bureaucratic compliance and academic coherence: curriculum restructuring in teacher education

Proceedings of the TEP Concluding Conference

Held at the Birchwood Conference Centre, Boksburg, Gauteng on 4 & 5 September 2008


Teacher Education Research and Development Programme (TEP) Conference 2008

Centre for Education Policy Development

Teacher Education Research and Development Programme (TEP) Conference 2008


The Teacher Education Research and Development Programme (TEP) was funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

TEP consortium partners:

Centre for Education Policy Development Centre for Evaluation and Assessment (University of Pretoria)Human Sciences Research CouncilSouth African Institute for Distance Education

Compiled and published by the Centre for Education Policy Development (CEPD)

Centre for Education Policy DevelopmentBox 31892Braamfontein2017Tel: +27 (0)11 403 6131Fax: +27 (0)11 403 [email protected]

© Centre for Education Policy Development, Johannesburg; Centre for Evaluation and Assessment, University of Pretoria; Human Sciences Research Council, Pretoria; and South African Institute for Distance Education, Johannesburg

Date of publication: March 2009

ISBN 978-0-9814095-7-3

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Teacher Education Research and Development Programme (TEP) Conference 2008: Proceedings of the TEP Concluding Conference iii

Contents

Tables and figures v

Acknowledgements viii

Tributes viii

Notes on terminology ix

Abbreviations and acronyms x

About these proceedings xii

Introduction to the Teacher Education Research and Development Programme (TEP) xiv

About TEP consortium partners xx

Conference papers – by theme, consortium partner and author surname

Keynote addressCrain SoudienThe implications of the crisis in numeracy and literacy in South Africa for teacher education 1

THEME: TEACHER DEVELOPMENT

Centre for Evaluation and Assessment (CEA)

Caroline Long and Lisa ZimmermanReading beyond the lines: Developing South African Foundation Phase learners’ higher-order reading literacy skills 10

Surette van Staden and Sarah J HowieSouth African teacher profiles and emerging teacher factors: The picture paintedby the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2006 20

Lisa Zimmerman, Sarah J Howie and Cecilia du ToitComprehending the macro through the lens of the micro: Investigating South African Grade 4 teachers’ reading literacy instruction practices 31

Lisa Zimmerman, Sarah J Howie and Caroline LongDespite every good intention: Challenges to the realisation of objectives for South African BEd Foundation Phase teacher preparation for literacy teaching 45

Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC)

Mignonne Breier‘Something extra’? Recognising phronesis or practical wisdom in the recognition of prior learning in teacher education 61

iv Contributing to policy and implementation in the organisation and practice of teacher education

Glenda KrussTrajectories of restructuring: The changing context for initial teacher education in South Africa 76

Glenda Kruss, Ursula Hoadley and Adele GordonBureaucratic compliance and academic coherence: Curriculum restructuring in teacher education 90

South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE)

Sheila DrewSupporting praxis: Investigating the complexities of teaching reading instruction to Foundation Phase teacher-students 101

Tessa Welch and Ingrid SapireDeveloping and using quality learning resources in an open educational resources environment: The SAIDE ACEMaths project 111

THEME: SCHOOL MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT


Ursula Hoadley, Pam Christie and Cathy WardManaging to learn – instructional leadership in South African secondary schools 138


Liora HellmannDeveloping school information systems for identifying, supporting and monitoring orphans and vulnerable children 152

Lorraine Marneweck, Maryla Bialobrzeska, Ephraim Mhlanga and Paul Mphisa Enhancing school leadership: Meeting the challenges of HIV and AIDS 178

THEME: TEACHER LABOUR MARKET


Michael CosserAn appetite for teaching 212

Michael CosserTeaching disposition: Factors affecting student enrolment in education and entry into the profession 236

Nolutho Ndengane DikoTeacher recruitment policy: The case of the North West Province 254

Andrew Paterson and Fabian ArendsWho are we missing? Teacher graduate production in South Africa, 1995–2006 267

Teacher Education Research and Development Programme (TEP) Conference 2008: Proceedings of the TEP Concluding Conference v

Tables and fi gures

Tables

Table 1.1: SACMEQ II scores for Grade 6 mathematics, by poverty quintile (2000) 5Table 1.2: Numeracy mean scores (%), by poverty quintile 6

Table 2.1: Trends in emphasis on decoding and vocabulary 16

Table 3.1: Average PIRLS 2006 achievement for teachers’ age groups 25Table 3.2: Overall average reading achievement in comparison to class size 27Table 3A.1: Distribution of reading achievement, PIRLS 2006 International Report 29

Table 4.1: Percentage of South African learners reaching the PIRLS 2006 international benchmarks 33Table 4.2: A typology of curriculum representations 36Table 4.3: Number of South African learners reaching class benchmarks per ESL and EFL class re-categorisation 39Table 4.4: Average class performance distribution for South African benchmarks and class language profile 40

Table 5.1: Essential features of preparation programmes that produce teachers who teach reading well 48Table 5.2: South African higher education institutions presenting teacher education programmes 50Table 5.3: Data collected for the survey 51Table 5.4: Presentation of each institution’s literacy teacher preparation modules during the BEd degree 53

Table 7.1: A matrix of trajectories of restructuring 79

Table 8.1: Overview of curriculum restructuring since 1994, in higher education and in IPET 92

Table 9.1: Research questions as the basis for institutional analysis, by institution 103

Table 10.1: Proposed and actual take-up of the SAIDE ACEMaths pilot materials 121Table 10.2: Programme information, by site (2007) 124Table 10.3: Selection, presentation and mediation of pilot materials, by site (2007) 125Table 10.4: SAIDE ACEMaths use (2009) 130

Table 11.1: Leadership dimensions and significant variables 145Table 11.2: The final model 148

Table 12.1: Percentage of OVC in sample schools, by quintile 163Table 12.2: Data quality 168Table 12.3: Questions for improving data quality 169Table 12.4: Class teacher template – OVC identification (example) 171Table 12.5: Class teacher template – reference guide (example) 171Table 12.6: Analysing attendance records (example) 172Table 12.7: School management template – formal identification of OVC status (example) 173Table 12.8: Reference guide for school management template (example) 174Table 12.9: School management template – OVC monitoring and updating (example) 175Table 12A.1: Sample of schools that participated 176Table 12A.2: Schools in the toolkit verification process 176

vi Contributing to policy and implementation in the organisation and practice of teacher education

Table 14.1: Sample frame, response profile and weighting for the Grade 12 Learner Aspiration survey (2005) 214Table 14.2: Preferred programme for higher education study (2005) 216Table 14.3: First-choice programme for higher education study, by race (2005) 218Table 14.4: First-choice programme for higher education study, by gender (2005) 219Table 14.5: First-choice programme for higher education study, by gender (2001 and 2005) 220Table 14.6: Variables influencing higher education programme preference, in descending order by extent of influence (2005) 220Table 14.7: Variables influencing higher education programme preference and education programme preference, in descending order by extent of influence on higher education programme preferences (2005) 221Table 14.8: Variables influencing teacher education programme preference, by race, in descending order by extent of total influence (2005) 222Table 14.9: Variables influencing decision to enter the teaching profession, by race, in descending order by extent of total influence (2005) 223Table 14.10: Learners who achieved an A, B or C symbol for the top 10 most popular subjects in Grade 11 wanting to study in the top 5 most popular higher education programmes and in education (2005) 225Table 14.11: Enrolment within higher education Department of Education programme areas, by race (2006) 227Table 14.12: Grade 12 study preference in 2005 and first-year programme enrolment in 2006, by race 228Table 14.13: Variables influencing higher education programme enrolment and education programme enrolment, in descending order by extent of influence on higher education programme enrolment (2006) 229Table 14.14: Profession in which first-year students in 2006 want to practise after qualification 230Table 14.15: Variables influencing aspirant teachers to join the profession, in descending order by extent of influence (2006) 231Table 14.16: Variables influencing non-aspirant teachers not to join the profession, in descending order by extent of influence (2006) 231Table 14.17: Variables influencing students to study education, in descending order by extent of influence (2006) 232Table 14.18: Variables influencing teacher education programme preference (2005) and enrolment (2006), in descending order by extent of influence on enrolled education students 232Table 14.19: Level of teaching for which aspirant education students (2005) and enrolled education students (2006) plan to achieve their education qualifications 233

Table 15.1: Reasons for choice: Students planning on entering the teaching profession enrolled in an education programme in 2006 243Table 15.2: Reasons for choice: Students enrolled in an education programme in 2006 not planning on entering the teaching profession 244Table 15.3: Reasons for choice: Students planning on entering the teaching profession not enrolled in an education programme in 2006 245Table 15.4: Choice of life situation and factors influencing choice of study programme for education students planning on entering the teaching profession (2006) 250

Table 16.1: North West Province: Total numbers – teacher personnel attrition (2007) 260Table 16.2: North West Province: Teacher personnel attrition, by race (2007) 260Table 16.3: North West Province: Teacher personnel attrition, by gender (2007) 261Table 16.4: Samples: North West Province schools 262

Table 17.1: Enrolment in universities and technikons, by age group (2000–04) 273Table 17.2: Enrolment in universities and technikons, by age group in percentages (2000–04) 273Table 17.3: Enrolment in technikons and universities respectively, by age group in percentages (2000–04) 274Table 17.4: University enrolment, by race and gender, for age group 25-years-and-under (2000–04) 274Table 17.5: University enrolment, by race and gender, for age group 25-years-and-under in percentages (2000–04) 275Table 17.6: University enrolment, by race and gender, for age group 26-to-30-years (2000–04) 276Table 17.7: University enrolment, by race and gender, for age group 26-to-30-years in percentages (2000–04) 276Table 17.8: Technikon enrolment, by race and gender, for age group 25-years-and-under (2000–04) 277

Teacher Education Research and Development Programme (TEP) Conference 2008: Proceedings of the TEP Concluding Conference vii

Table 17.9: Technikon enrolment, by race and gender, for age group 25-years-and-under in percentages (2000–04) 277Table 17.10: Expenditure by NSFAS on teacher education students – R000 000 (1996–2004) 278Table 17.11: Students receiving NSFAS funding (1996–2004) 278Table 17.12: Education students receiving NSFAS funding (1996–2004) 279Table 17.13: Proportions of primary and secondary phase students receiving NSFAS funding (1996–2004) 279Table 17.14: Teacher education graduate share of total NSFAS graduates (1996–2004) 280Table 17.15: Enrolment and graduation of education students in IPET (1996–2004) 281

Figures

Figure 2.1: Grade by which reading skills and strategies are first introduced in schools 14Figure 2.2: Achievement according to introduction of reading strategies, by grade 15

Figure 3.1: Average achievement for Grade 4, by language 24Figure 3.2: Teacher engagement in daily reading activities 27

Figure 6.1: Two categorisations of knowledge: Bernstein vs Aristotle 70

Figure 9.1: The partners in this community of practice 109

Figure 10.1: The OER ‘hand’ 113Figure 10.2: Cover page for Unit One 114Figure 10.3: Six-month process to produce the pilot version 116Figure 10.4: How a community of practice works 118Figure 10.5: OER Africa 119

Figure 12.1: Structure of EMIS 156Figure 12.2: OVC MIS toolkit: Framework 166Figure 12.3: Data management process 167Figure 12.4: Process of identifying, monitoring and tracking OVC 170

Figure 15.1: Choice of life situation amongst students enrolled in different programmes (2006) 240Figure 15.2: Percentage distribution of choice of life situation, by programme of enrolment (2006) 240Figure 15.3: Percentage distribution of choice of life situation, by chosen profession (2006) 241Figure 15.4: Choice of life situation amongst students planning on entering different professions (2006) 241

Figure 17.1: Enrolment in universities and technikons (1995–2004) 268Figure 17.2: Graduates from universities and technikons (1995–2004) 269Figure 17.3: Enrolment numbers at universities and technikons, by race (1995–2004) 269Figure 17.4: Graduate numbers for universities and technikons, by race (1995–2004) 270Figure 17.5: Female students as a percentage of all students enrolled in universities and technikons (1995–2004) 270Figure 17.6: Enrolment in universities, by race and gender (1995–2004) 271Figure 17.7: Graduates in higher education, by qualification level (1995–2004) 271Figure 17.8: Enrolment in education study field, by age group (2000–04) 273Figure 17.9: IPET graduate production and all graduate production in teacher education 282Figure 17.10: Trends in IPET graduates for higher education and colleges of education (1994–2006) 284

viii Contributing to policy and implementation in the organisation and practice of teacher education

Acknowledgements

The Teacher Education Research and Development Programme (TEP) consortium would like to indicate appreciation for the funding for the programme that was provided by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The views expressed by members of the TEP consortium do not necessarily reflect the views of the Embassy and its staff.

The TEP Consortium acknowledges with gratitude the work of its Steering Committee, under the leadership of Jenny Glennie from SAIDE, in bringing members together in what became an increasingly constructive relationship. It thanks Michelle Buchler and other staff of CEPD for their effective role as the programme manager of TEP and, in particular, for organising the TEP conferences and assembling these proceedings.

The TEP consortium would like to thank the Southern African Review of Education for permission to reprint the following two articles:• Kruss G (2008) Trajectories of restructuring: The changing context for initial teacher education

in South Africa. Southern African Review of Education 14(1&2): 77–94; and• Paterson A & Arends F (2008) Who are we missing? Teacher graduate production in South

Africa, 1995–2006. Southern African Review of Education 14(1&2): 95–118.

Tributes

The years 2008 and 2009 saw the untimely deaths of Ben Parker and Wally Morrow, two brilliant education thinkers and teacher-educators, each of whom made an immense contribution to the development of teacher education in our country. Over decades, with passion and unwavering commitment, they grappled in their different ways to find solutions to the difficult challenges facing our teacher education system. They will be sorely missed.

Teacher Education Research and Development Programme (TEP) Conference 2008: Proceedings of the TEP Concluding Conference ix

Notes on terminology

The different papers in these conference proceedings use a range of terms, as follows: where ‘universities’ is used this includes universities of technology and comprehensive universities. Higher education institution lecturers who teach education programmes are sometimes termed ‘teacher-educators’, while the students enrolled in such programmes are variously termed ‘students’, ‘student teachers’ and ‘teacher-students’. Schoolchildren in school classroom settings are called ‘learners’ (with the exception of one of the papers, where the reason for using ‘students’ is explained). Initial Professional Education of Teachers (IPET) is also sometimes termed simply initial teacher education, and sometimes pre-service teacher education; while Continuing Professional Teacher Development (CPTD) is also sometimes referred to as in-service teacher education. Finally, ‘Teacher Education Programme (TEP)’ is an ‘internal’ abbreviation of the Teacher Education Research and Development Programme.

x Contributing to policy and implementation in the organisation and practice of teacher education

Abbreviations and acronyms

ACE Advanced Certificate in EducationAIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency SyndromeANC African National CongressBEd Bachelor of EducationCEA Centre for Evaluation and AssessmentCBO Community-based OrganisationCEPD Centre for Education Policy DevelopmentCHE Council on Higher EducationCL Children’s LiteratureCOL Commonwealth of LearningCPTD Continuing Professional Teacher DevelopmentCPUT Cape Peninsula University of TechnologyDEMMIS District Education Monitoring and Management Information SystemDoE Department of EducationEC Eastern CapeECD Early Childhood DevelopmentEFA Education For AllEFL English as a First LanguageELRC Education Labour Relations CouncilEMIS Education Management Information System/sESL English as a Second LanguageF FemaleFBO Faith-based OrganisationFET Further Education and TrainingFP Foundation PhaseFP Fundamental PedagogicsFS Free StateGET General Education and TrainingGP Gauteng ProvinceHEMIS Higher Education Management Information SystemHEQC Higher Education Quality CommitteeHIV Human Immunodeficiency VirusHoD Head of DepartmentHSRC Human Sciences Research CouncilICT Information and Communication TechnologyIEA International Association for the Evaluation of Educational AchievementInt. InternationalIPET Initial Professional Education of TeachersIRA International Reading AssociationISP Intermediate and Senior PhaseJPCCC Johannesburg Parent and Child Counselling CentreKZN KwaZulu-NatalLiEP Language in Education PolicyLOC Locus Of ControlLoLT Language of Learning and TeachingLP Limpopo ProvinceLSEN Learners with Special Education NeedsLTSM Learning and Teaching Support Material

Teacher Education Research and Development Programme (TEP) Conference 2008: Proceedings of the TEP Concluding Conference xi

M MaleMEC Member of the Executive CouncilMDG Millennium Development GoalMiETA Media in Education Trust AfricaMIS Management Information System/sMP Mpumalanga ProvinceMTT Mobile Task TeamN Total number in a samplen Number in a sub-sampleNCS National Curriculum StatementNEPI National Education Policy InvestigationNGO Non-governmental OrganisationNMMU Nelson Mandela Metropolitan UniversityNo. NumberNOAH Nurturing Orphans of AIDS for HumanityNPDE National Professional Diploma in EducationNPFTED National Policy Framework for Teacher Education and DevelopmentNQF National Qualifications FrameworkNR Not ReachedNSE Norms and Standards for EducatorsNSFAS National Student Financial Aid SchemeNWU North-West UniversityOBE Outcomes-based EducationOER Open Educational ResourceOVC Orphans and Vulnerable ChildrenPCTA Prevention, Care and Treatment AccessPGCE Postgraduate Certificate in EducationPIRLS Progress in International Reading Literacy StudyR RandREQV Relative Education Qualification ValueRNCS Revised National Curriculum StatementRPL Recognition of Prior LearningRUMEP Rhodes University Maths Education ProjectSACE South African Council for EducatorsSACMEQ Southern and Eastern African Consortium for Monitoring Education QualitySAGOT Student Achievement Gains Over TimeSAIDE South African Institute for Distance EducationSAPS South African Police ServicesSBST School-based Support TeamSCCS Schools as Centres of Care and SupportSE Standard ErrorSES Socio-economic StatusSETA Sector Education and Training AuthoritySGB School Governing BodySMT School Management TeamTLEP Teaching Literacy Education ProjectUK United KingdomUKZN University of KwaZulu-NatalUN United NationsUNAIDS Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDSUNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural OrganizationUNICEF United Nations Children’s FundUNISA University of South AfricaUniven University of VendaUS United StatesUSA United States of AmericaWCED Western Cape Education DepartmentWits University of the Witwatersrand

xii Contributing to policy and implementation in the organisation and practice of teacher education

These proceedings present papers from the concluding conference (2008) of the Teacher Education Research and Development Programme (TEP) – a collaborative research and development programme funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. TEP ran from 2005 to 2009 inclusive.

