Abstract
Poor literacy and numeracy levels in schools have raised questions in South Africa, as they have internationally, on the quality and appropriateness of initial teacher education for preparing teachers for the complexities faced in schools generally and for the mediation of literacy and numeracy in the early years in particular. This paper profiles empirical research relating to initial teacher education over two decades of South African democracy, derived from a systematic review of journal articles, with the aim of proposing an agenda for research into foundation phase initial teacher education. It concludes that in the period between the birth of South Africa’s democracy and the present, there is little evidence of sustained research on initial teacher education in general, and a dearth of research focused on teacher preparation for the foundation phase in particular. The paper argues for the development of a research agenda that better takes account of the iterative relationship between researching classrooms and researching initial teacher education, especially as it relates to the foundation phase, where research is patchy and unsystematic. Evidence from such research might not only provide a base for policy and curriculum decisions but also lead to more responsive and contextually relevant teacher preparation. Keywords: diversity; foundation phase; literacy; numeracy; research agenda; teacher education
Highlights
Initial Teacher Education and the Foundation Phase Challenge The history of initial teacher education before and during apartheid is well-rehearsed in the South African literature (Christie, 1992; Cross & Chisholm, 1990; Welch, 2002)
The contribution of the work reported notwithstanding, the small scale and isolated nature of the research projects, notable when one considers that only seven studies relate to teacher education for primary schooling, underlines the need for more integrated and broad-based research on: (1) the implications of various dimensions of diversity for initial teacher education programme and curriculum design: and (2) ways to better prepare teachers for the diversity that currently reflects in South African schools
Robinson and McMillan’s (2006) article establishes a theoretical perspective on the relationship between change and identity, uses semi-structured interviews to examine the understandings of a group of primary teacher educators of their work, where new policies expect them to be researchers
Summary
Initial Teacher Education and the Foundation Phase Challenge The history of initial teacher education before and during apartheid is well-rehearsed in the South African literature (Christie, 1992; Cross & Chisholm, 1990; Welch, 2002). Studies in the second strand (nine articles) reflect on the appropriateness of initial teacher education programme and curriculum design in preparing students for the diverse school contexts they might face (e.g. Amin & Ramrathan, 2009).
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