools were echoed by all groups. Central to the findings of the research is that teacher development, both at the level of initial teacher preparation and ongoing professional development of teachers, does not take into account the realities of schools.

Teachers observed that teacher preparation programmes were too theoretical and lacking in real-world practice for students. In this regard, university-based teacher preparation programmes were more heavily criticized than college-based ones. Also emerging from the research was a perception that, where teaching practice does take place, it is usually short with no proper support for student teachers from either the school or the tertiary institution.

Teachers observed that the links between colleges of education, universities, and schools were minimal and in some instances non-existent. A teacher made the following remark: "I wasn't really prepared in my first year. I really battled with my teaching and I really didn't know what I was doing...". Another said; "It would have been wonderful if you could go out to schools a lot more or perhaps a whole year with a teacher".

There were mixed views regarding forms of pedagogy used during initial teacher preparation and their usefulness in the schools. Generally teachers felt that forms of pedagogy used at college and university also did not prepare them to function in a dynamic school environment. One teachers succinctly captured this by saying that initial teacher preparation ". moulds you into what you should be, without taking cognizance of the dynamic nature of schools and the changing requirements of being a teacher.". Teachers are concerned that in colleges and universities

"... knowledge is transmitted from the teacher to the learner..." and that student teachers

"... swallowed what the lecturers were saying", without encouragement to be creative.

In contrast, however, some teachers in the Sebokeng group indicated that they were happy with the preparation they had received from college. One of the difficulties they identified, however, was that experienced teachers were not receptive to innovative teaching methods and that schools in general were not ready for these new methods.

There was general agreement across all groups that teachers were given adequate knowledge in the subjects they were going to teach. In practice though, some teachers - with the exception of mathematics and science teachers who tended to stay in their subject areas - found themselves having to teach subjects in which they did not specialize and at levels for which they did not prepare to teach. Some teachers mentioned that they had specialized in technical subjects, such as quantity surveying, which are not even offered in schools.

Teachers in all groups raised a concern about the lack of flow of information on outcomes based education (OBE) and training. Some groups even referred to it as "a mysterious ideology".

Whilst some teachers felt confused and frustrated, others were satisfied with the quality of OBE courses run by the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) mainly through a cascade approach. Teachers were worried that, with energies being channelled into OBE and the implementation of Curriculum 2005, there is a risk of underplaying other important areas of teacher development, such as time and stress management.

Multiculturalism, multilingualism, multigrade teaching, and teaching large classes were raised as issues of concern. Teachers mentioned that there is an expectation to cope with these new demands, yet very little support is afforded teachers. In the words of one teacher: "When you start teaching, certain things are expected of you and suddenly they change and your whole job description changes..you're expected to do a whole lot of things that you were never prepared for"..

These concerns were articulated in the Sandown and Pretoria West focus groups, where the school populations have changed significantly.

Other groups, however, indicated that over the years they have had to cope with teaching large classes. The teachers in these groups expressed the need to learn new approaches of managing large classes. Multilingualism was not mentioned as an issue of concern since school populations in these groups have remained largely the same.

Although it has now become policy, as far as reasonably possible, that all children should attend a mainstream school, most teachers felt that they did not have adequate skills to cope with what they called "remedial children". They felt that any problems they might have in this regard would be compounded in a large class.

In addition to a range of problems that some teachers from previously white areas felt they now had to deal with, teachers from the Sandown group felt that they also ".have to deal with a range of emotional and psychological and behavioural problems that arise from having to teach African children".

Another teacher from the same group said, "I can be sympathetic and all the rest, but I've had no training . there is a whole lot of aspects that weren't there before".

Teachers feel that the abolition of corporal punishment has taken away the only form of disciplining they had. Without corporal punishment, teachers in some schools have resorted to verbal punishment.

Teachers said they feel uncomfortable about having to use this form of punishment, as they believed it to have a more serious psychological effect on children.

In all groups teachers felt that insufficient ongoing professional development is offered. Some teachers felt that their training needs are neglected and that the courses they have been on were not very useful. Also, teachers were unanimous in saying that the biggest drawback is that these interventions do not model the approaches teachers are being encouraged to use in the classroom.

Other frustrations are linked to the fact that there is often no feedback and support after going on a course and no room to implement the new ideas learned. Teachers feel that training should be practically rather than theoretically oriented.

PROPOSALS FOR THE FUTURE

School based professional development, be it formal or informal, is perceived as being more relevant than courses that are run by "outsiders". Teachers indicated that in the majority of cases, "outsiders" do not have a full understanding of the day-to-day realities and complexities of the school. Peer support was rated as highly beneficial.

They were concerned that it does not happen enough, and proposed that mechanisms be put in place to facilitate interactions between teachers. Teachers recognized the need to encourage professional development initiatives between schools.

The teachers were unanimous that, as teachers, they are the ones who should decide on the nature of their ongoing professional development. Teachers suggested that a needs analysis be carried out to identify areas of ongoing professional development. Teachers also noted that professional development should take place in comfortable and easily accessible locations. Workshops held away from the school have serious transport and cost implications.

Teachers feel that professional development should be held at regular intervals throughout the year. One group suggested January, April, June and September. Another teacher felt that "if it is a one off thing" perhaps it could be held during school holidays. Another said: "It sounds terrible, but it would be wonderful if some of the courses could be offered during school time". Teachers feel that since professional development concerns the school, it should be in the middle of the day ".. for example , at one o'clock and school could finish early". Another group suggested that instead of teachers running extra-curricular activities, qualified personnel should be identified to run those sessions. This would free time for teachers to use for professional development.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1Musi, M. 1989. Teacher Educators' Perspectives on Development Studies: A Qualitative Analysis of Factors Affecting Implementation in Teacher Preparation Programmes, Unpublished Masters thesis.

2Freire, P. 1985. p6. The Politics of Education. Boston, MA: Bergin & Garvery.

Makano Morojele is SAIDE's Teacher Education Coordinator