The overall goal of TEP was to contribute to the knowledge and information base for policy formulation and implementation regarding the organisation and practice of teacher education in South Africa.

In officially opening the 2008 conference, Duncan Hindle, the director general of education, signalled the support of the national Department of Education, a key stakeholder from the outset and one with which the consortium members have developed strong working relationships in the course of TEP, particularly with the recently established Teacher Education Chief Directorate.

Approximately 100 teacher education and development stakeholders – from national and provincial departments of education, education statutory bodies, research units, higher education institutions, schools, teacher unions, NGOs and funders – participated in the 2008 conference.

These proceedings comprise papers by authors from the TEP consortium partners: the Centre for Education Policy Development (CEPD), the Centre for Evaluation and Assessment (CEA) based at the Faculty of Education of the University of Pretoria, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and the South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE). All the research presented in the papers in these proceedings was conducted under the auspices of the TEP consortium partner organisations.

Showcasing the achievements of TEP, the papers in these proceedings present evidence of significant progress on the TEP overall project goal.

It should be noted that two papers appear in these conference proceedings that were delivered at the TEP mid-term conference in May 2007:• Michael Cosser’s Teaching disposition: Factors affecting student enrolment in education and

entry into the profession; and• Glenda Kruss’s Trajectories of restructuring: The changing context for initial teacher education

in South Africa.

This is because the TEP 2007 conference papers were not consolidated into a proceedings publication, as many of the presentations presented work in progress. However, in the case of the above two papers, the work represented completed phases of longer-term research projects.

The next section introduces TEP itself, including sketching the context within which TEP was initiated, and providing information on the programme’s key achievements (2005–09).

About these proceedings

Teacher Education Research and Development Programme (TEP) Conference 2008: Proceedings of the TEP Concluding Conference xiii

Navigating this document

Related to one another in a variety of ways, the papers in these proceedings are grouped under the following three conference themes:• teacher development;• school management and development; and• teacher labour market.

Within these themes, papers are sequenced by TEP consortium partner and then alphabetically by author surname and paper title.

xiv Contributing to policy and implementation in the organisation and practice of teacher education

Introduction to the Teacher Education Research and Development Programme (TEP)

TEP at a glance

Recognising the vital role of the teacher education system to South Africa’s development and the large number of bottlenecks preventing its effective functioning, five organisations formed a consortium in 2005 to implement a Teacher Education Research and Development Programme (TEP) with support from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The consortium initially consisted of the Centre for Education Policy Development (CEPD), the Centre for Evaluation and Assessment (CEA) based at the Faculty of Education of the University of Pretoria, the Education Foundation Trust,1 the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), and the South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE). The consortium of partnering agencies brought considerable expertise and experience in the field of teacher education.

The central problem addressed by the consortium related to the ongoing challenge of the poor quality of teaching and learning in South African schools through sustained investigation of the processes, practices and outcomes of teacher education. TEP thus examined the capacity of the teacher education system to support quality teaching and also looked to the education system as evidenced by learner performance and teacher practices to support an understanding of what is needed in teacher education to improve education in schools.

TEP 2005–09 had as its overall goal to contribute to the knowledge and information base for policy formulation and implementation regarding organisation and practice of teacher education, with a particular emphasis on initial teacher education (both pre-service and upgrading), as well as the professional development of school leaders and managers through a blend of research and development projects.

TEP 2005–09 comprised 20 research and development projects, within the following themes:• Theme 1: Supply and demand of teachers, and attraction into the teaching profession.• Theme 2: Institutional capacity and governance.• Theme 3: Design and delivery of initial teacher education programmes.• Theme 4: Quality improvement in teacher education programmes.• Theme 5: Improving the management of the impact of HIV and AIDS in schools.• Theme 6: Reading literacy in schools and teacher development.

Built into the design of the programme were structured opportunities for consortium members to interact with one another and, most importantly, with the unfolding developments in the Department of Education (DoE), and the Council on Higher Education/Higher Education Quality Committee (CHE/HEQC), amongst others. In all cases the consortium members were committed to complementing research and development work undertaken elsewhere. This meant that in some cases project design shifted as a result of interactions with other key players and stakeholders.

Teacher Education Research and Development Programme (TEP) Conference 2008: Proceedings of the TEP Concluding Conference xv

In brief: Why teacher education?

1. Lack of skills, knowledge and understanding is commonly accepted as a key barrier to South Africa realising its development vision and dramatically improving its service delivery.

2. The basic education system is one of the major bottlenecks, as citizens with low levels of basic education are unable to acquire the skills necessary for South Africa’s social and economic development.

3. Quality basic education is one of the services most valued by the poor.4. Quality teachers and, by implication, a well-functioning teacher education system are

prerequisites for any quality basic education system.5. A well-functioning teacher education system in turn requires:

• appropriate policy;• meticulous planning; • high quality fit-for-purpose teacher education programmes; and • ongoing reflection on and adjustment to the system.

Such a system involves the extensive collaborative effort of government and civil society: the national and provincial departments of education as the policy-makers and planners; the higher education institutions and NGOs providing and supporting teacher education programmes; researchers from higher education institutions, parastatals and NGOs carrying out the reflection; the South African Council for Educators (SACE) overseeing the new continuing professional teacher development system, and the CHE taking responsibility for quality assurance.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) argues: ‘Of all aspects of education besides school infrastructure, and despite repeated interventions, the major area in which Apartheid education remains inadequately reconstructed is the teaching force’ (OECD 2008: 82). And according to the DoE, ‘Human resources are the most important instrument in ensuring the provision of quality education (2008: 30).

The context of TEP 2005

The programme was initiated at a critical juncture in the development of teacher education in post-apartheid South Africa. Ten years after the birth of democracy, despite the huge strides made in dismantling centuries of colonialism and apartheid in the education system, much remained to be done. In particular, teacher education had not yet received the concerted attention that it warranted.

The newly-elected democratic government of South Africa inherited a highly fragmented and unresponsive education system. Through a sequence of commissions, white papers and legislation, it laid the basis for transcending this legacy and for transforming the higher education sector to better serve the needs of the country.

The National Teacher Education Audit (1995) found 281 institutions offering in-service and pre-service teacher education to some 481 000 students. These institutions comprised universities, technikons, colleges of education, private colleges and NGOs. The audit also concluded that the quality of teacher education was generally poor, inefficient, and cost-ineffective (Hofmeyr & Hall 1996).

In line with international trends, colleges of education were incorporated into existing universities and what were then still technikons, as faculties or schools, and from 120 colleges with some 80 000 teacher-students in 1994, colleges were first rationalised to 50 institutions, and then incorporated into higher education institutions in 2001.

xvi Contributing to policy and implementation in the organisation and practice of teacher education

From 2004 the rationalisation of teacher education provision was overshadowed by yet another significant development – the mergers in the higher education sector, reducing the number of institutions offering teacher education even further – to 20 institutions in 2005. All of these changes took their toll.

In 2003, Lewin et al., as part of their international study of teacher education, made the point that the capacity for change of the teacher education sector in South Africa may have been ‘tested beyond reasonable limits’ (2003: 363) – institutions have been expected to respond to major policy changes while simultaneously going through extremely taxing processes of institutional mergers.

Policy on curricula for teacher education did not remain static in this period either. With the revision of the Norms and Standards for Educators in 1997/98, a process that was finalised by the DoE in 2000 with regulation in a government gazette, teacher education programmes were required to shift from a content to a competence approach. In terms of this policy, teacher education curricula had to ensure that theory and practice were integrated, and that teachers were able to demonstrate not only foundational competence (knowledge of the subject/Learning Area and ways of teaching it) and practical teaching competence, but also reflexive competence.

In addition, the qualifications framework changed, and the main qualification for the initial training of teachers now became an integrated 480-credit degree, the Bachelor of Education (BEd). Parallel to this qualification, but at a lower level and catering for older under-qualified teachers, was the National Professional Diploma in Education (NPDE). While on the one hand the curricula for teacher education were revised for outcomes-based education, on the other much remained unspecified – and this created difficulties both for sharing of scarce resources (such as materials) and for quality assurance.

The DoE not only regulated new teacher education qualifications, but also encouraged their delivery through providing incentives such as bursaries or contracts through tenders for targeted needs. The best example of this was the major national upgrading programme, the NPDE – a joint project of the Education Labour Relations Council, SACE and the DoE – in operation since 2002, and entering a new phase in 2005/06 at the time of the initiation of TEP.

However, although there was a financial incentive to offer certain kinds of programmes, at the same time the newly-declared funding formula did not favour either initial or in-service teacher education, placing it in the lowest funding category – below commerce (Ministry of Education 2004). This had the effect of making certain teacher education providers limit or entirely cease professional teacher education, and concentrate on honours, master’s and doctoral students in education. It was also not encouraging for teacher-educators who wished to do professional teacher education thoroughly (and by implication, at some expense), with school-based teaching experience and on-site assessment of practical teaching competence.

At the same time, there were various attempts to tighten the quality assurance of programme delivery, but these efforts did not necessarily demonstrate results. Although individual programmes responded to the challenges of the new curriculum with innovation and commitment, the quality of much teacher education (particularly large scale) remained problematic. Part of the problem was the low subsidy for professional teacher education programmes. Another part of the problem though was the dispersal of quality assurance functions amongst a variety of bodies in what was at the time an unstable quality assurance environment. However, at the time of the initiation of TEP there were signs of this environment becoming more focused – most notably in the intention of the HEQC to conduct its national quality review of professional and academic education programmes.

Teacher Education Research and Development Programme (TEP) Conference 2008: Proceedings of the TEP Concluding Conference xvii

All this change was happening in a social environment increasingly affected by the HIV and AIDS pandemic. The Nelson Mandela Foundation/HSRC 2002 Household Survey2 reported HIV prevalence in the South African population as 11.4% and as high as 15.2% in persons of the 15- to 19-year age group. A news report in 2004 stated that 12% of the country’s teachers were infected with HIV.3 The report indicated that the orphan rate for children 2 to 18 years of age was 3.3%, and that 3.0% of children 12 to 18 years of age reported that they were the head of the household.

Schools, particularly in rural or poorer communities, were dealing with the impact of the pandemic with varying success – staff illness and loss, trauma amongst learners, and loss of morale as a result of the economic and emotional demands of the pandemic. The problems created by HIV and AIDS were profoundly challenging traditional ways of leading and managing schools.

In the decade from the advent of democracy to the time of the initiation of TEP in 2005, faculties and schools of education had experienced significant declines in enrolments, which raised serious concerns about an impending shortfall in teacher supply. In terms of projections at the time, Crouch and Perry (2003) suggested: ‘Forecasts of educator demand and supply suggest a looming imbalance’ (2003: 477). They suggested that between 11 000 and 19 000 teachers should be graduating in 2006, in order to meet the needs of the system at the time. Rough estimates by the Ministerial Committee on Teacher Education (2004) indicated that the 26 institutions would produce between 6 000 and 9 000 graduates in 2004.

However, it is important to understand this shortage correctly. It was not a shortage in absolute terms, assuming that the shortage was evenly spread across phases and Learning Areas. The rough figures from the Ministerial Committee (2004) suggested that although the integrated 480-credit BEd was intended for the training of teachers for all phases, there were remarkably few Foundation and Intermediate Phase teachers in training. The majority of current programmes were directed towards Senior and Further Education and Training phase teachers. Similarly a number of the provinces reported shortages of teachers in particular subjects.4 Finally, there was a particular problem with the supply of teachers in rural areas. Of the nine provincial departments of education visited by the Ministerial Committee between 30 July and 14 August 2003, seven cited supply of teachers as a problem in rural areas.

Needs informing TEP 2005–09

• To understand the above situation fully, there was a need for much more accurate information – on employed teachers, and unemployed qualified teachers; on posts and learner : teacher ratios in the provinces; on teacher attrition rates and the reasons for attrition; on numbers of teachers-in-training and specialisations they were taking; and on the impact of HIV and AIDS. There was also a need to understand more precisely the reasons for the lack of interest in teaching as a profession, and what kinds of affordable incentives there might be to attract new entrants to the profession.

• There was a need to understand the impact of the mergers and of government steering of higher education on the ways in which teacher education curricula were being developed and offered, and on teacher-educator capacity.

• There was a need to investigate the nature of the programmes on offer and the impact on the accessibility of how they were constructed and delivered.

• There was a need to investigate the impact of the quality of teacher provision on the schooling sector directly and to build up a profile of teachers, their experience, expertise, attitudes towards education and distribution between the urban and rural areas.

• There was a dire need to improve the quality of teacher education programmes.• And there was a need to understand better how to lead and manage schools in a time of

enormous change, not only in policy and curricula but also as a result of HIV and AIDS.

xviii Contributing to policy and implementation in the organisation and practice of teacher education

Given the turbulence to which teacher education had been exposed and the resulting state in which it found itself, it was important to mount a focused research and development programme, the outcomes of which would inform policy formulation and implementation and contribute towards bringing much-needed coherence to the teacher education system. TEP 2005–09 was predicated on the assumption that it would be helpful to undertake this work as a consortium of organisations with different skills and backgrounds – so that the results of quantitative research might speak to the results of qualitative research and vice versa; so that capacity building could be informed by research; and so that the networks of a variety of organisations could be involved in the dissemination of research findings and insights from developmental processes for the influence of policy and practice.

TEP was among a number of efforts initiated at this time to focus on teacher education. In particular, two key national initiatives were undertaken: the first was the development of a teacher education and development policy framework by the national DoE (which would culminate in the gazetting of a policy document in 2007); and the second was the review of teacher education programmes initiated in October 2004 by the CHE.

TEP 2005–09: Achievements in addressing key bottlenecks

The TEP research consortium aimed to make a significant contribution to the resolution of some key obstacles to the effective functioning of the teacher education system. The following obstacles were identified in consultations with various officials from the DoE and the CHE:• No teacher education policy framework.• Inadequate supply and demand information for planning teacher education.• No coherent strategy to upgrade under-qualified teachers effectively.• No comprehensive data on the levels of literacy in primary schools across all 11 official

languages, nor an explanation of the anticipated poor levels.• Ineffectiveness in the training of teachers to teach reading and numeracy.• Shortage of quality materials to be used by teacher-educators in key areas.• Paucity of evidence-based research to inform policy and practice on teacher education in

South Africa.

Key achievements of TEP 2005–09

• Important contributions to the DoE’s national policy framework for teacher education and development of 2007: information on likely teacher supply based on learner aspirations to study education and on student enrolments in education; recommendations for teacher recruitment.

• Differentiated analysis of trends in supply and demand data for teachers – data necessary for planning the teacher education system.

• The foundation laid for a systematic national teacher upgrading plan, including piloting a process to obtain useful data on teacher qualifications.

• Extensive and differentiated evidence on levels of literacy in Grades 4 and 5 in South African schools across all official languages.

• A deeper understanding of the reasons for the poor reading levels and how teacher education programmes might respond among several higher education institutions, provincial education departments and NGOs.

Teacher Education Research and Development Programme (TEP) Conference 2008: Proceedings of the TEP Concluding Conference xix

• An innovative materials development model successfully piloted among a number of higher education institutions in the gateway subject of mathematics.

• In relation to the management of HIV/AIDS in schools, development and testing of a planning system with a set of tools for identifying, monitoring and supporting Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC), to help overcome the lack of data on OVC in the education system; supplemented by a care and support management guide and toolkit for school principals and management teams, rooted in evidence-based research.

• A model and resources for the development of research in education at a higher education institution.

The papers contained in these proceedings describe some of the research and development work conducted by the TEP consortium 2005–09.

Endnotes1. The Education Foundation Trust was subsequently disbanded, and uncompleted projects were taken

over by the consortium.2. Study of HIV/AIDS: South African National HIV Prevalence, Behavioural Risks and Mass Media

Household Survey.3. Govender P, National Household HIV/AIDs Prevalence and Risk Survey of South African Children,

Women’s E News, 2004.4. Visit of the Ministerial Committee on Teacher Education to the provincial departments of education, 30

July to 14 August 2003.

ReferencesCrouch L & Perry H (2003) Educators. In Human Sciences Research Council (Eds) Human resources

development review 2003: Education, employment and skills in South Africa. Cape Town: HSRC PressDepartment of Education (DoE) (2000) Norms and standards for educators. Government Gazette Vol. 415,

No. 20844, 4 February. Pretoria: DoEDoE (2008) Department of Education strategic plan 2008–2012 and operational plans 2008–2009. Pretoria:

DoEHofmeyr J & Hall G (1996) The national teacher education audit: Synthesis report. Johannesburg.

Unpublished report made available to SAIDELewin K, Samuel M & Sayed Y (Eds) (2003) Changing patterns of teacher education in South Africa. Policy,

practice and prospects. Sandown: HeinemannMinisterial Committee on Teacher Education (2004) Report presented at the Follow-up Colloquium:

Professional teacher education in South Africa: With a particular focus on the role of faculties of education in public HEIs, Centurion (11–12 March)

Ministry of Education (2004) A new funding framework: How government grants are allocated to public higher education institutions. Pretoria: Ministry of Education

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2008) Review of national policies for education, South Africa: Country background report. Paris: OECD

xx Contributing to policy and implementation in the organisation and practice of teacher education

Centre for Education Policy Development (CEPD)

Education policy for a democratic South Africa!

The Centre for Education Policy Development (CEPD) is a professionally autonomous centre established in 1993 during the dying days of apartheid, on the initiative of the mass democratic movement in order to develop education and training policies for a democratic South Africa.

These policies were aimed at promoting the principles of non-racism, equity, democracy, quality education and lifelong learning. These efforts culminated in the ANC’s Policy Framework for Education and Training published in its first edition in early 1994, just months before the first democratic elections. Produced by the CEPD under its first director, Dr Trevor Coombe, this important document drew on the work of over 300 researchers, academics and practitioners, and fed largely into the new government’s first White Paper on Education and Training (1995).

Many of the new South Africa’s education and training policies are based on this framework. Now, 15+ years later, the CEPD continues to serve the same goals, albeit in a way that is more in keeping with the changed circumstances in the country and in the CEPD itself. It remains one of the leading NGOs in South Africa, working in partnership not only with government, but also with a wide range of other NGOs and private sector consultancies.

