Elaine Browne.pdf - Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

Educational philosophies
In the South African context, educational change also implies a significant transformation of
underpinning educational philosophies. Previous educational philosophies such as
behaviourism and fundamental pedagogies, eminent during the apartheid years, positioned the
learners as passive listeners who were never challenged to develop their own critical and
creative thinking skills (DoE 2002a, 5). New philosophies such as constructivism and humanising
pedagogy regard learners as active agents in their own learning. Hence, the teacher is no longer
positioned at the centre of the teaching and learning process. Learners are seen as active
participants in the learning process and co‐constructors of knowledge.
Since the majority of in‐service teachers received their training during the apartheid years, their
personal teaching philosophies are still rooted in outdated approaches to teaching and
learning. Hence, many teachers need to adopt new teacher identities and philosophies, and
subsequently new approaches to teaching and learning. In this regard, Morrow (2007, 94)
warns that many teachers have not yet accomplished the required ‘paradigm shift’. Apart from
the fact that many teachers are still stuck in the previous paradigm of teacher‐centred teaching,
they do not regard themselves as active agents of the South African educational transformation
process. As such, they have not taken ownership of new approaches.
Serious interventions by means of in‐service training workshops were thus required to equip
teachers to conceptualise the new paradigms and approaches in order to implement the new
curriculum. Unfortunately many of these training sessions proved to be unsuccessful (HSRC
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