Courageous conversations in the Life Orientation classroom and teacher vulnerability

Christa Delport De Villiers,Sarina De Jager

doi:10.4102/td.v17i1.1097

Christa Delport De Villiers, Sarina De Jager

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4102/td.v17i1.1097

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Abstract

The Independent Education Board (IEB) introduced the need to facilitate critical conversations on controversial topics in the Life Orientation (LO) classroom at the National Conference in 2016. This shifted the focus of discussions to a facilitated critical narrative within IEB Subject Assessment Guidelines (SAGs) topics. This push followed youth activism against systemic racism at educational institutes, which initially created the perception that these conversations related to the socio-political status quo alone. However, the LO curriculum includes a range of topics that require critical narratives. Courageous conversations may trigger cognitive and emotional dissonance in both the teacher and learner. It is, therefore, crucial to interrogate the LO teachers’ lived experiences in facilitating courageous conversations. This study employed individual phenomenological interviews and a focus group discussion. The participants consisted of nine LO teachers from Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Western Cape and North West province. Each individual interview focused on determining the contexts and the phenomenon of their lived experience of courageous conversations and each participant’s agency in their private capacity as professional educators. The focus group discussion centred around establishing gaps in the motivation, training and skill development of LO teachers to facilitate these conversations. The findings indicate that the courage required of teachers to challenge and be challenged, albeit in a safe environment, results in teacher vulnerability.

Highlights

Life Orientation (LO) teachers are encouraged to provide their learners with exposure to multiple perspectives and academically sound knowledge
These courageous conversations occur in LO classrooms where teachers need to develop an agency to negotiate the trust relationship with their learners that make the possible vulnerability of the teacher meaningful, despite the professional dissonance that the conflicting values between school and subject may trigger.[3,4,5]
The informal directive from the Independent Education Board (IEB) in 2016 to facilitate courageous conversations as a LO teaching practice shifted the focus from an informal approach to critically analysing selected content, seen as potentially controversial, to utilise in an open formal conversation

Summary

Introduction

Life Orientation (LO) teachers are encouraged to provide their learners with exposure to multiple perspectives and academically sound knowledge. The informal directive from the Independent Education Board (IEB) in 2016 to facilitate courageous conversations as a LO teaching practice shifted the focus from an informal approach to critically analysing selected content, seen as potentially controversial, to utilise in an open formal conversation This shift in teaching methodology presented a challenge to LO teachers.[14] The teacher’s level of professional skill and experience directly correlated with their confidence and motivation to select specific content that learners may experience as sensitive, to enhance the LO curriculum.[15] Perceptions held about LO since its implementation as a compulsory subject have been and continue to be tenuous.[16] The support for both LO as a subject and the LO http://www.td-sa.net. The LO teacher has a significant need for professional courage when negotiating a safe space within which courageous conversations can be facilitated with their learners truthfully, openly, safely and honestly.[21,22]

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