In particular, it maintains a close strategic relationship with the five Education Policy Units at the universities of KwaZulu-Natal, Fort Hare, the Western Cape and the Witwatersrand, through what is called the Education Policy Consortium.

Centre for Evaluation and Assessment (CEA), University of Pretoria

The Centre for Evaluation and Assessment (CEA) is a research unit within the Faculty of Education of the University of Pretoria, and is supported by the Department of Curriculum Studies. The focus of the centre is on system-level evaluation and assessment, school-level evaluation, instrument development and classroom assessment, test construction, and evaluation. Staff and students from within the Faculty of Education and other faculties within the university with an interest in evaluation and assessment are encouraged to participate in the activities of the CEA. The centre seeks to form partnerships with external agencies, with government ministries

About TEP consortium partners

Teacher Education Research and Development Programme (TEP) Conference 2008: Proceedings of the TEP Concluding Conference xxi

and related organisations, with NGOs, and with other higher education institutions. The nature of these partnerships varies from internships for master’s students, jointly-run seminars, and serving on committees to collaborative research projects and training. The CEA also seeks to collaborate with centres of excellence and prominent institutions nationally and in other parts of the world.


Social science that makes a difference!

The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) of South Africa is a statutory body, established in 1968. It supports development nationally, in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and in Africa. It primarily conducts large-scale, policy-relevant, social-scientific projects for public sector users, NGOs and international development agencies, in partnership with researchers globally, but specifically in Africa.

The HSRC aligns its research activities and structures to South Africa’s national development priorities, notably: poverty reduction through economic development, skills enhancement, job creation, the elimination of discrimination and inequalities, and effective service delivery. The HSRC also seeks to contribute to the research and development strategy of the HSRC’s parent Department of Science and Technology, especially through its mission to focus on the contribution of science and technology in addressing poverty.

As of August 2005, the HSRC entered the next phase of strategic realignment to support its role as ‘knowledge hub’, intended to help bridge the gap between research, policy and action; thus increasing the impact of research.

Education, Science and Skills Development (ESSD)Research that skills the nation!The HSRC’s Education, Science and Skills Development (ESSD) programme conducts research in the areas of education, skills development and innovation systems. Education and skills development promote individual, social and economic development. They are key to growth and the exercise of citizenship. Science is central to the knowledge society and to a functioning innovation system. The education focus of the ESSD includes research on primary, secondary and higher education, with a focus on access, quality, relevance and equity in education.

xxii Contributing to policy and implementation in the organisation and practice of teacher education


Building capacity!Creating and sharing information!Mobilizing large scale learning programmes!

The South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE) was formed as an educational trust in July 1992. Its mission is to increase equitable and meaningful access to knowledge, skills and learning through the adoption of open learning principles and quality distance education methods. SAIDE works with policy-makers and providers of educational programmes to translate these approaches into practice.

Its founders were a group of prominent educationists who anticipated the role distance education methods could play in reconstructing South Africa’s education system: in redressing the inequalities of the past; in vastly increasing access; and in developing a future education system where education is no longer seen as a one-off preparation for life but rather as a lifelong process to meet ever-changing demands. Much of SAIDE’s work has been in teacher education, where it has contributed to the Teacher Education Audit of 1995, the development of norms and standards, overall teacher upgrading strategies, and the improvement of a range of teacher development programmes at different institutions. It has particular expertise in materials development and has coordinated a range of initiatives in this regard. SAIDE has been particularly active in the development of open educational resources.

While most of its work is focused in South Africa, SAIDE is increasingly called upon to support initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa.

Teacher Education Research and Development Programme (TEP) Conference 2008: Proceedings of the TEP Concluding Conference 1

Keywords

numeracy and literacyteacher educationlearner attainmenteducation policySouth African education

Thank you very much for inviting me to speak to you this morning.

Making an argument

You will have the opportunity in the course of this conference to be reflecting in some detail on the desperate state of numeracy and literacy in our country. I would like to use this occasion to be posing a set of particular questions about the implications of this situation for teacher education. The broad argument that I will make is that the position in which we find ourselves is now so dire that we are called upon to be thinking in radically new terms about our teacher education practice and especially the ways in which we have come to use theories of learning. We are having to ask whether what we know about teacher education and how we are preparing our teachers-to-be is satisfactory. Are our faculties and schools of education equal to the challenge? Do they have the kinds of people in them who understand the complexity of the task ahead of them?

I would like to suggest that, in general terms, they do not; and that in the multilingual and multicultural environment that is South Africa we currently do not have the understandings or the methodologies to make of teacher education a rich and engaging experience.

I start by making the point that while we, of course, need to be using everything that is available to us in the broad and internationalised field of education and teacher education, we also need to be developing our own teacher education curricula and pedagogies that are grounded in the complexity of our society. The kind of teacher education platform off which we are working currently and have been working for the last 150 years has been – on most occasions, not always – derivative and imitative.

The first formal teacher training college, which was established at Genadendal in 1838/39, presented itself as an interesting experiment. This college had its roots in the establishment of a mission station by the Moravian Missionary Society in 1737 at Baviaanskloof (Kallaway 1984: 48). In 1837 an institution was established at Genadendal for training Khoikhoi assistants to help with the teaching of the children in the mission schools of the Society. The institution, fascinatingly, was open to the local culture of the Khoikhoi and, while reading and writing was

Keynote addressThe implications of the crisis in numeracy and literacy in South Africa for teacher education

Crain SoudienFaculty of Education, University of Cape Town

2 Contributing to policy and implementation in the organisation and practice of teacher education

at the core of what it did, and while it functioned in English, it formally examined through a largely oral process – where the teacher-trainees were required to explain how they would solve various problems. The models that came into being after this, and ever since, however, have been profoundly indifferent to, even dismissive of, the context of the local people. The kind of preparation that emerged in the early teacher training institutions in the Cape Colony in the first half of the 19th century was essentially based on models that had evolved in England. The public school system for white children was largely staffed by imported teachers who used the older pupils, known as monitors, to help with the younger ones. This monitoral system for training was soon supplanted by the pupil-teacher system, which was an improvement. The pupil-teachers, who were required to have attained a ‘satisfactory standard’ in the three Rs, spent five (later three) years assisting in the infant classes. Each afternoon the teacher gave them an hour’s instruction in English, Dutch, reading, writing, arithmetic and school management. This approach was, of course, followed by the model that exists to this day, where teachers were trained in either a college or a university. Significant about this model is that it evolved on a largely intuitive basis structured around the emergence of the industrial nations, such as the UK and the USA.

The child that was in the forefront of these teacher education programmes was essentially the British working-class child of working-class parents. The problems of this child were largely believed to be the problems of the home. The school and the teachers inside of them had to be, essentially, agents of rescue. The fundamental purpose of these schools was ‘civilisational’ – they were places where the children were to be taught to protect themselves from their base and effectively evil dispositions. The teacher then was supposed to be a model of rectitude and morality. The attitude that was taken to the preparation of teachers was that teachers did not need high-level skills; all they needed was to be of good character. This model, primarily constructed out of the problems of Europe, came to inform what we did in teacher preparation programmes here in South Africa and, actually, virtually everywhere else in the world. And so it was that right up until the 1940s and 1950s for white people and up until the 1980s for black people one did not need a matric to qualify as a teacher, especially in the case of women teachers. This is not to say that there were no serious elements in the teacher curriculum. There certainly were, but they remained focused on a particular kind of moral and social development. Teachers would have had some introduction to classical Greek philosophy and even some debates about childhood that would have taken place during the Enlightenment. They would have been taught about Plato’s cave metaphor, Rousseau’s natural child and the theories of Pestalozzi about how children ought to be brought up. Later they would have been introduced to the valuable ideas of Dewey about the relationship of learning to the workplace.

The turn to cognition

It was only in the late 1940s that the process of teacher education began to engage properly with questions of cognition, about how children learn and not just what they should learn. This new turn was stimulated by the work of Piaget, who sought to ‘trace in detail the origins of the structures of knowing to the sensorimotor coordination of infants’ (Elkind 1980: viii). Piaget began this tracing by considering the so-called banal behaviour of his own children, and used these observations to develop a set of theoretical propositions that are now at the heart of education. These observations came to provide us with our early and most critical formulations about cognition. It was from this point onwards that those who were paying attention came to realise how strong the claim of education as a field of study was. There are still people who fail to understand this. Understanding the process of cognition was and remains at the heart of the teaching and learning process. It is at its base, therefore, a theoretical enterprise. Of course, and I will say more about that later, it does not remain at the level of the theoretical. It has to be in conversation and in a dialectical relationship with practice. I emphasise this point only to counterpoise it to that which prioritises practice. But there are some implications in introducing Piaget at this point.


The work of Piaget and since then the Russsian psychologist Vygotsky are deeply important for us in teacher education. But the way this work has been appropriated has been at great cost. The work has been taken up in a reductive and essentialised way. What does this mean? It is saying that Piaget in particular has been used in an almost biblical and uncritical way. When he outlined, for example, the motorsensory stages of development of children, such as the passage of children from intuition to logic, this was used in teaching cognition in educational psychology in rigid ways, and came to prescribe rigidly what the child should be exposed to at particular age levels. The illusion was created that in this we had cracked the code of teaching and learning; in this formulation of Piaget we had, so to speak, discovered the secret of cognition – a kind of genomic map of learning. Of course, we need to remind ourselves, the broad lessons that Piaget was attempting to put across are indisputably valuable. But Piaget himself never intended his insights to be used in these inflexible kinds of ways. He himself did not believe that a single set of propositions for sense-making existed, and he was involved, just to illustrate the point, in trying to understand how the social environment produced by deafness came to influence the way in which the deaf child came to the cognitive task of classification of objects (see Elkind 1980: 94). He was interested in the symbolic world of deaf children, the artefacts that gave meaning to their existence and how these were recruited into the process of classification. To use Piaget, therefore, in a literal way is to remove the wonder from cognition and to make it a mechanical process. As Elkind (1980), an important commentator on Piaget, remarks,

[w]hat is clear is that an informed reading of Piaget requires an acquaintance with biology, physics, logic and philosophy as a bare minimum. In an age of increasing specialization, Piaget requires his readers to leap established scientific boundaries and to look at the child’s behaviour from many different points of view. (Elkind 1980: ix)

This is significant in all kinds of ways. Of equal, if not greater, significance is another insight that Elkind has into Piaget. He describes Piaget as a genetic epistemologist and attempts to explain how this is a new discipline, which has a ‘history and a future’. Without going into a discussion of genetic epistemology, it is enough to say here that the central implication of this is that Piaget’s writings can be evaluated only within a relative historical context and never from an absolute and once-and-for-all point of view. What we have done instead is develop approaches to learning – what we have called constructivism – that have inadequately worked through and contextualised the main theoretical propositions of the theory supposedly underlining the teacher education process.

The significance of this point is great and brings me back to the point I made earlier about the derivative nature of our teacher education approaches. In adopting and indigenising Piaget and Vygotsky and indeed any other theorist from outside of our context, for that matter, we effectively displace the historical context in which we find ourselves. Piaget’s context, in which he made his observations, becomes our context. The deep reality of the local, which needs to be at the centre of a Piagetian or a Vygotskian analysis of cognition and teaching and learning, is effectively rubbed out and, to all intents and purposes, ceases to exist.

The South African puzzle

What this produces then is a puzzle in teacher education, with which we have not seriously begun to engage. And this is the provocation I spoke of at the beginning of this talk. In using Piaget in ways that he himself did not intend, in making Piaget’s context our own context, we have ended up, at best, with an approach to cognition that we have not sufficiently problematised so that we might understand cognition, as Piaget did, as a complex psycho-social process. In taking Piaget just as he presents himself to us, we read him only for the undoubted psychological value he presents and we ignore his method, which fundamentally began in the social. He made the observation, and this is the cue for where our own work might go in this country, that social


role-taking is a critical mediating factor of cognitive development. This is our puzzle in teacher education. How do we take the social and the way in which the social operates and locate it within and in relation to cognition?

I hope that the point I am making is clear. I am suggesting that we have not developed the kind of insights into cognition and cognitive processes in this country that recognises the complexity of what Piaget is really drawing our attention to. In the process, I am suggesting, we have largely misrecognised the South African child. We have come to identify the South African child, at the risk of simplicity, as the child of Piaget’s world. Piaget’s child lives in a world that is symbolically in alignment with that of the school. To emphasise the point, we have come to assume that every South African child comes to cognition or into the learning process like Piaget’s child. Now that may be the case for some of our children, but it is by no means the case for the majority. In making this argument, I am not for a moment wanting to suggest that there is an authentic or essential South African child whom we might use as an exemplar of what the South African child is all about. I am not, to emphasise the point, invoking blackness or race as an essential feature of the learning make-up of the South African child. Those attributes, whatever they are supposed to mean, have no place in a proper discussion about learning. There is nothing in the black child’s head that is biologically different from what is in a white child’s head. What I am suggesting is that there are particular historical experiences of being a child in South Africa – and the experience of racism might indeed feature in that – of which any theory of teaching and learning, any theory of cognition, needs to be profoundly aware. To amplify the point to show how little it is about race, I would suggest to you that the socio-historical conditions for cognition that African children of the 1940s would have encountered are considerably different from those of the present era.

The argument I am making is that we need constantly to be evolving and developing our understandings of how learning and cognition happen. I am not talking of discarding, as in the use of fashion, understandings from one era as if they have no relevance for another. We always start, of course, from what we know. We need Piaget as we do Vygotsky, but we do not stay there. And this is one of our major problems. In our derivative practice of preparing teachers for the classroom, we effectively stay within the limiting frameworks of one or other theory of how the world operates. That theory then comes to provide the markers and definitions of the reality or the world in which we find ourselves. We then lose the opportunity of having a proper theoretical engagement and developing modes of practice that can actually engage with our situation. And it is especially so in how we teach reading.

Towards a new space

In thinking how we might move forward, towards developing a set of theoretical propositions that we might be able to build into new approaches to teacher education, I would like to put in front of you a set of pictures around numeracy and literacy in South Africa, which might help us in coming to terms with our situation.

The first thing with which a new line of inquiry would need to come to terms is that our context here in South Africa is quite distinct. It would acknowledge that elements of our experience might be similar to that of a country like the US, but that in its specificity we are distinctly different. This difference is, of course, at base a sociological one. Looking at a table of learner performance in the southern African region there are really important features of the distinctness of South Africa that begin to suggest themselves and that we ignore at our peril.

Table 1.1 presents a comparison of the South African situation to that of other countries in the region. The table comes from Van der Berg and Louw’s (2006) distillation of data from the SACMEQ1 ll study of 2000.


Table 1.1: SACMEQ II scores for Grade 6 mathematics, by poverty quintile (2000)

Quintile 1 Quintile 2 Quintile 3 Quintile 4 Quintile 5 Mean

Botswana 491 499 510 508 557 513

Kenya 540 545 555 565 611 563

Lesotho 443 448 448 445 452 447

Malawi 422 427 435 433 447 433

Mauritius 519 564 587 620 640 584

Mozambique 526 525 531 530 538 530

Namibia 403 402 411 425 513 431

Seychelles 520 541 555 576 579 544

South Africa 442 445 454 491 597 486

Swaziland 506 511 511 513 541 517

Tanzania 484 511 529 528 560 522

Uganda 484 497 498 509 543 506

Zambia 414 425 436 434 466 435

Zanzibar 478 472 478 479 484 478

Mean 468 480 485 492 560 468

Source: Van der Berg & Louw (2006)

What do we make of this table? We can read it in a way that tells us that South African learners are performing woefully poorly. They are being outperformed by eight of the countries in the region, all of which are considerably poorer in economic terms than South Africa. Notable, for example, is Swaziland, which is, on the whole, doing significantly better than South Africa.

But if we look closely at Table 1.1: aside from Namibia, which probably, with no disrespect to its understanding of its independence, is still very much in the penumbra of its apartheid legacy, none of the countries has the attainment profile of South Africa. The significant observation to make about South Africa is that there is a distinct difference between all the learners who fall in quintiles 1 to 4 and those in quintile 5. Quintile 4 learners who score a mean mark of 497 are closer in performance to quintile 1 learners at 442 than they are to quintile 5 learners scoring at 597. This 597, for the record, places these learners in the third highest spot in the region.

If we then add the following table to this representation, a particular picture emerges. Table 1.2 takes the poverty levels of learners further than simple quintiles and places them in five per centile (5%) levels.


Table 1.2: Numeracy mean scores (%), by poverty quintile

Poverty (P) quintile

Learners Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7

P05 3 690 80.1 79.1 71.0 62.7 59.0

P10 3 526 74.9 73.1 63.8 55.5 52.8

P15 3 592 71.1 68.9 59.1 50.2 47.4

P20 3 697 61.8 60.5 49.7 42.1 38.3

P25 3 605 54.1 53.5 42.0 33.3 30.5

P30 3 498 47.7 48.0 36.1 28.2 24.6

P35 3 661 44.8 44.7 33.3 26.2 22.4

P40 3 525 41.6 41.6 31.3 24.6 18.6

P45 3 584 39.6 39.5 29.1 23.0 18.0

P50 3 689 41.4 40.6 30.5 24.6 18.8

P55 3 468 35.0 35.8 26.6 20.6 15.4

P60 3 580 38.3 38.2 28.5 22.1 16.8

P65 3 602 32.9 34.1 25.0 19.2 15.0

P70 3 630 32.0 33.9 24.4 19.0 14.0

P75 3 565 28.4 31.0 22.4 18.1 13.1

P80 3 710 27.3 30.0 21.8 17.1 11.9

P85 3 525 24.5 28.2 20.4 15.9 10.7

P90 3 524 28.9 31.5 22.9 18.4 13.8

P95 3 610 28.2 30.3 22.3 17.7 12.0

100% 3 573 29.2 31.4 22.9 18.9 13.1

Province 71 854 43.1 43.7 34.2 27.9 23.4

Source: Western Cape Education Department (WCED) (2008)

What Table 1.2 is doing is decomposing the picture provided in Table 1.1. While Table 1.1 describes the performance of learners by school income classification, Table 1.2 looks at actual income placements. The critical observation to make about Table 1.2 is that only those learners who are in the 15th percentile and above can produce a passing mark – of just over 50.0% – in numeracy at the Grade 6 level. The next percentile up, the 10th percentile, can produce a mark of only 55.5% and it is only really the highest percentile grouping, in the 5th percentile, that is able to produce a clear pass of 62.7%.

