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

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Parker captures the complexity and the 'weakened' ability to carry out the procedural function of South African education policy as follows: [The overarching legislation] ... splits responsibilities for "governance" ofparts ofthe higher education system. A public teacher education provider has to be "accredited" with the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) of the Council on Higher Education (CHE). This may also involve accreditation with other Education and Training Quality Assurance bodies (ETQAs). The providers' qualifications must be registered with SAQA through SGBs and NSBs. The learning programmes leading to these qualifications have to be accredited by the HEQC (or the ETQAs) and "approved" by the DoE for funding purposes and for employment purposes (2002: I0). Teacher education programmes and teacher education providers were to be regulated within this complex framework. Ambiguities prevailed, and overlaps in roles and responsibilities of different authorities impeded the implementation of an outcomes-based NQF. Different interpretations ofwhat was meant by key concepts such as 'curriculum', 'learning programme' and 'teaching and learning' by different stakeholders were a further impediment. As the structural governance features ofteacher education changed, so too had the curriculum issues in teacher education. Teacher education curriculum is influenced by school curriculum changes. The introduction ofC2005 and the release ofthe Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS) with an outcomes-based framework that focuses on learner-centred approaches and different expectations ofteachers from those under the previous regime was a welcome shift from the Fundamental Pedagogics perspectives of rote and transmission-oriented approaches to teaching and learning. A discussion of school curriculum change follows in Section 1.3.4. The Department ofEducation released the Norms and Standards for Educators in 1997. It was to be a policy instrument that would provide the basis for the generation of qualifications and programmes in teacher education. The Norms and Standards for Educators (NSE) prescribed an outcomes-based approach to teacher education and specified what a competent educator should be able to 'demonstrate' or perform in 19
schools, classrooms, management and support services ofthe schooling system. Its intention was to facilitate the implementation of Curriculum 2005, by training educators in terms ofthe knowledge, skills and values that would make learning in schools more relevant to the economic and social needs ofthe country. Seven roles that represent the hallmark ofa competent and professional educator were clearly defined in the NSE. Teachers were expected to be learning mediators, interpreters and designers oflearning programmes, leaders, administrators and managers, scholars, researchers and lifelong learners, play a community, citizen and pastoral role, and be learning area/phase specialists. A significant and crucial aspect ofthe NSE was that it accentuated the importance ofthe subject or content knowledge of the teacher; an aspect that Sayed (2004) asserts is crucial to effective teacher development. Weak subject or content knowledge is a serious shortcoming ofmany South African teachers (Taylor and Vinjevold 1999). The Curriculum 2005 Review Report indicated serious shortcomings in the preparation of teachers for the implementation ofthe new curriculum (Department ofEducation 2000). A significant finding ofthe report was that while teachers were able to conduct basic group work and other classroom management and administrative functions, they lacked the basic content knowledge required by learners. The NSE attempted to offer coherence to a wide variety ofefforts to improve teaching, by providing benchmarks against which the quality ofteacher education programmes could be measured. Recognition and funding ofteacher education programmes was based on compliance with these benchmarks. Guidelines provided by the NSE led to SAQA registered and accredited programmes. In the development ofsuch programmes, due cognisance needed to be taken ofteachers as professionals, valuing what they knew but at the same time acknowledging that what they knew was an inadequate base from which to proceed (Adler 2002). Sayed, however, argues that South African teacher education policy worked from the assumption that teachers were lacking in certain areas (Sayed 2004). It also presented a negative image ofteachers as villains who were undisciplined. 20
Page 1 and 2: Teacher Learning in a Community of
Page 3 and 4: ABSTRACT Conceptualising teacher le
Page 5 and 6: DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated
Page 7 and 8: DECLARATION I, Suriamurthee Moonsam
Page 9 and 10: ASSOCIATED CONCEPTS UNDER STUDY WIT
Page 11 and 12: Observation ofJohn's teaching after
Page 13 and 14: A SYNTHESIS OF THE STUDy...........
