Teacher Learning in a Community of Practice: A Case Study of ...

In describing the subject-pedagogy tension in teacher development programmes, Adler
notes that teachers must be competent in terms ofboth the subject matter knowledge they
teach and the ways in which to teach this subject matter knowledge. She highlights an
important challenge that faces teacher development, that is, to integrate 'further learning'
of subject matter knowledge with subject pedagogy (ibid.). However, many teachers in
South Africa have a limited conceptual knowledge base. This problem has its roots in the
poor quality ofeducation many teachers were subjected to under apartheid (Taylor and
Vinjevold 1999). The challenge becomes more complex in a teacher development
programme when teachers have limited or no subject matter knowledge in the subject
they are expected to teach. This challenge is amplified in South African education, which
has been undergoing unprecedented reform. The stark absence of substantive teacher
development programmes to address teachers' needs has manifested itselfin some
teachers employing alternative mechanisms for learning. One such mechanism or model
is a teacher learning community. This usually takes the form ofa voluntary network or
grouping ofteachers across schools. These teachers group themselves according to
teaching subjects (learning areas).
The above discussion has particular significance for the teachers involved in the TEMS
(Teaching Economic and Management Sciences) teacher development programme. This
particular community ofpractice was established in the Mariannhill-Shallcross region of
KwaZulu-Natal in late 2002 in order to address the needs ofnovice Economic and
Management Sciences (EMS) teachers, and it is this programme that forms the basis of
the present study.
Grossman et al (2001) argue that because most schools are intellectually barren, teacher
community offers hope to old and new teachers in a way that implies that teaching does
not have to invoke or imply intellectual suffocation, but rather raises hope for the
potential that teacher learning communities have for teacher development. However:
"(W)e cannot expect teachers to create a vigorous community oflearners among students
ifthey have no parallel community to nourish themselves" (Grossman, Wineberg and
Woolworth 2001 :958).
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