I would like to argue that our teacher education programmes need to proceed from working from and engaging with sources of data such as this. Our constructivist approaches fail to engage with such data’s possible meanings. We cannot, of course, without additional work begin to understand the complexity of the table; but in looking at it critically, two features are suggestive.

The first feature to consider is the large divide between the top 15 percentile groupings and all the rest. We see in the table how quickly performance at the Grade 6 level falls off after the 20th percentile level. There is to be surmised in this a distinct socio-economic factor. One’s attainment in the Western Cape at least, or better, one’s chances of succeeding at school, depend utterly on being located securely in the very top income groupings. The further suggestion to be made in relation to this is that the current curriculum and its entailed pedagogies, its learning and teaching strategies, work for this small layer of learners; they are congruent with the learning realities of these learners – but, to push this argument further, they appear not to be engaging, or worse, out of alignment, with the rest. Clearly, this speaks to the continued necessity of the


state supporting financially and in other ways groups such as these. But the question that arises is why being so close to the top, in income levels, is by itself an insufficient condition for succeeding. It is hard for this relatively high-income learner in South Africa to convert his or her class position into actual attainment. What is this all about?

The second point to make is that the narrowness of the range between those who are just a hair’s breadth away from the very top income levels, at the 20th percentile level, and the rest of the income levels is not unlike the performance profiles in the quintiles of the other countries in the SACMEQ study. The narrowness of the range in those countries suggests that class is not as critical a factor in those contexts as it might be elsewhere, such as in the economically developed world. Class is present, but there are other things going on. In presenting a picture in South Africa that is not dissimilar to that which we find in other African countries, there possibly are commonalities between the South African experience and those of other African countries that we need to be exploring. We do, of course have hunches about these situations, but their inner meanings elude us. Pertinent too is that this reality is entering the very bastions of privilege in the country. A startling outcome of the 2007 Western Cape Systemic Tests for Grade 6 was that the pass rates in former Model C schools at the Grade 6 level fell in both numeracy and literacy between the 2005 and 2007 tests by five per cent (WCED 2008). Of course, and I don’t wish to minimise this, many schools, especially former Model C schools, have middle-class realities that are little different from those of their counterparts elsewhere in the world. A Grove Primary School classroom in Cape Town, for example, looks very much like the classroom my elder daughter would have been in at a very middle-class school in Buffalo, New York. But even this Grove classroom is not immune to, is increasingly having to deal with, the reality of our country. The reality of the country is entering the space of the exclusive.

It is here that I would like to suggest that our engagement with cognition needs to become considerably more sophisticated. What is it about these African contexts, including our own, that produces these attainment profiles?

We do not know. We do not, more to the point, have a body of empirical work and theoretical engagement that is able to speak to this situation in ways that open up a real conversation. We are having to say, as some Americans are admitting, that after almost 50 years of serious research into teaching and learning, we cannot say, without qualification, what works and what does not.

This has serious implications for what we do in our teacher preparation programmes. As things stand, like the Americans, we have to confront the reality that there is ‘virtually no systematic, methodologically sound research that indicates the attributes of teacher preparation programs and pathways into teaching that improve student outcomes’ (Boyd et al. n.d.)2

Where does this leave us? It demands, in the first instance, that faculties of education, with or without the support of the state, confront the full significance of the new data we have at our disposal. These new data are opening up new lines of inquiry and highlighting what possibly may have been there, unrecognised, for the last 200 years of teacher education: that we have to develop strategies for teacher preparation that are grounded in a deep understanding of the context in which we find ourselves. This means developing research capacities we do not have, especially in the field of cognition and its relationship to numeracy and literacy. Cognition, or learning, alongside of deep subject knowledge that teachers require for their disciplines, must move to the centre of teacher preparation. Cognition, however, must not be sequestrated inside a narrow psychological frame. It must be understood and interrogated within the full complexity of its psycho-social reality. A teacher emerging from our faculties and schools of education must be, minimally, aware that in cognition or learning is the heart of his/her vocation.

So, we do not know right now, as our American colleagues are telling us, what attributes a teacher who will stimulate good learning outcomes must have; but we should, at least, be readying our


teachers for the moment that they will step into the classroom, so that they can consciously and deliberately begin the great experiment, with our help in the universities, of trying out new things and exploring, on the basis of the theory that we do have, new ways of helping our children. It is in documenting and analysing then translating these learnings into practice that we might be able to say, with a little more credibility, that our training is talking to the situation of the majority of children in our country.

Endnotes1. Southern and Eastern African Consortium for Monitoring Education Quality2. Accessed September 2008, www.teacherpolicyresearch.org

ReferencesElkind D (Ed.) (1980) Jean Piaget: Six psychological studies. Brighton: Harvester PressKallaway P (1984) Apartheid and education: The education of black South Africans. Johannesburg: Ravan

PressVan der Berg S & Louw M (2006) Unravelling the mystery: Understanding South African schooling

outcomes in regional context. Paper presented at the conference of the Centre for the Study of African Economies, Oxford University (21 March)

Western Cape Education Department (WCED) (2008) Grade 6 learner attainment report, 2008. Cape Town: WCED

THEME: TEACHER DEVELOPMENT


Reading beyond the lines: Developing South African Foundation Phase learners’ higher-order readingliteracy skillsCaroline Long and Lisa ZimmermanCentre for Evaluation and Assessment, University of Pretoria

Education in South African primary schools is in crisis (Fleisch 2007). The most important factor for education policy is the curriculum design and, for the teachers, the implementation of this curriculum in the phase and the Learning Area of concern. Both the questionnaire data, and South African learners’ overall achievement in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2006 with regard to the reading curriculum, cement concerns about the implementation of the reading literacy curriculum in the Foundation Phase. The grade-by-grade strategy for the development of reading comprehension reported by schools indicates that higher-level reading skills, identified by current research as central to the learning of reading, are being introduced at a very slow pace. When compared with international data, South Africa lags behind in introducing these higher-order skills such as comparing text with personal experience, comparing different texts, and making predictions about what will happen next at this phase level. The fact that the introduction of such higher-order reading skill development is stipulated in the Department of Education’s Revised National Curriculum Statement (2002) at this phase level indicates that the problem lies with the implementation of the curriculum – a finding that has consequences for both policy development and teacher development initiatives.

Keywords

primary school reading instructionreading skills and strategies reading achievement levels curriculum implementation Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2006

Introduction

The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) is an international study of reading literacy conducted every five years; for the PIRLS 2006 40 countries including South Africa participated. More than 30 000 Grade 4 and 5 learners were assessed using instruments translated into 11 official languages to cater for South African language populations. The South African Grade 4 and 5 learners achieved the lowest mean performance scores in comparison with Grade 4 learners from 39 other participating countries: mean performances that were also well below the fixed international mean of 500 points. Although the Grade 5 learners had a higher


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mean performance than the Grade 4 learners, this average mean score was still approximately 200 points below the fixed international mean for Grade 4 learners. Most tellingly, nearly three-quarters of the Grade 5 South African learners did not reach the lowest international benchmark, which required proficiency in basic reading skills. This is in stark contrast to the 94% international median of Grade 4 learners who did achieve this benchmark (Howie et al. 2007: 30; Mullis et al. 2007: 49).

In addition to collecting information on learners’ levels of reading literacy, the PIRLS 2006 design also allowed for examination of the home and school factors associated with learners’ reading achievement (Kennedy 2007). To measure trends and collect baseline information about key factors related to learners’ home and school environments, cross-sectional structured survey questionnaires were collected from learners, parents, teachers and school principals as part of the PIRLS 2006. The teacher questionnaire specifically sought information about the structure and content of reading instruction in the classroom in relation to the learners assessed as well as within the school as a whole (Kennedy 2007). In South Africa, the language Learning Area teachers responsible for teaching reading at Grades 4 and 5 level in the sampled schools completed the questionnaire. The school questionnaire sought information from the school principal at each sampled school about the school’s reading curriculum and instructional policies. Each principal also provided information about the school’s demographics and resources (Kennedy 2007).

The value of this background information is that, when considered in relation to learners’ achievement in the PIRLS 2006 assessments, it allows researchers to investigate the reasons for learners’ levels of performance. This exploration and analysis of background factors that either enhance or impede learner performance has not previously been possible via large-scale studies of literacy undertaken in South Africa as these studies did not collect such data on these factors (Department of Education [DoE] 2003; DoE 2006; Moloi & Strauss 2005). If one considers the poor levels of reading literacy development displayed by South African learners in the PIRLS 2006 assessment, it is of absolute necessity to consider potential reasons for this in order to assist in the development of targeted interventions aimed at addressing the improvement of learners’ reading literacy at all levels of the education system.

In this paper, the DoE’s Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS) (DoE 2002) for the development of the reading and viewing learning outcome at both the Foundation Phase and Intermediate Phase levels is considered. Thereafter, reported rates of implementation of various strategies for the development of learners’ reading comprehension are considered in the light of this intended curriculum. The implications for teacher development initiatives are discussed as a conclusion to the paper.

The Revised National Curriculum Statement and reading literacy

The importance of curriculum

The curriculum acts as an underlying ‘skeleton’ that shapes and gives direction to instruction in the education system: it expresses the aims and intentions of educational authorities, taking these aims and intentions from vision to implementation. Thus educational experiences are deliberately shaped by the visions of what education should be; ideas of how to create the formative experiences and intended patterns of opportunity that organise the potential for these experiences (Schmidt et al. 1996).

Van den Akker (2003) specifically states that teaching curricula that offer plans for learning can be presented in various forms. A common distinction is made between three levels of curriculum that are present in any teaching and learning situation. The intended curriculum represents the ideal or vision underlying a curriculum as well as the actual formal/written curriculum that outlines curriculum intentions in policy documents and materials. The implemented


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ENT curriculum is the operational curriculum as enacted by teachers in teaching and learning. The

PIRLS 2006 learner assessment findings in particular provide indications of a country’s levels on the attained curriculum and the resulting learning outcomes of learners (Van den Akker 2003). The line of investigation for this paper is the effect on learner achievement in reading when the intended curriculum is not implemented optimally in grassroots educational settings.

The intended literacy curriculum

Learning activities during the Foundation Phase are built around literacy, numeracy and life skills. According to policy, one additional language is introduced in Grade 2. The RNCS (DoE 2002) states that the most important task of the Foundation Phase teacher is to ensure that all learners learn to read. Forty per cent of teaching time in the Foundation Phase, therefore, is allocated to literacy. It is recognised that all learners need to be taught strategies that help them to read with understanding and that help them to unlock the code of written text. Furthermore, they must know how to locate and use information, follow a process or argument, summarise, build their own understandings, adapt what they learn, and demonstrate what they learn from their reading in the learning process. A ‘balanced approach’ to literacy development is used in the curriculum. This begins with children’s emergent literacy, thereafter involving them in reading ‘real’ books, writing for genuine purposes and giving attention to phonics (DoE 2002: 23).

In reading programmes that focus on the phonological processing approach, or ‘bottom-up’ approach, to reading instruction, learners are expected first to decode individual letters and words before there is any focus on comprehension. For this method, phonic awareness is a central skill to be attained; and direct instruction and the use of basal readers are main tactics in the implementation of this approach (Bouwer 2004). Children must thus learn to decode printed language, to translate print into sounds, and to learn alphabetic principles associated with sound–symbol relationships (Lerner 2003). Bloch (1999) comments that in South African Grade 1 classrooms the emphasis is still focused on imparting these basic skills needed for reading and writing, often to the detriment of encouraging personal construction of meaning. Indeed, skill in decoding does not automatically mean that skill in reading comprehension has been achieved (Pretorius 2002).

The whole language theory, or ‘top-down’ theory, of learning to read is the reverse of the ‘bottom-up’ theory, in that understanding proceeds from the general to the particular (Gregory 1996). The focus is on how whole text is accessed and understood by the learner. The reader samples words and strings of words, predicting and inferring the meaning underlying them. Meaning can only be activated by accessing prior semantic, syntactic and discourse knowledge. Therefore, clauses and sentences will trigger the reader’s own constructions of the world, leading to expectations or predictions about what will come next in the text. The fluent reader is thought to be someone who is an expert in his/her sampling strategies and in hypothesis-testing, the integration of meaning and the resolution of ambiguities in text (Macaro 2003).

As a resolution to the aforementioned two polarities of reading instruction – the bottom-up and top-down models – an interactive or balanced approach, which integrates both approaches, has been proposed. An interactive approach is advocated as the most powerful explanation of reading comprehension. From this perspective, reading is viewed as a process that incorporates multiple knowledge sources. Therefore, it is recognised that meaning does not exist only in text but is rather a co-construction between the text and the reader’s interpretation of it. The surface structure of the content of the text and the reader’s personal knowledge of the topic are used interactively by the reader to construct meaning. The reader uses decoding strategies or his/her own personal frame of reference whenever faced with difficulties in reading and/or understanding text (Macaro 2003).


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At the time of the PIRLS 2006 assessments, curriculum assessment standard guidelines for the learning outcome reading and viewing in the Foundation Phase (Grades R–3) (DoE 2002) required that the learner:• is able to use visual clues to make meaning (Grades R–3);• is able to role-play reading (Grades R–1);• is able to make meaning of written text (Grades R–3);• starts recognising and making meaning of letters and words (Grade R);• begins to develop phonic awareness (Grade R);• develops phonic awareness (Grades 1 and 2);• consolidates phonic awareness (Grade 3);• recognises letters and words and makes meaning of written text (Grade 1);• reads for information and enjoyment (Grades 1–3);• recognises and makes meaning of words in longer texts (Grade 2); and• reads texts alone, and uses a variety of strategies to make meaning (Grade 3) (DoE 2002: 32–

33).

At Grade 4 level, curriculum assessment standards for the English home language Learning Area (DoE 2002) point out that learners need to be able to:• read a variety of texts for different purposes using a variety of reading and comprehension

strategies; • view and comment on various visual texts;• describe their feelings about texts giving reasons;• discuss how the choice of language and graphical features influence the reader;• identify and discuss aspects such as central idea, character, setting and plot in fiction texts;• infer reasons for the actions in a story;• recognise the different structures, language use, purposes and audiences of different types of

texts; • identify and discuss values in texts in relation to cultural, moral, social, and environmental

issues;• understand and respond appropriately to information texts;• interpret simple visual texts; and• select information texts for own information needs (DoE 2002: 72–77).

The next sections of this paper show how these guidelines currently play out in schools and classrooms as evidenced by teacher and school questionnaire data from the PIRLS 2006.

Background to the implemented reading curriculum in primary schools

As part of the PIRLS 2006 school questionnaire, principals were questioned as to whether their schools had written statements of the reading curriculum, whether they had informal initiatives to encourage reading and whether they had school-based programmes. Internationally, on average four-fifths1 of learners were taught in schools that had informal initiatives at their schools. Over half of the learners were in schools with school-based reading programmes, and half were at schools with reading programmes that were coordinated across the grades.

In South Africa it was found that more than a third of learners attended schools that had a written statement of the reading curriculum to be taught in schools, and two-thirds attended schools that reported that they had informal initiatives to encourage reading at their schools. About 50% of learners attended schools with school-based programmes and guidelines for teachers on the teaching of reading. The data show that learners were likely to achieve better scores, a mean of 264 (SE2=10.1), when their schools reported that they had their own statement of a reading curriculum than when principals reported no written statement of a reading curriculum – a mean of 246 (SE=6.6). The achievement was higher for learners whose schools had informal


initiatives to encourage reading, a mean of 268 (SE=7.1), than in schools where principals had reported that there were no informal initiatives, a mean of 217 (SE=8.0).

Internationally, on average Grade 4 teachers reported that 30% of instructional time was devoted to language instruction and 20% to instruction in reading (Mullis et al. 2007: 178). Again, on average about 25% of learners internationally were taught reading for more than 6 hours a week (Mullis et al. 2007: 178). According to teachers’ reports in the South African study, 10% (SE=1.9) of learners received reading instruction for more than 6 hours per week, 18% (SE=2.7) for between 3 and 6 hours, and 72% (SE=2.7) for less than 3 hours per week. A third of South African Grade 4 teachers reported that reading instruction was given every day. Most of the Grade 5 teachers reported that reading took place 3 to 4 days a week. The PIRLS 2006 showed little relationship between hours of teaching instruction and achievement, due to complex factors such as instructional time ‘not always [being] spent in effective productive ways’ (Mullis et al. 2007: 178). While these reported data do not indicate strong motivation for policies in any particular direction, other data raise distinct policy questions, as will be seen in the next section.

Reading strategy and skill instruction in particular grades

Principals were asked At which grades do the following strategies and skills first receive a major emphasis in instruction in your school? Twelve reading strategies based on current reading theories were listed for consideration. The first three strategies or skills are introduced to more than 50% of learners at the Grade 1 level in the majority of cases: that is, knowing letters (strategy or skill 1) in 89% (SE=1.7) of schools; knowing letter–sound relationships (strategy or skill 2) in 82% (SE=2.2) of schools; and reading words (strategy or skill 3) in 77% (SE=2.3) of schools (see Figure 2.1).

Figure 2.1: Grade by which reading skills and strategies are first introduced in schools

The strategy reading isolated sentences (4) is introduced at Grade 1 level in 48% (SE=2.4) of schools and in Grade 2 level in 33% (SE=2.8) of schools. Reading connected text (5) is introduced at Grade 2 level by 34% (SE=3.0) of schools and at Grade 3 level by 30% (SE=2.7) of schools. However identifying the main idea of text (6), explaining or supporting understanding of text (7), comparing text with personal experience (8), comparing different texts (9) and making predictions about what will happen next (10) are in the majority of cases first introduced only

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at Grade 4 level, while the most complex strategies – making generalisations and inferences (11) and describing the style and structure of text (12) – are in the majority of cases not taught at these grade levels.

Additional achievement data from the PIRLS 2006 raise some interesting questions about the grade levels at which these strategies and skills are introduced. The learners for whom the more complex reading strategies are first introduced and emphasised in Grade 1 (in all except describing style and structure), achieved the highest number of points, compared to the learners for whom the skill is only introduced in Grade 4. As indicated in Figure 2.2, for seven of the eight reading strategy categories the reading achievement for learners for whom the skill is introduced in Grade 1 was higher than for those learners introduced to these strategies only in later grades. The question that requires further investigation is whether or not the traditional emphasis on knowing letters, knowing letter–sound relationships and reading words in Grade 1 and relegating skills like identifying the main idea and making predictions about what will happen next to Grade 4 is optimal for learners’ reading comprehension development. Indeed, a ‘balanced approach’ as required by the RNCS (DoE 2002) for reading instruction should require the introduction of these skills simultaneously – something that is not evident from these data. This ‘balanced approach’, advocated by the DoE (2002), is also in line with international trends, where the more advanced skills are introduced earlier.