Page 15 and 16: TEMS RNCS EMS GET DoE INSET ELRC SA
Page 17 and 18: In describing the subject-pedagogy
Page 19 and 20: teachers lacked content knowledge r
Page 21 and 22: acknowledges the importance and pec
Page 23 and 24: some formal Mathematics teacher edu
Page 25 and 26: study, the coordination functions w
Page 27 and 28: It foregrounds the fact that the co
Page 29 and 30: school. Higher education opportunit
Page 31 and 32: frame models for projecting future
Page 33: teacher education by the state, (as
Page 37 and 38: Although the Teacher Audit indicate
Page 39 and 40: One ofthe first curriculum reform i
Page 41 and 42: entrenched design feature of C2005,
Page 43 and 44: In Chapter Five, I set up a narrati
Page 45 and 46: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 INTRODUCTION
Page 47 and 48: As indicated in the previous chapte
Page 49 and 50: This view is supported by Putman an
Page 51 and 52: Learning is social in nature (Putma
Page 53 and 54: Constant reflection on and understa
Page 55 and 56: Teachers drew on their membership i
Page 57 and 58: The above arguments about the lack
Page 59 and 60: change. She highlights the importan
Page 61 and 62: Differences in the cultures oflearn
Page 63 and 64: persons and is not considered solel
Page 65 and 66: and offers insights into how learni
Page 67 and 68: America. Goodson (1992) and Calderh
Page 69 and 70: learned meaning and value for them
Page 71 and 72: 'accommodation' and intimates that
Page 73 and 74: staffroom and a 'pragmatic' teacher
Page 75 and 76: Davisson (1984), Lumsden and Scott
Page 77 and 78: directive in that it guides choices
Page 79 and 80: economic discourse, the economics p
Page 81 and 82: • Understand and promote the impo
Page 83 and 84: 2.7 CONCLUSION This chapter began b
Page 85 and 86:
(Walford 2001; Anderson 1999). With
Page 87 and 88:
• It places value on the research
Page 89 and 90:
The main research question in this
Page 91 and 92:
Lave and Wenger emphasise the centr
Page 93 and 94:
3.3.2 The Work ofWenger (1998): Com
Page 95 and 96:
agree with the way it takes place o
Page 97 and 98:
Figure 3.3: Refined intersection of
Page 99 and 100:
eflecting. The ability of a communi
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object to something that in reality
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practice is not just an aggregate o
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system or institution and the influ
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3.3.2.4 Learning Practice has to be
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new possibilities for meaning. Brok
Page 111 and 112:
These characteristics indicate that
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engage with one another and acknowl
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A structural model ofa community of
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who were regarded as peripheral. A
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Ideally I would have wanted teacher
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they represent key ingredients in s
Page 123 and 124:
that the Wenger framework presents
Page 125 and 126:
more useful and effective than part
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3.6 CONCLUSION This chapter provide
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• While my professional input int
Page 131 and 132:
• Cycle ofhypothesis and theory b
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observer played themselves out. A c
Page 135 and 136:
organised events and linked communi
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In keeping with ethnographic princi
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In this qualitative study, my inter
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collection. He questions whether co
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physical context, the complex body
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completed, final text: rather, they
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the teacher over classroom events (
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'connoisseurship'. I realised that
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In this study, the criteria for the
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In Chapter One I described the sequ
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tactic by indicating to research pa
Page 158 and 159:
On the occasions that I delivered b
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"Confidentiality involves a clear u
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were cordial and professional. The
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CHAPTER FIVE HOW HAD TEACHER LEARNI
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individual participants changed dif
Page 169 and 170:
He received his schooling under the
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school regularly updated the books
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gone on to become really wealthy. I
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John noted that in planning the cur
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Significant changes had thus occurr
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just transfer it. For example, bank
Page 181 and 182:
Extract from the lesson: John: Pupi
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schoolwork as 'economic work'. This
Page 185 and 186:
John: Now we are not looking at thi
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cardboard and drawing or sticking i
Page 189 and 190:
John: Now I want you to remember wh
Page 191 and 192:
John succeeded in drawing on the sp
Page 193:
at her maths books to which the tea
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issues that his pupils were raising
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5.5 JOHN'S CHANGING PROFESSIONAL ID
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to achieve their joint enterprise o
Page 202 and 203:
5.6 JOHN'S INCREASED PARTICIPATION
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John regarded the close interaction
Page 206 and 207:
As stated earlier, because the 'con
Page 209 and 210:
CHAPTER SIX USING WENGER'S CONSTRUC
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6.2 SECTION ONE AN ANALYSIS OF TEAC
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understanding it at all. I just don
Page 216 and 217:
In the final interview that took pl
Page 218 and 219:
MM: Shirley: learning outcomes and
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the little things like we started i
Page 222 and 223:
understandings and conceptions ofth
Page 224 and 225:
Extract from Mary's final interview
Page 227 and 228:
Teachers were able to describe the
Page 229 and 230:
The essential differences between D
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Debbie's school, Eden Primary was l
Page 233 and 234:
what he's saying. And in that lesso
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they were excellent, really good. I
Page 237 and 238:
Extract from first lesson observati
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out of the material that they had.
