Abstract

This chapter focuses on how the professional development of teachers influences the teaching and learning process in schools. In the chapter, the experiences of Bojanala East District (North West Province) Life Sciences teachers with regard to the professional development support they received from the Department of Education and Training are explored. Subsequent to 1994, South African Life Sciences teachers were subjected to a plethora of educational policy reforms, all of which affected the content of and the teaching approach to Life Sciences as a subject. In all these reforms, the Department of Basic Education organised professional development workshops as an in-service teacher training (ITT) to empower teachers in respect of the new policies. The study sheds light on whether or not the training (according to teachers) enhanced the teaching and learning processes in the classrooms. A qualitative research approach was used in the study and a purposeful sampling technique was employed to select participants. The researcher used one-on-one interviews and a single focus group to collect data. Drawing on the findings of this study and on support uncovered in the literature, indications are that the in-service training programmes left teachers incompetent in terms of dealing with both the new approach and the new content due to the programmes not addressing teachers' needs.

Highlights

  • One of the causes of disruptive behaviours in South African schools is that these schools might be failing in their task as set out in the policy documents [1]

  • All participants declared that they attended workshops and meetings called Professional Support Forums (PSF)

  • Due to the number of issues that must be tackled in such meetings, there is often no room for an “any other business” (AOB) agenda item that would allow teachers to raise additional matters

Read more

Summary

Introduction

One of the causes of disruptive behaviours in South African schools is that these schools might be failing in their task as set out in the policy documents [1]. The Life Sciences subject, in particular, fell under four consecutive policies, namely the Interim Core syllabus (ICS) in 1996, the National Curriculum Statement (NCS) in 2006, the New Content Framework (NCF) in 2009, and the Curriculum Assessment and Policy Statement (CAPS) in 2012. A top-down approach was adopted in the development of such curriculum policies and, in some instances, teacher formations were not included in the decision-making bodies dealing with the new curriculum policies [5]. The absence of teachers’ voices from the educational reforms noted here disconnected teachers from everyday reality and made them the consumers of theories and approaches – this rather than allowing them to become autonomous beings able to reflect on their own teaching beliefs and practices. The above statement is in line with the assertion made by [7, 8] that, when teachers use instructional materials based on reform-oriented ideas that they are not familiar with, they can end up paying attention to superficial aspects rather than to core ideas

Objectives
Methods
Results
Discussion
Conclusion

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.