Figure 2.2: Achievement according to introduction of reading strategies, by grade

The 12 reading skills and strategies are given emphasis at particular grades. The South African data show that the introduction of these reading skills and strategies follows the progression that is internationally regarded as good practice. However, when comparing South Africa’s introduction of these skills with the PIRLS 2006 international data, it becomes evident that the more complex skills are introduced earlier internationally, and that South Africa lags behind in introducing these skills. The performance of learners introduced to the more advanced skills in Grade 1 is substantially better than that of learners introduced to the strategies only in Grade 4 or in later grades.

These data do confirm that only some reading skills, specifically only lower-level processing or decoding strategies, are developed during the Foundation Phase of schooling in South Africa (Pretorius 2002). This is despite RNCS (DoE 2002) guidelines that advocate the ‘balanced approach’ to reading development to be introduced in the Foundation Phase.

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Emphasis on decoding and vocabulary developmentin the Intermediate Phase

To illustrate the impact of delayed or lacking reading strategies, two types of reading comprehension breakdown for language learners are described. There are those learners who are poor readers and comprehenders due to difficulties with lower-level processing skills; and there are also poor comprehenders who experience difficulties at the higher-level text level despite good word recognition skills. These latter, poor comprehenders, may battle with higher-order processing such as inference making, working memory and story structure knowledge (Lesaux et al. 2006).

Table 2.1 illustrates the potential impact of a lack of adequate lower-level processing skills in the Intermediate Phase as presented in Grade 4 and 5 teachers’ reports of teaching practices in these grades. The table specifically outlines teachers’ frequency in teaching strategies for decoding sounds and words and the amount of time afforded to helping learners understand new vocabulary in texts in these Intermediate Phase classrooms.

Table 2.1: Trends in emphasis on decoding and vocabulary

Daily Weekly Less than weekly

N Mean (SE)

% (SE)

N Mean (SE)

%(SE)

N Mean (SE)

% (SE)

Teaching strategies for decoding sounds and words

Grade 4

3 825 235 (10.0)

25 (2.4)

5 084 263 (9.8)

36 (3.0)

5 743 262 (10.0)

39 (3.1)

Grade 5

2 728 274 (10.0)

22 (2.5)

5 003 300 (12.2)

35 (2.9)

6 034 320 (10.6)

43 (3.0)

Helping learners understand new vocabulary in texts

Grade 4

9 258 254 (5.7)

61 (2.9)

4 946 258 (12.2)

32 (2.8)

966 232 (16.3)

6(1.3)

Grade 5

8 111 290 (8.7)

59 (3.2)

4 413 321 (12.2)

31 (3.0)

1 321 313 (26.2)

10 (1.9)

Compared with international trends, South African teachers reported little daily emphasis on decoding but considerable attention to vocabulary development. The international data revealed that internationally on average 25% of learners were exposed to daily decoding skill instruction, while 69% of learners had daily vocabulary instruction (Mullis et al. 2007: 216). The smallest percentage of South African Grade 4 learners (25%) and Grade 5 learners (21%) were taught decoding strategies on a daily basis, whereas the highest percentages of South African Grade 4 learners (61%) and Grade 5 learners (59%) received teaching assistance with understanding new vocabulary on a daily basis.

It is probable that the learners receiving daily instruction in decoding already experience significant difficulties with reading as a result of a lack of decoding skill, which could explain why these learners have the lowest mean performances in comparison to those learners who receive this instruction less frequently. If indeed this is the case, it accentuates the importance of the establishment of adequate decoding skills prior to entry into the Intermediate Phase. Paradoxically, daily help with understanding new vocabulary in the Intermediate Phase is seemingly beneficial to learners in terms of their mean performances at both Grade 4 and 5

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levels. As such, it seems that there would be value in providing more exposure to higher-order comprehension strategies such as vocabulary development in the Foundation Phase.

Conclusion

The PIRLS 2006 data considered in this paper can be summarised into two issues: expectation of learner ability, and the concomitant quality of reading instruction. The amount of time spent on reading instruction does not correlate with performance either in South Africa or internationally. The PIRLS 2006 explains this as the quality of reading instruction rather than the quantity of reading instruction being crucial. The apparent differences in the intended curriculum and the implemented curriculum in the Foundation Phase play out in the reported implementation of reading strategies and skills from the PIRLS 2006 background questionnaires. Reasons for the differences are numerous, with anecdotal and small-scale empirical evidence of the following: South African teachers’ difficulties with their own reading for learning purposes; teachers’ unofficial absences from the classroom; the underutilisation of teaching resources in schools; ineffective teaching methods; teachers’ weak subject knowledge; and misunderstandings of the demands of the curriculum in some educational settings (Fleisch 2007). Moreover, the South African DoE, in launching a National Reading Strategy (2008) aimed at beginning to address the challenge of learners’ reading literacy development, has officially acknowledged the difficulties that South African teachers experience in teaching reading. The DoE (2008) particularly points out that many teachers have an underdeveloped understanding of teaching literacy, reading and writing, while others simply do not know how to teach reading, and still others only know one method of teaching reading, which does not cater for the learning needs of all their learners. The DoE (2008) further reveals that many Foundation Phase teachers have not been explicitly trained to teach reading. Finally, the DoE articulates that most teachers teaching beyond the Foundation Phase are not trained to teach basic reading and do not know how to help struggling readers. Employment of under-qualified and non-qualified teachers is also indicated as a potentially common practice, expressly in the Foundation Phase and in rural schools (DoE 2008: 7–8; Zimmerman 2008).

Closer scrutiny of the RNCS assessment standards for both the Foundation Phase and the first grade of the Intermediate Phase (Grade 4), in contemplation of the PIRLS 2006 findings associated with the implementation of the reading curriculum, already reveals differences in developmental task expectations for achievement. Seemingly, there is a lack of continuity between expectations in the Foundation Phase and those of the first grades of the Intermediate Phase. The question therefore is: Has enough scaffolding of the expected learning outcomes reflected in the Grade 4 assessment standards taken place during the Foundation Phase in preparation to promote the achievement of these skills one academic year later?

The metaphor for the crucial role of the curriculum, provided by Schmidt et al. (1996), is that of an underlying skeleton without which the elements of the education process may collapse. A different though complementary metaphor for the curriculum is that of a pathway of stepping stones that lead to the progressive conceptualisation of the canon of knowledge in any particular field. The laying of the stepping stones in manageable steps is then the function of the curriculum planners. Leading learners towards this goal and scaffolding these steps is the task of the teacher.

The present steps – from the Foundation Phase skills, as outlined earlier in this paper, to the Grade 4 requirements – may be too far apart. However, the teacher equipped with the knowledge of the progressive conceptualisation of the reading process may provide the intermediary steps. In the case of the reading teacher, and in particular the teachers who cross the stepping stones from Grade 3 (learning to read) to Grade 4 (reading to learn), particular skill may be required.

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It would seem that teacher education needs to address this transition. This is especially the case as there may be a lack of interaction between teacher-educators (i.e. lecturers) involved in training teachers to teach in the Foundation Phase and those training teachers to teach in the Intermediate Phase (Zimmerman et al. 2008).

Endnotes1. The fractions mentioned here are overlapping; the half may be included in or overlap with the four-

fifths.2. Standard Error

ReferencesBloch C (1999) Literacy in the early years: Teaching and learning in multilingual early childhood classrooms.

International Journal of Early Years Education 7(1): 39–59Bouwer C (2004) Reading and writing. In I Eloff & L Ebersöhn Keys to educational psychology. Cape Town:

UCT PressDepartment of Education (DoE) (2002) Revised national curriculum statement Grades R–9 (schools).

Government Gazette Vol. 443, No. 23406. Pretoria: DoEDoE (2003) Systemic evaluation Foundation Phase mainstream national report. Pretoria: DoE, Chief

Directorate, Quality AssuranceDoE (2006) Grade 6 Intermediate Phase systemic evaluation report. Pretoria: DoE, Chief Directorate,

Quality AssuranceDoE (2008) National reading strategy. Pretoria: DoEFleisch B (2007) Primary education in crisis: Why South African schoolchildren underachieve in reading

and mathematics. Cape Town: Juta & Co.Gregory E (1996) Making sense of a new world. Learning to read in a second language. London: Paul

Chapman PublishingHowie SJ, Venter E, Van Staden S, Zimmerman L, Long C et al. (2007) Progress in International Reading

Literacy Study 2006. Summary report. South African children’s reading literacy achievement. Pretoria: Centre for Evaluation and Assessment, University of Pretoria

Kennedy AM (2007) Chapter 3. Developing the PIRLS 2006 background questionnaires. In MO Martin, IVS Mullis & AM Kennedy (Eds) PIRLS 2006 technical report. Chestnut Hill, MA: TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center, Boston College

Lerner JW (2003) Learning disabilities. Theories, diagnosis, and teaching strategies (9th edition). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company

Lesaux NK, Lipka O & Siegel LS (2006) Investigating cognitive and linguistic abilities that influence the reading comprehension skills of children from diverse linguistic backgrounds. Reading and Writing 19: 99–131

Macaro E (2003) Teaching and learning a second language. London: ContinuumMoloi M & Strauss J (2005) South Africa working report. The SACMEQ II project in South Africa: A study of

the conditions of schooling and the quality of education. Harare, Zimbabwe, & Pretoria: Southern and Eastern African Consortium for Monitoring Education Quality, & Ministry of Education

Mullis IVS, Martin MO, Kennedy AM & Foy P (2007) PIRLS 2006 international report: IEA’s study of reading literacy achievement in primary schools. Chestnut Hill, MA: TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center, Boston College

Pretorius EJ (2002) Reading ability and academic performance in South Africa: Are we fiddling while Rome is burning? Language Matters 33: 169–196

Schmidt WH, McKnight CC, Valverde GA, Houang RT & Wiley DE (1996) Many visions, many aims. A cross-national investigation of curricular intentions in school mathematics. Dordrecht, NL: Kluwer Academic Publishers

Van den Akker J (2003) Curriculum perspectives: An introduction. In J van den Akker, U Hameyer & W Kuiper (Eds) Curriculum landscapes and trends. Dordrecht, NL: Kluwer Academic Publishers

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Zimmerman L (2008) Investigating South African Grade 4 teachers’ reading literacy instruction practices. Doctoral proposal, Faculty of Education, University of Pretoria

Zimmerman L, Howie SJ, Long C & Botha M (2008) Language and literacy teacher education for Foundation and Intermediate Phase teachers at a South African university: Findings from the Teaching Literacy Education Project university case study. Report for the Centre for Evaluation and Assessment (CEA), University of Pretoria

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South African teacher profi les and emerging teacher factors: The picture painted by the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2006Surette van Staden and Sarah J HowieCentre for Evaluation and Assessment, University of Pretoria

Undertaken in five-year cycles, the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) is an international comparative study of reading literacy of Grade 4 learners. With the previous PIRLS having been undertaken in 2001, South Africa’s first participation in the study was in the 2006 cycle. As part of the reading assessment, the PIRLS 2006 gathered background information through learner, parent, teacher and school principal questionnaires. The aim of gathering background information was to provide accurate descriptions of the learners being assessed, in order to understand the factors at play that could be influencing their educational experiences. Together with descriptions of learners and their backgrounds, contextual information about educational settings and experiences can reveal striking differences in how resources are distributed and utilised between different groups, or provinces, of learners. Broadly listed, the educational areas addressed by the PIRLS 2006 contextual questionnaires include curriculum, learner characteristics and experiences, home–school connection, school environment, teacher characteristics, classroom resources, and instructional practices. The focus of this paper is on the data derived from the teacher questionnaire, which comprised questions to teachers on school environment and resources, teacher education and preparation, classroom environment and structure, instructional strategies, activities, materials and technology. This paper reports on the analysis of the Grade 4 learner achievement in the PIRLS 2006 assessment, not previously published, as the basis for further investigation into teacher characteristics, use of resources, and instructional practices, and analyses of the Grade 4 teacher data from the PIRLS 2006 teacher questionnaires. In the light of South Africa’s poor performance in the PIRLS 2006 assessment, the main findings outlined by this paper reflect the need for teachers’ continued professional development with regard to teaching in the Intermediate Phase, the need to employ strategies to retain young teachers, and the importance of making good quality reading materials available to schools. The paper highlights the importance of increased time spent on reading activities and reading instruction in classrooms.


Keywords

teacher effectivenessinstructional practicesProgress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2006international comparative studiesreading literacy

Introduction

In the last decade, South African teachers have faced extensive changes to the education system and South Africa has successfully produced many policy documents (including curricula) but has been less successful in implementing them. To add to the difficulties of implementation, great variation exists between South African schools; and after 13 years of democratic rule, schools that were previously designated for white learners only are still very different from schools that were previously disadvantaged under the apartheid system. Johnson et al. (2000) are of the opinion that South Africa effectively still has separate education systems operating within the country, given the starkness of continuing differences in teacher education and educational provision. Fleisch (2007) also reflects on this in his description of the country having two nations, as does Howie (2001) in her analysis of South Africa containing both the developed country and the developing country with regard to its education system.

Despite these continuing differences in education provision, the national Department of Education (DoE) views teachers as key contributors to transformation in South Africa, envisaging teachers who are qualified, competent, dedicated and caring. According to the Revised National Curriculum Statement (DoE 2002), teachers’ roles and functions include being mediators of learning; interpreters and designers of learning programmes and materials; leaders; managers; administrators; scholars; researchers; lifelong learners; community members and citizens; assessors; and Learning Area or phase specialists. In the next section, the literature on teacher effectiveness is reviewed, given that teachers are a critical component of the education system.

Literature review on teacher effectiveness

In South Africa, ongoing concerns surrounding the development of learners’ literacy skills drive research into literacy teaching and learning. Concerns associated with learners’ development of basic literacy skills at the foundational levels of education (Bloch 1999; Lessing & De Witt 2005), concerns about learners’ acquisition of more advanced literacy skills in high school (Matjila & Pretorius 2004; Pretorius & Ribbens 2005), and concerns about learners’ development of the advanced literate language skills needed for tertiary-level education (Pretorius 2002) are consistently reflected in local research (Howie et al. 2007).

With regard to school-related factors impacting on the reading achievement of learners, Howie (2006) reports a number of factors specifically related to learners in South African classrooms. These factors include inadequate subject knowledge of teachers, inadequate communication ability between learners and teachers in the language of learning and teaching, lack of instructional materials, difficulties for teachers in managing classroom activities effectively, and overcrowded classrooms. These factors are also highlighted by the DoE in the National Reading Strategy (2008).

Sailors et al. (2007), in their evaluation of schools that promote literacy learning in low-income communities or environments, summarise the work of a number of researchers (such as Hoffman and Rutherford 1984, and Weber 1971) who identified common themes across effective

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schools, which could guide reform efforts in those failing schools that operate in resource-poor environments. The common themes in these schools that influenced learner achievement positively include: a clear school mission; effective instructional leadership and practices; high expectations for learners to achieve and perform at their best; a safe, orderly, positive physical environment; ongoing curriculum improvement; maximum use of available instructional time; frequent monitoring of learner progress; and positive home–school connections.

Following their work on high-achieving schools in low-income environments in a sample of South African primary schools, Sailors et al. (2007) identify their own set of themes and factors that seem to impact positively on learner achievement. Dovetailing with the work of other researchers, they cite the presence of a safe, orderly positive learning environment as having a positive influence on learner achievement. Another factor identified includes the presence of strong leadership that guides the school in terms of academic issues, community relations and shared decision-making. In describing teachers as ‘excellent’, a third factor is identified that impacts learner achievement positively – where teachers are characterised as committed, competent, caring and collaborative. A fourth factor identified in schools that function effectively in low-income environments is that of a shared sense of competence, pride and purpose. Lastly, community participation and engagement with the school constitutes a factor associated with higher achievement among learners (Sailors et al. 2007).

Classroom teaching for reading instruction needs to be considered as the critical factor in preventing reading problems, and must be the central focus for change (Moats 1999). As such, teachers’ acquisition of the teaching skills necessary to bring about the development of literate language competence among learners is critical (Zimmerman 2008); especially as, in South Africa, many assumptions have remained largely unquestioned about how to teach reading and writing, which languages to use, and what counts as high-quality practice in classrooms (Bloch 1999). Stoller and Grabe (2001) emphasise that the requirements for the development of reading fluency necessitate that teachers as well as curriculum developers determine what instructional options are available to them and how to go about the optimal pursuit of instructional goals in various contexts.

Data sources and analysis

The main data source for this paper is the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement’s (IEA) Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2006 database for Grade 4. The PIRLS 2006 assessment consisted of a reading assessment and, in addition to that, contextual questionnaires that were administered to learners, parents, teachers and school principals. For the purposes of reporting results, this paper uses data obtained from the teacher questionnaires as completed by teachers of Grade 4 learners who participated in the PIRLS 2006 assessment.

Data analysis in this paper is limited to providing results of descriptive statistics from the responses of teachers of the Grade 4 learners. These results are provided against the background of South Africa’s overall performance in the PIRLS 2006 compared internationally, as reported in the PIRLS 2006 International Report (Mullis et al. 2007) – and of Grade 4 learner overall performance in particular.

South Africa’s overall reading achievement compared internationally

A total of 40 countries and 45 education systems participated in the PIRLS 2006. The IEA released the PIRLS 2006 international reading literacy achievement results on 28 November 2007 at Boston College in the USA. The results provided overall reading averages achieved by each participating country. Through the use of Item Response Theory scaling, the PIRLS 2006 average

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is set at a fixed 500 points with a standard deviation of 100 points. Participants’ achievement is therefore placed relative to the international mean of 500. Appendix 3A (see page 29) provides the distribution of reading achievement as taken from the PIRLS 2006 International Report (Mullis et al. 2007).

