PIRLS 2006 Encyclopedia

there were different teacher training colleges and universities for each racial grouping.The qualifications could be 2-year certificates with the equivalent of a school-leavingcertificate which were most often obtained by African teachers. There were 3-year Collegesof Education diplomas for mostly African teachers (some colored and Indian), as wellas institutions offering 4-year diplomas for white, colored, and Indian teachers. Finally,there were a number of universities offering 3- and 4-year degrees (some being a 3‐yearundergraduate degree plus a 1-year postgraduate certificate or diploma in education),depending on the institution and racial grouping. Generally, however, white teachertrainees had access to and benefited from the best resourced institutions and generallybetter training. In the latter half of the 1990s, most colleges of education were closed,merged with universities, or refocused to other disciplines.Currently, there are two routes required to qualify as a professional teacher—Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) degree or a postgraduate certificate of education (PGCE).The bachelor’s degree program, in either early childhood development or foundationsor intermediate phase teaching, extends over at least a 4-year period (eight academicsemesters) at a tertiary training institute. The postgraduate certificate of education,either at the primary or secondary level, is undertaken after the student has obtained abachelor’s degree (of 3 years).Requirements for training in teaching reading include courses in language across thecurriculum, classroom literacies, early literacy, literacy programs, and cross-curricularreading skills. Registration with the South African Council of Teachers is mandatory toapply for a teaching position. However, there are teachers currently practicing withoutthis registration.Teacher In-service TrainingNon-governmental organizations are working to promote literacy. Prior to 1994, theseorganizations were the major supporters of in-service teacher training, althoughnow most of the funding from donors passes through the government, and manynon-governmental organizations have closed. Currently, some organizations work incollaboration with the Department of Education, which offers much of the in-servicetraining to public school teachers.PIRLS 2006 EncyclopediaExaminations and AssessmentsNational ExaminationNational examinations are administered at the end of schooling (grade 12), and arewritten by almost half a million students annually. These examinations are high stakesat the school level and have been used as the only measure of the quality of educationprior to the inception of national assessments and international studies. The Departmentof Education currently is planning to introduce examinations at the end of grade 9 (endof compulsory education).South AfricaTIMSS & PIRLSInternational Study CenterLynch School of Education, Boston College 391