Moving In and Out of the Foundation Phase Teaching Specialization:

Abstract

This case study reports on the impact of the lack of career counseling in South African universities, particularly in the Faculty of Education. Students are not sure of which specialization to choose, as a result they keep changing specialization up to the end of the first term. Some register to specialize in teaching in the Foundation Phase (FP) but after qualifying as teachers they do not teach where they are supposed to teach. Therefore the study aims to further investigate how the lack of career counseling in this university impacts on the FP teaching specialization. Using a qualitative approach located within an interpretive paradigm, the study used a random sampling to identify information rich cases. Semi-structured interviews were used to generate data. The study revealed that some students moved into the specialization out of desperation and when they get employment in other grades they do not hesitate to use that chance and move out of the specialization. Some students displayed lack of knowledge about the realities of dealing with young children. The study recommends that having career counseling in place during registration could eliminate the number of people who enter the specialization without knowledge and passion.