Internationally, the PIRLS 2006 required the assessment of learners who had had four years of schooling, and for most countries this requirement translated to Grade 4 learners. The South African PIRLS 2006 study assessed this first population of Grade 4 learners, but also included a second population of Grade 5 learners as a national option included in the study. Appendix 3A indicates that South Africa achieved the lowest score of the 45 participating education systems. Appendix 3A also indicates that the PIRLS 2006 International Report only provides results for South Africa’s Grade 5 population (Mullis et al. 2007). With an average age of 11.9 years, the South African learner population was the oldest across all participating countries. Grade 4 learners achieved on average 253 points (SE1=4.6), while Grade 5 learners achieved on average 302 (SE=5.6). Average achievement for both these grades was well below the fixed international average of 500 points. Closest to South Africa in reading achievement was Morocco, the only other African country that participated in the PIRLS 2006, with a Grade 4 average of 323 points (SE=5.9).

The South African PIRLS 2006 had the highest infant mortality rate (53 per 1 000 live births), the lowest life expectancy (46 years) and the highest learner : teacher ratio of all the participating education systems. In terms of South Africa’s budgetary expenditure on education as a percentage of the gross domestic product, the country is ranked average compared with expenditure on education by other countries (Howie et al. 2007: 9).

South Africa’s overall achievement for Grade 4 learners nationally,by language

The PIRLS 2006 reading assessment was administered to a sample of 16 073 Grade 4 learners in all 11 official languages in South Africa. It has to be kept in mind that the results for each language are in terms of the language of the test, not the home language of the learners. This means that children were tested in the language in which they had received instruction for the first three years of formal schooling, a language that may well be different from the language spoken at home. Average achievement scores provided in the present paper by language are therefore for learners who completed the assessment in the language of the test.

Figure 3.1 indicates that the learners who wrote the PIRLS 2006 assessment in Afrikaans achieved the highest average score of 351.70 (SE=12.04), closely followed by learners who completed the assessment in English (346.82, SE=17.46). Learners who completed the assessment in African languages achieved well below 300 points, with learners who completed in Setswana achieving the highest scores, and those who completed in isiNdebele and isiXhosa achieving the lowest average scores at 176.80 (SE=9.02) and 189.97 (SE=6.50) respectively. All South African achievement scores were well below the international average of 500 points.

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Figure 3.1: Average achievement for Grade 4, by language

Teacher characteristics, use of resources and instructional practices

In the light of dismally low reading achievement scores for Grade 4 learners, further interrogation is needed of teacher characteristics, use of resources and instructional practices. Teachers of the South African sample of Grade 4 learners completed the PIRLS 2006 teacher questionnaire. According to Howie et al. (2007: 49), these teachers had on average 15 years of teaching experience, and more specifically had on average 6 years (SE=0.4) of Grade 4 teaching experience. In terms of gender, Grade 4 learners are taught by a majority of female teachers at 84.19% with the remaining 15.81% of the sample having been made up of male teachers.

Of concern for the South African teacher profiles of Grade 4 learners is that there is a very small percentage of young, up-and-coming teachers. Only 1% (SE=0.6) of learners were taught by teachers aged under 25 years, with only another 4% (SE=1.4) of the teachers being between the ages of 25 and 29 years (see Table 3.1). While teacher-student numbers are ample at a few higher education institutions across South Africa, the incidence of high teacher attrition rates is problematic. Some (usually white) young teachers prefer to leave South Africa for more lucrative teaching positions overseas, or merely choose to leave the profession after only a short period of teaching.2

The average achievement for Grade 4 learners taught by teachers under the age of 25 years (461, SE=52.4) and teachers over the age of 60 years (432, SE=64.7) was higher than the average achievement obtained by any other groups of learners based on their teachers’ ages (Howie et al. 2007: 49). Two groups of youngest and oldest teachers, whose Grade 4 learners achieved the highest average scores, represented the smallest percentages of Grade 4 teachers for this sample; this surely gives cause for concern. Larger percentages of teachers in the remaining age groups showed the lowest average learner achievement on the PIRLS 2006 assessment.

Table 3.1 provides a breakdown of average achievement of Grade 4 learners on the PIRLS 2006 reading assessment, categorised by the age of their teachers.

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Table 3.1: Average PIRLS 2006 achievement for teachers’ age groups

Teachers’ age N % SE Average PIRLS 2006 reading achievement

Under 25 94 0.93 0.56 461.03

25–29 years 291 3.67 1.40 261.32

30–39 years 5 537 36.68 2.90 237.11

40–49 years 6 792 41.15 2.86 255.09

50–59 years 2 420 17.47 2.33 255.75

60–69 years and older

77 0.11 0.09 432.07

Teachers’ formal education and training

The highest percentage of South African learners (41%, SE=3.7) were taught by teachers with a three-year college diploma. Of these learners, 60% (SE=3.2) were taught by teachers with a teaching certification from the former teacher training colleges or were in possession of a post-matric certificate (Howie et al. 2007: 50). A little over 14% of learners had language teachers reported to have postgraduate degrees – these learners achieved a higher average compared to those learners whose teachers had no postgraduate qualifications.

When asked about knowledge domains or subject areas of specialisation, teachers of Grade 4 learners reported exposure to training that focused on language, literature, pedagogy, teaching reading, psychology, children’s language development and second language learning. Approximately 50% (SE=3.2) of South African learners had teachers who had reportedly received training in which second language learning received major emphasis.

Amongst special education and remedial reading learners, teachers reported to have little to no training in these areas. For 40% (SE=3.2) of teachers of Grade 4 learners, remedial reading was only covered in an introductory fashion during training, while an additional 39% of teachers reported having had no exposure to remedial reading at all. Given the low achievement in reading literacy and the extent of learner variation at classroom level, remedial reading is the area of least exposure in terms of teachers’ education, yet would seem to be the most needed.

Instructional materials

As many as 57% (SE=2.6) of Grade 4 learners’ teachers reported using textbooks every day or almost every day. Only 12% (SE=1.8) of Grade 4 learners had teachers who reported using a variety of children’s books for reading instruction every day or almost every day (Howie et al. 2007: 50). A peculiar phenomenon is the higher average achievement of learners whose teachers reported never using textbooks (375.32, SE=45.9) compared to their counterparts who reported monthly (339.16, SE=37.53) or daily use of textbooks (235, SE=5.2).

The reliance on textbooks by a large percentage of teachers to Grade 4 learners must be seen within the context of teaching in many schools in South Africa. Not only are textbooks often the only source of aid in reading instruction available to the teacher, but the quality of these books in many cases is debatable. Anecdotal evidence gathered specifically during school visits in rural areas points to the fact that many outdated Afrikaans and English textbooks have been handed down to rural schools. In some cases, these books can be found unused on shelves but, alarmingly, cases exist where these outdated books are being put to use. In addition, teachers often rely on textbooks to the extent that learners are not afforded the opportunity to take these

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books home for fear of damage or loss. Thus, learners’ only exposure to books is often only in the form of textbooks, and then only for the limited time the learners are present in class.

Instructional strategies and activities

South African children are supposedly mostly exposed to reading skills such as decoding strategies and understanding vocabulary during the Foundation Phase (Grades 1 to 3). According to Pretorius (2002), the Intermediate Phase (Grades 4 to 6) affords learners the opportunity to use reading as a language and information processing skill, as learners are largely expected to be able to decode text. At Grade 4 level, learners should also begin the switch from learning the lower-level skills involved in learning to read, and to adapting those skills in order to use reading as a tool for learning.

Of Grade 4 learners in the South African PIRLS 2006 assessment, 25% (SE=2.4) had teachers who engaged them daily in decoding strategies, compared to 69% (SE=0.5) of teachers of Grade 4 learners internationally.

In terms of time allocated to reading activities in the classroom, more than half of the Grade 4 learners (61%, SE=2.9) had teachers who reported reading aloud to the whole class every day or almost every day. For these learners, this reading is the most prominent activity listed by teachers. Of concern is the fact that reading aloud to the class is a teacher-centred rather than learner-centred approach, where learners are only involved passively and where the teacher mainly assumes that learners are able to follow along and understand what is being read. Also of concern are the low frequencies at which learners are afforded the opportunity to read independently. Indeed 7% (SE=1.7) of teachers to Grade 4 learners indicated that the learners never or almost never engage in independent reading in class, with only 27% (SE=2.7) reporting reading independently as rarely as once or twice a month (Howie et al. 2007: 51). Learner achievement was highest (299.3, SE=12.5) for those learners’ teachers who reportedly afforded learners the opportunity to read silently every day or almost every day. Given the lack of opportunity afforded to Grade 4 learners to read independently, it would be understandable that the format of the PIRLS 2006 reading assessment (consisting of reading booklets composed of reading passages for each child individually) might have been an intimidating and foreign experience for many South African Grade 4 learners.

Instructional time

Despite South African Grade 4 learners’ poor performance in the PIRLS 2006 reading assessment, the majority of teachers of Grade 4 learners (50.37%, SE=3.06) indicated that they regard the reading levels of their learners to be average. Only 6.04% (SE=1.72) of teachers reported reading levels to be below average.

The PIRLS 2006 International Report indicates that on average internationally teachers allocate 30% of instructional time to language instruction and 20% to reading instruction (Mullis et al. 2007: 214). On average, internationally Grade 4 learners are taught explicit reading instruction for more than 6 hours a week. Teachers’ reports in the South African study reveal that 10% (SE=1.9) of Grade 4 learners receive reading instruction for more than 6 hours a week, 18% (SE=2.7) for between 3 and 6 hours, and 72% (SE=2.7) for less than 3 hours a week. From these data, it becomes clear that South African reports fall far below the international averages in terms of time spent on reading instruction.

A third of the learners’ teachers reported engaging in reading instruction every day, but little direct relationship can be found between reported time spent on reading instruction and reading achievement. A multitude of variables influence learners’ reading achievement, and time spent on reading instruction is not necessarily a stand-alone indicator of the quality of the activities in which learners are engaged.

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Class size and instructional activities

The average Grade 4 class size included in the South African PIRLS 2006 assessment was 46 (SE=0.12) learners, the highest of the participating countries and higher than the international average class size of 24 learners. Table 3.2 indicates South African class sizes in comparison to overall average reading achievement.

Table 3.2: Overall average reading achievement in comparison to class size

Class size % SE Average reading achievement

1–10 learners 0.14 0.00 165.57

11–20 learners 2.89 0.86 277.26

21–30 learners 13.68 1.99 351.13

31–40 learners 27.41 2.52 258.92

41–50 learners 32.87 3.13 235.96

51–60 learners 15.26 1.89 219.30

61–70 learners 3.68 1.13 213.96

71–80 learners 1.20 0.62 176.90

81 learners and above 2.89 1.05 186.39

As indicated by Table 3.2, the highest overall average achievement was obtained by those Grade 4 learners in classes in size between 21 and 30. With more than 40 learners per class, achievement drops markedly to as low as 186.39 for learners in classes of extreme sizes of 81 or more.

In terms of reading activities in the classroom, teachers of Grade 4 learners report most commonly reading aloud to the class when teaching reading instruction or engaging with the learners in reading activities. Figure 3.2 shows the percentages of daily reading activities in which teachers report to engage with learners.

Figure 3.2: Teacher engagement in daily reading activities

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Figure 3.2 supports findings discussed earlier concerning teachers’ instructional strategies and activities, and illustrates that teachers reportedly spend the most time in reading aloud to the class themselves (61%, SE=2.9). Alarmingly, silent reading takes place least frequently of all the listed daily reading activities in this sample of South African classrooms. Top performing countries in the PIRLS 2006 report much higher frequencies of silent reading activities, with 84% (SE=2.9) of teachers from the Russian Federation and 85% (SE=3.2) of teachers from Canada, Alberta, reporting silent reading as a daily activity.

Conclusions and implications

South African Grade 4 learner achievement in the PIRLS 2006 assessment accentuates the need for reading instruction practices aimed at addressing the difficulties South African learners encounter in both the Foundation and Intermediate Phases. As stated in the International Reading Association’s (IRA) (2007) synthesis of their research into teacher preparation for reading instruction:

[p]utting a quality teacher in every classroom is key to addressing the challenges of reading achievement in schools. Knowledgeable, strategic, adaptive, and reflective teachers make a difference in student learning. (IRA 2007: 1)

The teacher data presented in this paper indicate the need for Intermediate Phase teachers’ continuing professional development, as Grade 4 learners’ low overall achievement scores, in relation to teacher qualifications, perhaps suggest that these teachers have not been adequately prepared to teach reading literacy. Of concern is the high incidence of low achievement among learners taught by teachers aged between 30 and 59 years. The data highlight the need for strategies to retain the younger demographic of up-and-coming teachers, while tapping into the vast array of knowledge and experience of teachers close on retirement and exit from the system.

The data presented here lead to questions concerning the quality and availability of reading materials and how these are used in the Intermediate Phase. Specifically, it seems that more investigation is needed into the quality and content of textbooks, and the quality of teaching where textbooks are used as the main or even only source of reading instruction.

While the effect of class sizes on reading achievement is illustrated by the PIRLS 2006 data, of concern is also the little time that is reportedly spent on explicit reading instruction. Compared internationally, South African Grade 4 teachers spend on average far less time on reading instruction. Coupled with this low allocation of time to the task of reading instruction is the relative low quality of associated reading activities. While the majority of teachers reported spending a lot of time reading out loud to the class as a whole, the nature of this activity is neither an effective gauge of the levels of understanding of what is being read, nor effective in encouraging learners to become independent readers.

While more interrogation of the PIRLS 2006 learner achievement data and questionnaire data is required, this paper provides preliminary evidence of teacher reports about aspects of teaching such as the use and availability of resources, and the nature of reading activities and instructional practices that most often tend to take place in Grade 4 classrooms around South Africa. The inadequacies of Intermediate Phase teacher preparation and lack of explicit time spent on reading instruction may well reflect the inadequacies at Foundation Phase level too; and also perhaps the inadequacies of pre-primary education – or even the complete lack thereof.

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Appendix 3A

Table 3A.1: Distribution of reading achievement, PIRLS 2006 International Report

Source: Reproduced from Mullis et al. (2007: 37)

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Endnotes1. Standard Error2. This is not to imply that these are the only explanatory factors for high teacher attrition rates.

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Comprehending the macro through the lens of the micro: Investigating South African Grade 4 teachers’ reading literacy instruction practicesLisa Zimmerman, Sarah J Howie and Cecilia du ToitCentre for Evaluation and Assessment, University of Pretoria

This paper presents design considerations and preliminary findings linked to sampling for the first phase of work in progress in exploring South African Grade 4 teachers’ reading literacy instruction practices in the light of their learners’ performance in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2006. Using PIRLS 2006 benchmarks, teachers and their classes were identified for further analysis. The exploration of teachers’ instruction practices takes place on the basis of the reclassification of the teacher survey data according to their classes’ mean performance on the four PIRLS 2006 international benchmarks and South African benchmarks reflective of the majority of South African learners’ class performances. It is argued that the macro-level findings of the PIRLS 2006 in South Africa offer a springboard for investigating Grade 4 teachers’ reading literacy instruction practices, using learner assessment outcomes as a starting point to guide the investigation of different teaching methods for reading literacy that are used at this transition point in education. These data are especially pertinent as this is the first time that such information on reading practices has been gathered from teachers in the Intermediate Phase in South Africa. In the second phase of the present research, micro-level, qualitative teacher case studies will be purposively selected for exploration – according to the identified benchmarks – from the PIRLS 2006 sample, to add depth to and further illuminate the study. The preliminary findings from the macro-level sampling of the PIRLS 2006 data for the first phase analysis reveal predominant patterns of class mean achievement for learners in both English as a First Language medium schools and schools with an African Language medium in the Foundation Phase.

Keywords

reading literacy instructionGrade 4 learnersIntermediate Phaseteachers of language, literacy and communicationProgress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2006


The PIRLS 2006 in South Africa

Young learners in South Africa are struggling to acquire the reading skills that are needed for their future academic and occupational progress (Howie et al. 2007; Moloi & Strauss 2005; Pretorius & Mampuru 2007; Sailors et al. 2007). The urgency of addressing the development of learners’ reading literacy and teachers’ levels of reading literacy instruction expertise has been revealed by a small number of studies that provide indications of South African learners’ poor performance in localised literacy assessments (Department of Education [DoE] 2003; Moloi and Strauss 2005; Pretorius and Machet 2004, as examples). Most recently, the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2006 was implemented for the first time in South Africa by the Centre for Evaluation and Assessment (CEA), with a nationally representative sample of South African Grade 4 and 5 learners. Results indicated that learners at both grade levels are struggling to develop the reading literacy competences needed to make a successful transition to reading to learn in the Intermediate Phase (Howie et al. 2007).

The PIRLS 2006 is an international measurement of reading literacy in which 45 education systems worldwide participated. The PIRLS is conducted every five years under the auspices of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). In South Africa, more than 30 000 Grade 4 and 5 learners were assessed, using instruments translated into 11 official languages to cater for South African language populations. Grade 4 learners, age 9.5 years and older, were chosen expressly for the reason that the fourth year of formal schooling is considered ‘an important transition point in children’s development as readers. Typically, at this point, students have learned how to read and are now reading to learn’ (Joncas 2007a: 3; see also Mullis et al. 2006). The Grade 5 learner sample was also included as a national option in South Africa. The PIRLS 2006 focused on three aspects of learners’ reading literacy, namely: • processes of comprehension;• purposes for reading; and • reading behaviours and attitudes towards reading.

As part of these foci, information on the home, school and classroom contexts of these learners was also gathered (Mullis et al. 2006). To elaborate on the findings of the PIRLS 2006: the South African Grade 4 and 5 learners achieved the lowest mean performance scores – of 253 and 302 respectively – in comparison to Grade 4 learners from 39 other participating countries; the South African learners’ mean performances were also well below the fixed international mean of 500 points (Howie et al. 2007: 23; Mullis et al. 2007: 37).

South African learners’ performance in the PIRLS 2006 reading literacy assessments was further scrutinised by means of a process of benchmarking (Howie et al. 2007). Benchmarking provides qualitative descriptions of learners’ performance scores on a scale in relation to questions asked in an assessment. Learners’ performance ranges were aligned with the four set benchmarks along the PIRLS 2006 scoring scale. These benchmarks included an Advanced International Benchmark set at 625 points, a High International Benchmark of 550 points, an Intermediate International Benchmark of 475 points and a Low International Benchmark set at 400 points. These benchmarks are cumulative, in that learners who were able to reach the higher benchmarks also demonstrated the knowledge and skills for the lower benchmarks (Howie et al. 2007).