Page 241:
largely recall, repetition or were
Page 244 and 245:
Third extract from Debbie's second
Page 247 and 248:
From the above extracts and discuss
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with a new set ofsubjects. Without
Page 251:
was three kilometres away from the
Page 254 and 255:
In the next extract, Ben referred t
Page 256 and 257:
for making bread. The difficulty an
Page 258 and 259:
T: P: T: P: T: P: T: Look again. Is
Page 260 and 261:
stemmed from a discussion at the TE
Page 263 and 264:
Key to the table A = Good/substanti
Page 265 and 266:
was doing the budget and where they
Page 267 and 268:
ofher school and the TEMS community
Page 269 and 270:
Extract from Beth's final interview
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fox the invitations and arrange for
Page 273:
Table 6.6: Teachers' learning in te
Page 276 and 277:
CHAPTER SEVEN AN ANALYSIS OF TEACHE
Page 278 and 279:
As we saw in Chapter Six, the core
Page 280 and 281:
who did or did not want to become f
Page 283 and 284:
The following extract offers a narr
Page 285 and 286:
difficulties (ibid.). In the above
Page 287 and 288:
A community moves from the potentia
Page 289 and 290:
Cindy began the workshop with a tho
Page 291 and 292:
oundaries" (Wenger et al 2002:97).
Page 293 and 294:
7.4 AN ANALYSIS OF THE TEMS GROUP A
Page 295 and 296:
necessary to learn what they needed
Page 297 and 298:
Figure 7.2: Brokering relationships
Page 299 and 300:
the group. Wenger (1998) notes that
Page 301 and 302:
knowledge ofothers. It is therefore
Page 303 and 304:
MM Shirley MM: Mary: MM: Mary Have
Page 305 and 306:
The following extract from a worksh
Page 307 and 308:
MM: Shirley: How many EMS workshops
Page 309 and 310:
Table 7.2: Criteria for the emergen
Page 311:
Soudien, a leading South African ac
Page 314 and 315:
hand, adopts a 'narrow' perspective
Page 316 and 317:
As mentioned earlier, Wenger's work
Page 318 and 319:
literature review revealed that the
Page 320 and 321:
Another important feature ofWenger'
Page 322 and 323:
'Identity' namely, 'learning as bec
Page 324 and 325:
(Hargreaves 1995). Teacher professi
Page 326 and 327:
for the purposes ofprofessional dev
Page 328 and 329:
teacher growth. CPD in Africa subsc
Page 330 and 331:
knowledge of subject content is ser
Page 332 and 333:
South Africa, due cognisance must b
Page 334 and 335:
8.3.7 An arena for engaging and con
Page 336 and 337:
the provision of appropriate profes
Page 338 and 339:
level conceptual thinking". They wa
Page 340 and 341:
Collaboration within teacher learni
Page 342 and 343:
has for teacher learning in a South
Page 344 and 345:
Bourdieu, P. (1986) The Forms ofCap
Page 346 and 347:
Department ofEducation (2002) Revis
Page 348 and 349:
Homan, R. (2002) The principle of i
Page 350 and 351:
Mattson, L. (2000) Teacher identiti
Page 352 and 353:
Smylie, M.A., Bay, M. & Tozer, S.E.
Page 354 and 355:
Westheimer,1. (1998) Among schoolte
Page 356 and 357:
APPENDIX 2 INTERVIEW SCHEDULES (INI
Page 358 and 359:
2. What information have you been g
Page 360 and 361:
APPENDIX 3 EXAMPLE OF JOURNAL ENTRI
Page 362:
APPENDIX 5 EXAMPLE OF INDEPENDENT O
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