International Teacher Education Conference 2014 1

International Teacher Education Conference 2014
(MRTEQ) (DHET 2011, p. 15) stipulates that institutions offering teacher education programmes should create
environments that enable students to acquire “concrete experiences of the varied and contrasting contexts of
schooling in South Africa”, thereby equipping them with the knowledge and skills to function in diverse school
contexts. The stipulations of this framework are in line with the principles of social justice. Similarly, the
Council on Higher Education (CHE) (2006) emphasises the need for student teachers to develop professional
competence of the diverse range of authentic South African school experiences. Feiman-Nemser (2001)
advocates an understanding of learners, human development and diversity as vital in assisting beginner teachers
to question their taken-for-granted assumptions and stereotypes about their learners. What could be deduced
from these statements is that teaching practice sites are the most convenient contexts for students to learn to
practise cultural diversity. It is important for students to acquire the skills of handling cultural diversity at an
early stage as, although they may wish for this, there is no guarantee that when they become certified, they will
be placed in schools environments with which they are familiar. Situations vary and students may find
themselves having to adapt to teaching in school contexts that are completely alien to them. That is why it
becomes vital for them to acquire these skills. Robinson and Zinn (2007) point out that in South Africa, White
students generally resist teaching-practice placements in black schools. Ronfeldt (2010, p. 4), reiterating the
same view, highlights the benefits of immersing students in different cultural school contexts thus,
[N]ew teachers, who are typically white and often from non-urban backgrounds, will benefit from guided
immersion experiences with students from different backgrounds during professional preparation, especially
since many of these teachers will eventually work in urban schools and with diverse student populations.
Nevertheless, views on the impact of teaching-practice placements in these school contexts vary. For
instance, some studies report that students immersed in culturally diverse school contexts develop a positive
attitude (Athanase & Martin 2006; Downey & Cobbs 2007). Hollins and Guzman (2005, p. 512) support this
view, arguing that students placed in schools with diverse students “acquire more complex understandings and
awareness of cultural and experiential differences than do their peers placed in suburban settings”, a fact further
supported by Gurin (2002). On the contrary, other studies illustrate that placements of students in these schools
can present challenges for them to learn to teach (Buehler, Ruggles-Gere, Dallavis & Shaw-Haviland, 2009).
Goodlad (1990, p. 61) appears to disagree with the latter view, pointing out that “fieldwork in clinical sites
where family backgrounds and educational resources almost ensure success are programs that disadvantage
future teachers and short change society”, as they do not match the realities of diverse school contexts. Hence,
like Ronfeldt, Goodlad calls for the placement of students in both affluent and impoverished school contexts so
that they can be exposed to both contexts and learn to deal with learners from diverse contexts. I argue that the
source of the students’ problems with functioning effectively in these school environments may be rooted in
their lack of theoretical knowledge of cultural diversity. Practice without theory is futile. So, without the
theoretical knowledge and understanding of cultural diversity, students might find it difficult to put it into
practice.
In his work, Morrow (2007) distinguishes between material and formal elements of teaching. Formal
elements are skills that help teachers to organise learning systematically, such as programme design, assessment
and other functions. Material elements of teaching involve contexts, facilities, resources, conditions and so forth.
Morrow (2007, p. 100) criticises teacher education programmes for “repeatedly defin[ing] the work of teachers
in terms of its material elements” that are context-bound. He argues that material elements limit students to
specific contexts and preclude them from functioning in contexts that do not comply with what they were taught.
So, while material elements of teaching are emphasised in teacher education literature, as shown earlier, teacher
educators should guard against overly emphasising them at the expense of the formal elements of teaching.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The study is grounded in diversity pedagogy theory (Sheets, 2009). Sheets (2009, p. 1) describes diversity
pedagogy theory as “a set of principles that point out the natural and inseparable connections between culture
and cognition”. This theory stresses that teachers need to traverse certain steps in order to acquire cultural
competence, and that success to do so relies on (a) one’s capacity to perceive diversity as a norm, and to view it
as fundamental to all aspects of the teaching-learning process, and (b) one’s willingness to gain knowledge
about the diverse cultures represented in one’s classroom. This knowledge sets the stage for the teacher’s
practice, that is, how she or he will handle or impart knowledge, how he or she will deal with learners from
diverse cultures, his or her expectations of the learners, as well as the attitudes he or she will exhibit in classes
with learners from diverse backgrounds.
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