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Table 4.1: Percentage of South African learners reaching the PIRLS 2006 international benchmarks

The PIRLS 2006 international benchmarks

International median South African median

Grade 4 (SE) Grade 5 (SE)

Low (400) 94 13 (0.5) 22 (0.2)

Intermediate (475) 76 7 (1.1) 13 (0.8)

High (550) 41 3 (2.0) 6 (1.6)

Advanced (625) 7 1 (1.5) 2 (1.1)

It was determined that the Low International Benchmark incorporated basic reading skills and strategies. Learners achieving this benchmark could generally recognise, locate and reproduce information explicitly stated in texts and answer some questions related to making straightforward inferences. As illustrated in Table 4.1, only 13% of South African Grade 4 learners reached the Low International Benchmark, in stark contrast to the 94% of Grade 4 learners managing to do so internationally. The Intermediate International Benchmark represented learners with some reading proficiency, able to understand the plot at a literal level and to make some inferences and connections across texts. On average internationally, 76% of Grade 4 learners achieved this benchmark – while only 7% of South African Grade 4 learners reached it. The High International Benchmark was linked to competent readers with the ability to retrieve significant details embedded across the text and to provide text-based support for inferences. These learners were also able to make inferences and connections and navigate their way through informational text by making use of organisational features. These learners also recognised main ideas, and some textual features and elements and began to integrate ideas and information across texts. Internationally, 41% of learners reached this benchmark. In South Africa, 3% of Grade 4 learners achieved this benchmark in the assessment, with no African language speakers represented. At the level of the Advanced International Benchmark learners were able to respond fully to the PIRLS 2006 assessment by means of their integration of information across relatively challenging texts and the provision of full text-based support in their answers. These learners could make interpretations and demonstrate that they understood the function of organisational features in texts. Internationally, on average 7% of the learners managed to achieve this benchmark. Only 1% of the South African learners in Grade 4 were able to achieve this benchmark. Again, no African language learners were able to reach this benchmark. Only 17% of the learners tested in English or Afrikaans could reach the High and Advanced International Benchmarks, thus rendering them the only South African learners considered competent readers at this grade (Howie et al. 2007: 33). Apart from South African learners’ poor representation on the international benchmarks, it also has to be noted that 87% of the Grade 4 learners did not reach any of these benchmarks – a percentage that plays a fundamental role in the design of this research. More than half of the English- and Afrikaans-speaking learners and over 80% of African language speakers did not reach the lowest international benchmark, meaning that they lacked basic reading skills and strategies to cope with academic tasks (Howie et al. 2007: 34). These PIRLS 2006 learner reading literacy performance results, together with others (DoE 2003; DoE 2006; Moloi & Strauss 2005), strongly imply that teachers, for various reasons, face huge challenges in assisting young learners towards attaining optimum development of their reading abilities during the primary school years.


The status of research into reading literacy teachingpractices in South Africa

In South Africa, there appears to be little if any research that outlines which reading literacy instruction practices are being used and how the complexities of the South African learner cohort are being addressed, either in the Foundation Phase or Intermediate Phase. Pretorius and Machet (2004) state that there is little research on reading in South Africa, while Fleisch (2007) indicates that there have been few published studies that describe and explain the patterns of classroom life that lead to academic achievement or failure. This non-availability of information means that there is no utilisable resource for planning of future literacy initiatives in schools, for reading instruction training programme development or to aid in the establishment of an explanatory framework for monitoring and evaluation of learners’ reading performance outcomes. It is thus necessary to illuminate teaching practices in Foundation and Intermediate Phase classrooms. This is to aid understanding of the teaching context in which South African learners learn to read and then continue in their development of reading proficiency; and, indeed, the context in which teachers are confronted with learners who struggle to achieve fundamental reading skills for further academic development.

It is tempting to focus inquiry on the phase of schooling wherein problems with the acquisition of reading first originate, namely, the Foundation Phase. However, its merits aside, sole focus on investigating Foundation Phase practices leaves a gap in our understanding of learner reading literacy instruction in the Intermediate Phase, hence the motive for the choice of phase investigation for this research. The Grade 4 school year particularly signals an influential change in the focus for reading instruction and in the medium of instruction for learning from an African vernacular to English as a Second Language (ESL) medium of instruction in many school settings across the country. Moreover, current South African research literature into learner reading literacy seemingly pays only lip service to learners’ transition from the Foundation Phase to the Intermediate Phase. Researchers (Pretorius & Ribbens 2005) may briefly acknowledge the intricacies of the shift in focus from acquiring foundational reading skills – or learning to read – to using reading as a tool for learning – or reading to learn – and, for many learners, the transition from mother-tongue teaching and learning to a second language of instruction. However, it would seem to be taken for granted that this is something that Grade 4 teachers will be able to address.

Additionally, as Allington and Johnston (2000) declare, ‘[Grade 4] has long been considered a critical point in the…[primary school] experience’ (2000: 2). They further note, in reference to the US, that despite much focus on the Grade 4 school year due to high-stakes assessments, there has been little research on the nature of instruction in classrooms. As such, reasons for the focus on South African Grade 4 language teachers’ reading literacy instruction practices are fourfold. Firstly, this grade and these Learning Area teachers were the focus for the PIRLS 2006 and data from the study will be used in this research. Secondly, Grade 4 is also a grade in which reading tasks change and language of instruction may also change, making it a critical transition point in education. Thirdly, there is a dearth of research into reading instruction at this grade, especially in South Africa. And, finally, these language teachers are likely to dedicate the most teaching time to reading literacy instruction compared to their other Learning Area colleagues.

The role of language of instruction policy in South African classrooms

The implementation of South Africa’s Language in Education Policy (LiEP) (DoE 1997) has been complex in schools (De Klerk 2002; De Wet 2002). This complexity plays a role in the design of this study and the research questions to be addressed, most particularly in consideration of

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the diverse learners for whom Grade 4 teachers cater according to language background and how this impacts on teaching and learning. In particular, two classroom language composition scenarios are of relevance: namely, Grade 4 classes with an ESL learner cohort; and Grade 4 classes with a learner cohort learning in English as a First Language (EFL). The research aims to explore differences and similarities in teaching for reading literacy development between these two scenarios.

To qualify the definitions of these classroom language scenarios, at Grade 4 level there are schools with classes of learners who first start using English as the Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) in the Intermediate Phase. Prior to this grade, these learners have used another language, usually an African Language,1 as the LoLT. In accordance with the additive approach to bilingualism promoted by the DoE (1997), these learners have also received instruction in English as their additional LoLT during this period. The switch to English as the dominant language of instruction in Grade 4 renders these learners the status of ESL learners. The defining attribute of those Grade 4 classes with learners learning in EFL is that they are situated in primary schools where instruction is only offered in one language, English, from the Foundation Phase, despite the enrolment of learners with other vernaculars at these schools. The focus in the present research is particularly on schools in which learners have had exposure to English as the medium of instruction from Grade 1 (rather than on those schools with an Afrikaans medium of instruction). This choice of focus is based on the observation that there is likely to be greater language diversity at the English language medium schools due to more enrolments of black African learners at these schools. Indeed, contextual factors in South Africa may create a push towards the use of English as the predominant language of instruction in Foundation Phase classrooms at schools across the country, especially in urban settings. Due to its association with socio-economic upliftment, English may be the language of choice for their children’s education for many non-English home language parents in the country, in the hope that their children will be better equipped to participate successfully in the economic sector in future (De Klerk 2002). Moreover, due to the rights of school governing bodies to determine their own language policy, and as a result of the drive for the use of English as the LoLT, there are many schools where English has become the default LoLT from Grade 1, thus placing many learners in a setting where a subtractive or submersion2 model of bilingual education applies, instead of the additive approach that is advocated.

Focus on the intended, implemented and attained curriculum

It is argued that one of the major benefits of participation in international studies of educational achievement such as the PIRLS 2006 is that they allow a country’s educational curriculum to be subjected to closer scrutiny (Beaton et al. 1999). The nature of this research into teachers’ teaching practices compels researchers to scrutinise the current teaching curriculum (DoE 2002a). Van den Akker’s (2003) typology of curriculum representations, depicted as levels in Table 4.2, is a key component of the conceptual framework for this study (Zimmerman 2008). Van den Akker (2003) states that teaching curricula, which offer plans for learning, can be presented in various forms, and a common distinction is made via three levels of curriculum that are present in any teaching and learning situation.


Table 4.2: A typology of curriculum representations

INTENDED Ideal Vision (rationale or basic philosophy underlying a curriculum)

Formal/written Intentions as specified in curriculum documents and/or materials

IMPLEMENTED Perceived Curriculum as interpreted by its users (especially teachers)

Operational Actual process of teaching and learning (also: curriculum-in-action)

ATTAINED Experiential Learning experiences as perceived by learners

Learned Resulting learning outcomes of learners

Source: Van den Akker (2003: 3)

In the first phase of the present research, formal intentions espoused in the Revised National Curriculum Statement (DoE 2002b) will be compared with the PIRLS 2006 teacher survey reports of their implementation of this intended curriculum in the classroom scenarios of interest. Learner achievement results in the PIRLS 2006 assessments – an indication of the attained curriculum – will guide investigation of teachers’ curriculum implementation. In the second phase, case studies of teacher practice will further illuminate teachers’ implementation of the curriculum, both perceived and operational aspects. Focal points of investigation using this typology become more apparent in the next section of this paper, which outlines the research questions for the study.

Research questions

This research is guided by one overall research question and a main research question for each of the two phases of the research, the first phase being quantitative and the second qualitative.

Overall research questions

• How do teachers implement the language curriculum to meet the reading literacy development needs of South African Grade 4 learners?

• What are the differences in reported reading literacy teaching practices between English as a First Language and English as a Second Language Grade 4 classes?

• How does the intended curriculum compare with teachers’ implemented reading literacy teaching curriculum at Grade 4 level in diverse language and achievement settings?

• What benchmarks can be established to describe the reading literacy achievement of the majority of the South African Grade 4 learners?

Research questions: Phase one survey

• How do reported Grade 4 reading literacy practices for English as a First Language classes at each of the PIRLS 2006 achievement benchmarks compare?

• How do reported Grade 4 reading literacy practices for English as a Second Language classes at each of the PIRLS 2006 achievement benchmarks compare?

Research questions: Phase two case studies

• What are the actual practices of teaching reading literacy in English as a First Language classes with mean PIRLS 2006 achievement at each of the PIRLS 2006 benchmarks?

• What are the actual practices of teaching reading literacy in English as a Second Language classes with mean PIRLS 2006 achievement at each of the PIRLS 2006 benchmarks?

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The next section outlines the design considerations and specific research methodologies that address these questions.

Research design and methodology considerations

The research design for this study comprises secondary analyses of survey data and case studies, and therefore takes as its point of departure the understanding that qualitative and quantitative research can complement each other. The design also ensues from the recognition of the important linkages that can be forged between information gleaned from larger representative samples and that obtained from delving into cases linked to these samples to explore the processes and realities present in individual contexts, a point highlighted by Fleisch (2007). This is reiterated by Johnson et al. (2007), who state that mixed methods can be used to probe a data set to determine its meaning. The goal of mixed method use for this research is therefore to add breadth and scope to the study as well as to contribute to the knowledge base via examination and attempts to understand different aspects of complex phenomena (Onwuegbuzie & Collins 2007). This is in recognition of the complex phenomenon that is the teaching of Grade 4 reading literacy in South Africa. Brannen’s (1992) justification for combining qualitative and quantitative approaches – which is one solution to the so-called ‘duality of structure’ in understanding society reflected in quantitative and qualitative research approaches – particularly supports the line of argument promoted for this research. That is to say, there are macro-structural ways of understanding society, which call for a deterministic, explanatory mode associated with quantitative research; there are also micro-structural approaches, which emphasise the creative and interactive explanations and processes associated with qualitative approaches. Macro-level social phenomena need to be grounded in statements about social behaviour in concrete micro-level contexts (Brannen 1992). This justification therefore conforms to the aims for this research, in that micro-level case study data collected from teachers in Grade 4 classrooms will be used both to ground and illustrate the macro-level systemic survey data analysed from the PIRLS 2006 main study. The macro therefore becomes more clearly known through the lens of the micro (Mason 2006).

For the purposes of this research, a Partially Mixed Sequential Dominant Status Design is most appropriate, as the research comprises two phases (Leech & Onwuegbuzie 2005). In the first phase, teacher survey data from a nationally representative sample associated with the PIRLS 2006 will be used to enhance an appropriate description of Grade 4 language Learning Area teachers’ reading literacy instruction practices. This description will take place on the basis of the reclassification of the teacher survey data according to class language profiles and average class performance, as aligned with each of the benchmarks of the PIRLS 2006, and with further benchmark/s to be created to describe the performance levels of the majority of South African learners. Thereafter, qualitative teacher case studies (Yin 2003) from each reclassification sub-sample will be purposively selected to add depth to and further illuminate the study. The results of the quantitative first method will therefore be used to inform the use of the qualitative method (Onwuegbuzie & Collins 2007), particularly in terms of sampling decisions and to aid in the development of data collection strategies for the qualitative method. The qualitative component of the research will be the dominant method. The following sub-sections provide a more extensive explication of methodologies for the two phases.

Phase one of the study

Secondary analysis of the PIRLS 2006 teacher questionnairesTo measure trends and collect baseline information about key factors related to learners’ home and school environments, cross-sectional structured survey questionnaires were collected from learners, parents, teachers and school principals as part of the PIRLS 2006 (Howie et al. 2007). Of relevance to this study were the administrations of both the teacher and school questionnaires. For this phase specifically, the teacher survey data will be used to describe and


compare classroom reading literacy teaching practices, via the reclassification of the PIRLS 2006 sample according to class mean performance on the four PIRLS benchmarks and South African benchmark/s to be generated according to EFL and ESL classroom samples. The teacher survey questionnaire sought information about the structure and content of reading instruction in the classroom as well as within the school as a whole. Information about teachers’ experience and preparation to teach reading at Grade 4 level was also sought (Kennedy 2007).

In cognisance of the role of school context in classroom functioning, selected items from the PIRLS 2006 school questionnaire will also be included for analysis. The school questionnaire sought information from the school principal at each sampled school about the school’s reading curriculum and instructional policies, and also sought indications of the school’s demographics and resources (Kennedy 2007). For the PIRLS 2006 questionnaires, data were reported by means of percentage of learners responding to each category of a variable accompanied by mean reading achievement of the learners in each category. Thus the teacher and school data were presented from the perspective of learners’ educational experiences. In some cases response categories were collapsed and indices were also compiled. The same reporting will occur for this study too. However, the descriptive summaries of response distribution will be considered within and across the reclassification sub-samples according to class mean performances on the benchmarks to be generated for this research rather than according to individual learner mean performances (Trong & Kennedy 2007).

Further reclassification of the PIRLS 2006 sample and secondary analysisThe sampled schools, Grade 4 learners and teachers for the PIRLS 2006 are involved in the secondary analysis of this PIRLS 2006 data. The PIRLS 2006 international desired target population was all learners enrolled in the grade that represents the first four years of formal schooling in a country, providing that the mean learner age at the time of testing was at least 9.5 years. Due to sampling that involved schools and learners in classes, a three-stage stratified cluster sample design was employed, with schools being sampled in the first stage, intact classes being sampled in the next stage and learners being sampled in the final stage (Joncas 2007a). Stratification, or the grouping of sampling units into smaller sampling frames according to information found in the initial sampling frame, could be employed to ensure adequate representation of specific groups. The school sampling method was a systematic (random start, fixed interval) probability proportional-to-size technique. To draw school samples representative of the learner population, a measure of size at the school had to be provided, together with the expected number of sampled learners per class and variables describing school characteristics (gender of learners, degree of urbanisation and so on). Within each sampled school all Grade 4 classes were listed and a systematic random start was used (Joncas 2007a).

In South Africa, pseudo or combined classes were constructed when individual classes were too small. Furthermore, schools were sampled according to province and language, to create 62 explicit strata. Implicit regional stratification then occurred to create 250 implicit strata (Howie et al. 2007: 18–19). In South Africa Grade 4 learners were assessed with a mean testing age of 10.9 years. South Africa realised 100.0% of the international desired population for the PIRLS 2006 with only 4.3% exclusions. Out of a population of 15 045 schools and 942 494 learners, a total of 429 schools were included in the sample with 16 073 learners assessed at Grade 4 level (Howie et al. 2007: 19; Joncas 2007b: 108). School participation was calculated at 96% after replacements, classroom participation was recorded at 100.0%, and there was a 92.0% learner participation rate (Joncas 2007b: 129). Sampling of teachers to complete the PIRLS 2006 teacher questionnaires was based on participating learners in their Grade 4 classrooms within sampled schools.

For this research, this realised sample of schools was then reclassified according to the mean PIRLS 2006 achievement performance of each school’s sampled Grade 4 classes. The data were prepared for the phase one analysis in the following way:

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• Learner performance data for schools with learners tested in Afrikaans were removed from the sample.

• The mean Grade 4 class performance score of each remaining class was then calculated.• As the PIRLS 2006 background questionnaire data are aligned with average learner

performances, each learner (n=14 299) in each class in the sample was allocated the mean class performance score to allow for comparison of teaching practices according to class average performance.

• Mean class performances were then checked for their potential alignment to each of the PIRLS 2006 benchmarks.

The rationale for the focus on mean class performance for this research is not based on a goal of investigating teacher effectiveness as linked to class performance but rather of investigating how teachers engage in reading literacy instruction, given various learner performance scenarios and against the assumption that the majority in a class are likely to perform at similar levels of literacy development as a result of similar educational experiences.

Each of these classes was then further categorised according to the stated LoLT at the school, be they schools where the language of instruction had not changed at Grade 4 level (referred to as EFL medium schools), or schools where the language medium had changed (referred to as ESL medium schools). Very small numbers of South African learners reached the High and Advanced International Benchmarks and only learners tested in either English or Afrikaans were represented at either of these benchmarks. Also, removal of the Afrikaans test language results and calculation of learner achievement according to average class achievement revealed that no learners were in classes with a mean performance aligned with the Advanced International Benchmark. Table 4.3 represents the re-categorisation of the data with the number of learners for each language scenario represented according to the class average scores on the PIRLS 2006 international benchmarks.

Table 4.3: Number of South African learners reaching class benchmarks per ESL and EFL class re-categorisation

The PIRLS 2006 international benchmarks

Learners in classes with a mean thatDid not reach benchmark

Learners in classes with a

mean reaching theLow International

Benchmark


mean reaching theIntermediate International Benchmark


mean reaching theHigh International

Benchmark

Below 400 400 to 475 475 to 550 550 to 625

n % (SE) n % (SE) n % (SE) n % (SE)

EFL learners 2 185 70 (5.3) 297 11 (4.3) 237 13 (5.0) 84 7 (3.9)

ESL learners 11 496 100 NR* NR NR NR NR NR

Note: * Not Reached

As is evident in Table 4.3, when the sample was re-categorised further, it became evident that 70% of learners tested in English were in EFL classes where the class average did not align to the Low International Benchmark, with only 11% of learners in classes where the class average was at the Low International Benchmark, 13% of learners in classes where their mean class performance reached the Intermediate International Benchmark, and 7% in classes with an average aligned with the High International Benchmark. Disconcertingly, all learners tested in an African language were in ESL classes where the average class achievement was below the Low International Benchmark.


The fact that there is a bottom effect in the data, specifically with regard to learners tested in an African language (ESL), prevents meaningful analysis when using only the PIRLS 2006 international benchmarks. For further analytical purposes, it is thus necessary to create new benchmarks to allow for greater insight into group variations between classes, especially those with ESL learner cohorts. That is to say, benchmarks reflective of the levels of performance that the majority of South African learners reach need to be created and described, to assist in our understandings of teaching practices at these achievement levels. This is because instructional interventions aimed at improving South African learners’ reading literacy cannot be appropriately designed without an understanding of the needs of the majority of learners and their teachers.

Table 4.4 presents possible choices for the establishment of the South African benchmarks for use in this study. The learner mean class average achievement data were segmented in the same way as for the PIRLS 2006 international benchmarks, starting at 75 scale points below the PIRLS 2006 Low International Benchmark of 400: a scale point of 325, currently referred to as South African Benchmark A. South African Benchmark B is a scale point of 250, Benchmark C is a scale point of 175 and Benchmark D is a scale point of 100. It is likely that Benchmarks C and A will be appropriate choices for further analysis for this study. The majority of the learners were in classes with an average achievement score at South African Benchmark C, with 60% of the ESL learners and 25% of the EFL represented at this benchmark. Of learners in ESL classes, 3% were represented at Benchmark A – the highest-achieving ESL classes in South Africa, making this benchmark an extremely important analytical choice for this research. Also, nearly as many EFL learners (23%) were in classes reaching Benchmark A as those in classes reaching Benchmark C (25%). As in the process used for the description of the PIRLS 2006 international benchmarks, scale anchoring analysis will take place and criteria will be applied to identify the sets of items that learners reaching each South African benchmark were likely to answer correctly and that those at the next lowest benchmark were unlikely to answer correctly (Mullis et al. 2007).

Table 4.4: Average class performance distribution for South African benchmarks and class language profile

South African PIRLS 2006 benchmarks

Learners in classes with a mean reaching

theSouth African Benchmark D


theSouth African Benchmark C


theSouth African Benchmark B


theSouth African Benchmark A

South African learners in

classes with a mean reaching

the PIRLS 2006

international benchmarks

100 to 175 175 to 250 250 to 325 325 to 400 400+

n % (SE)

n % (SE)

n % (SE)

n % (SE)

n % (SE)

EFL learners 448 13 (5.0)

926 25 (6.9)

326 9(4.0)

484 23 (6.4)

618 30 (5.3)

ESL learners 1 911 19 (2.7)

7 427 60 (3.1)

1 974 19 (3.1)

184 3 (1.2) NR NR

Once these South African benchmarks have been established, descriptive analysis will take place within and across the benchmark and language reclassification sub-samples. Moving from this macro-level secondary analysis of the PIRLS 2006 teacher questionnaire data according to these reclassification samples, micro-level teacher case studies will be initiated for exploratory illustration of teaching practices in classroom contexts. The qualitative underpinnings of these case studies, the rationale for the use of collective case studies, participant selection, data collection and analysis, are considered in the next sub-section.

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Phase two of the study

Sampling, data collection and analysisAs Yin (2003) suggests, ‘surveys can try to deal with phenomenon and context, but their ability to investigate context is extremely limited’ (2003: 13). The second phase of this research will address, via qualitative research strategies, the limited ability of the phase one survey questionnaires to investigate the context within which teachers address reading literacy instruction in South Africa. ‘A distinctive strength of qualitative research lies in its intimate and habitual concern with context, with the “particular” and with understanding the situatedness of social experience, processes and change’ (Mason 2006: 17). In other words, the micro-level context is investigated in depth. Fleisch (2007) contends that qualitative research is best when it delves deeply, in unfettered ways, into the complex processes and contextual realities of teaching and learning both inside and outside the classroom. The methodological vehicle chosen to do this will be collective case studies (Stake 1995).

At the research design stage, quantitative data can assist sampling for the qualitative component by identifying representative sample members or helping to identify outlying or deviant cases (Johnson et al. 2007). Building on from the re-categorisation of the initial three-stage stratified cluster sample from the PIRLS 2006, Grade 4 classes that were classified according to class language profiles and according to the average performance of their learners on the benchmarks for the first phase of the research will provide the sampling frames for purposive sampling strategies used in this second phase. Teachers who taught the learners who completed the PIRLS 2006 assessments, and who completed a PIRLS 2006 teacher questionnaire in 2005, will be approached once again for participation in the current study. This is provided that these teachers are still teaching Grade 4 in the same school sampled for the PIRLS 2006. These teachers will be from schools in which Grade 4 learners had mean class performances aligned with each of the PIRLS 2006 international and South African benchmarks. This purposive selection from each benchmark reclassification of the main PIRLS 2006 sample will be further based on a need to select teachers who represent learners attending schools with ESL learner populations from Grade 4 and EFL schools with an English medium of instruction from Grade 1. The delay between collection of the PIRLS 2006 data in 2005 and data collection from these same teachers in 2009 is not regarded as problematic as no major changes to these educational settings, to learner educational characteristics, or to teacher expertise are surmised for this time period, especially as formalised government initiatives to change reading instruction in schools were only introduced in the first quarter of 2008 (DoE 2007).

For each case the following data collection strategies will be undertaken:

• The PIRLS 2006 school questionnaire data for case study contextualisation purposesThe PIRLS 2006 school questionnaire gathered information from school principals about availability and use of materials to teach reading, the school reading curriculum and instructional policies, in addition to the schools’ demographics and resources (Kennedy 2007). While these school questionnaires will not be a central focus for analysis for this specific research, purposively selected school questionnaire data aligned with the sample for this phase of the research will be used to contextualise teachers’ teaching practices in the selected schools. This is important, to cover the contextual conditions that form the boundaries of these cases as they are highly pertinent to understanding teachers’ practices (Yin 2003).

• Opportunity to LearnOpportunity To Learn (OTL) was introduced as part of the IEA’s First International Mathematics Survey in the 1960s. The mathematics curriculum was conceptualised as functioning at the three levels of the intended, implemented and attained curriculum. To examine the implemented curriculum an OTL questionnaire was administered to the teachers of the learners who were assessed. Teachers were asked whether the content needed to respond to items on the achievement tests had been taught to their learners. In instances


where the content had not been taught, reasons for this were explored (McDonnell 1995). A similar strategy will be initiated for the present research. However, instead of questionnaires, the participating teachers will be asked to review and evaluate the PIRLS 2006 assessment instruments that have been released for public scrutiny. The teacher participants will be required to ‘think aloud’ regarding their judgement of the assessments and whether they address the content of the items, how they (the teachers) would teach learners in preparation for these assessments, and what challenges they think their learner cohort would experience in answering such assessments (Pressley & Hilden 2004). This will require reflection on their learners’ abilities, how well their curriculum aligns to such expected assessment outcomes, and how they would adapt instruction to assist their learners to achieve these assessment outcomes. The participating teachers will be asked what teachers need to teach in order to prepare learners to complete these assessments successfully. They will also be asked whether their current practices adequately address preparation for this type of reading comprehension exercise and what needs to change to address this.

• Semi-structured interviewsInterviews are essential sources of case study information (Yin 2003). An interview will be conducted with each teacher participant for this phase of the research. A preliminary schedule outlines lines of inquiry for this interview. These include the focus on understandings of and goals for teaching reading literacy; understandings of the curriculum for the teaching of reading literacy; descriptions of typical lessons; opinions on what experiences have shaped their teaching strategies; experiences in interacting with their learners for reading literacy; and ideas about which strategies are most useful. However, the analysis of the data from the first phase will inform the further development of this schedule.

• Classroom observations and teacher reflectionNon-participant observations will assist towards greater understanding of the cases (Stake 1995). Specific foci for the observations will be based on the analysis of the phase one data. Constructivist grounded theory (Charmaz 2006) techniques will be used to assist in the analysis of the data collected for this phase of the research.

Conclusion

This paper has sought to outline how the PIRLS 2006 learner achievement and teacher questionnaire data will be used to initiate the exploration of South African teachers’ practices for the teaching of reading literacy in a variety of learning and teaching contexts reflective of the language and educational complexities present in classrooms across South Africa. It is argued that macro-level data, such as those available from the PIRLS 2006, can be used as a tool to guide and focus the collection of micro-level data. In turn these micro-level data can assist as a vehicle to aid further understanding of the macro-level data.

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Endnotes1. The term ‘African Language’ is used to refer to 9 of the 11 official languages of South Africa, these

languages being historically associated with so-called black African members of South African society. These languages are: isiXhosa, Tshivenda, Sesotho, Sepedi, isiZulu, Xitsonga, Setswana, Siswati and isiNdebele (Baker & Prys Jones 1998).

2. A submersion model involves a straight for second additional language medium of instruction from the first grade of school, with little or no chance for the development of the first language (Heugh 2006).

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Despite every good intention: Challenges to the realisation of objectives for South African BEd Foundation Phase teacher preparation for literacy teachingLisa Zimmerman, Sarah J Howie and Caroline LongCentre for Evaluation and Assessment, University of Pretoria

This paper presents selected findings from a cross-sectional survey of the Foundation Phase literacy programmes for the Bachelor of Education degree for the Early Childhood Development/Foundation Phase teacher preparation programmes at South African higher education institutions. The survey was a branch of the Centre for Evaluation and Assessment’s Teaching Literacy Education Project, which investigates pre-service and in-service training initiatives for literacy teaching in South Africa. The aim of the survey was to describe how pre-service student teachers are currently being trained to teach reading literacy for South African Foundation Phase learners. The selected findings are linked to one primary research question: How do current BEd Foundation Phase teacher education programmes prepare teachers for literacy teaching? – with its associated sub-questions: How is the reading instruction preparation programme structured at each institution?, Which reading literacy instruction strategies are promoted in teacher education for Foundation Phase learners? and What are the challenges associated with this training? In response to requests to all South African higher education institutions offering the degree to participate, lecturers involved in the presentation of these programmes at eight institutions completed a survey questionnaire with both open and closed response items, and provided study guides for comparative content analysis to address these questions. The main findings are that there is wide variation – both in the programme goals espoused, and the design of the programmes at the different institutions. It seems that content for these literacy programmes is mostly well considered, with each module and study unit serving a specific goal for teacher education that is in line with the national curriculum and international trends. However, time limitations, resource inadequacies and a lack of optimal opportunities for student teachers’ practical exposure may impede the achievement of programme goals.


Keywords

initial teacher educationFoundation Phase reading literacy instructionTeaching Literacy Education Project (TLEP)Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2006South Africahigher education institutions

Introduction

The Teaching Literacy Education Project (TLEP) is a complementary study designed to inform and contextualise the results of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), implemented for the first time in South Africa by the Centre for Evaluation and Assessment (CEA) during 2006. The PIRLS 2006 is an international study of reading literacy in which 40 countries (and 45 education systems internationally) participated. The results of the PIRLS 2006 assessment, together with previous systemic assessment results in South Africa (Department of Education [DoE] 2003; Moloi & Strauss 2005) indicated most strongly that Foundation Phase learners are struggling to develop the reading literacy competences needed to make the transition to reading to learn in the Intermediate Phase in South African schools (Howie et al. 2007). Most notably for this study, these learner achievement data suggest that teachers may not have the repertoire of skills needed to prepare learners for this transition or to deal with difficulties associated with this shift in teaching and learning.

Teachers’ acquisitions of the teaching skills necessary to bring about the development of literate language competence are critical, especially as, in South Africa, many assumptions have been largely unquestioned about how to teach reading and writing, which languages to use and what counts as high-quality practice in classrooms (Bloch 1999). As the initial teacher education programmes they are exposed to in training institutions may largely determine teachers’ literacy and reading instruction strategies, it was considered of paramount importance that an exploration into what are considered effective literacy teaching strategies for learners from diverse backgrounds in South Africa be undertaken. This component of the TLEP is therefore premised on the International Reading Association’s (IRA) (2007) declaration that

[p]utting a quality teacher in every classroom is key to addressing the challenges of reading achievement in schools. Knowledgeable, strategic, adaptive, and reflective teachers make a difference in student learning. (IRA 2007: 1)

It is also based on their further argument that as higher education institutions prepare the majority of teachers, these institutions have a pivotal role to play in achieving this goal (IRA 2007). There may indeed be many other factors contributing to the poor reading skills of South African learners; however, the overall TLEP survey study aimed to investigate how current pre-service Bachelor of Education (BEd) Foundation Phase teacher education curricula prepare and support teachers in this country. In particular the aim was to investigate how teachers are prepared to teach reading instruction for learners’ literate language development in diverse linguistic Foundation and Intermediate Phase settings across South Africa. Ultimately, the goal was to explore broad trends in teacher education in reading literacy instruction.

A search of the education journal databases from the initiation of this research in 2006 up to the present revealed a lack of accessible research-based information on teacher education practices for training in reading literacy instruction in South Africa. It is important that current training programmes for the teaching of reading be investigated, especially given that the South African

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national DoE has officially acknowledged the difficulties that South African teachers experience in teaching reading (DoE 2008). The DoE particularly points out that many teachers have an underdeveloped understanding of teaching literacy, reading and writing; while others simply do not know how to teach reading; and still others only know one method of teaching reading, which does not cater for the learning needs of all their learners. The DoE further reveals that many Foundation Phase teachers have not been explicitly trained to teach reading (DoE 2008: 7–8).

In this paper, the background to and research design for the survey are introduced. Thereafter, the module compositions of each of the participating institutions’ literacy training programmes are outlined, and challenges to implementation experienced from the perspectives of the lecturers involved considered. These selected findings are linked to one primary research question: How do current BEd Foundation Phase teacher education programmes prepare teachers for literacy teaching? with its associated sub-questions: How is the reading instruction preparation programme structured at each institution?, Which reading literacy instruction strategies are promoted in teacher education for Foundation Phase learners? and What are the challenges associated with this training? The meaning of the findings for Foundation Phase literacy teacher education programmes at South African higher education institutions is then deliberated in the conclusion to the paper.

Interpretive framework for the research

The IRA (2007) has focused significant research efforts on identifying essential qualities of effective teacher preparation programmes. The organisation completed a major programmatic study of the preparation of classroom teachers in reading, through its National Commission on Excellence in Elementary Teacher Preparation for Reading Instruction in the US. The commission specified the features common to eight excellent programmes identified through a competitive application process. This was followed by the IRA’s Teacher Education Task Force comprehensive review of the empirical literature in the area of teacher education for reading. On the basis of this research, six essential features for creating and sustaining preparation programmes that produce teachers who teach reading well were identified, as outlined in Table 5.1. The IRA (2007) notes that achieving excellence in all six components is difficult; and it is only when programmes are intentionally striving for excellence that they will produce teachers who can meet the demands of today’s classroom environments.


Table 5.1: Essential features of preparation programmes that produce teachers who teach reading well

Feature Description of feature

Content The programmes draw on an integrated body of research focusing on how learners become successful readers and how teachers support learners with instruction.

Foundation in research Reading–writing Word-level instructionaland theory connections strategies

Instructional Text-level instructional Assessmentapproaches and strategiesmaterials

Faculty and teaching Faculty is committed to effective instruction – delivering appropriate content and modelling successful instructional techniques for students.

Explicit teaching

Apprenticeships, field experiences and practica

Students are guided through systematically arrayed field experiences that are closely coordinated with coursework and expose students to excellent models and mentors.

Putting learning into Model mentoringpractice

Diversity The programmes are saturated with awareness of diversity. Both faculty and students reflect diversity, and teachers are produced who know how to teach diverse learners in diverse settings.

Cultural diversity Differentiating instruction

Candidate and programme assessment

Students, graduates, faculty and curriculum are intentionally and regularly assessed to guide instructional decision-making and programme development.

Assessments that work Admission to the Monitoring during the programme study courseBenchmarking achievement at Evaluating graduates ingraduation the teaching profession

Governance, resources and vision

Programmes are centred on a vision of quality teaching that produces a community of future leaders in reading education. The governance gives faculty appropriate control for realising that vision.

Valuing education Governing the mission Creating community

Source: Drawn from IRA (2007: 1–22).

The elements of each of these features are described in detail by the IRA (2007). As instruments and interview protocols for the TLEP were commenced prior to the publication of the IRA’s (2007) document, not all features highlighted by the IRA were actively under investigation for the present research study. However, those features and elements outlined in Table 5.1 that became relevant as a result of the analysis of the data were taken into account in the reporting of the findings and conclusions drawn. The next section of this paper introduces the research design for the entire TLEP.

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Research design and methodology

As part of the TLEP, a survey of pre-service training institutions involved in Foundation Phase teacher education for literacy instruction was undertaken. In seeking research participants to participate in survey completion for this component of the research, a search for those higher education institutions offering teacher education was conducted. Internet searches of South African higher education institution websites, and e-mail correspondence with the deans of education or heads of department at these higher education institutions, revealed that 12 institutions currently offer a BEd degree in Early Childhood Development (ECD) and/or Foundation Phase teaching. Table 5.2 outlines which higher education institutions present this specific programme and also gives indications of all other pre-service and in-service teacher education programmes offered. These institutions were contacted between November 2006 and April 2008 with regard to participation in this research. Permission to contact lecturers was received from the deans and heads of faculties, schools and departments of education at these institutions. It was difficult in some instances to find out which lecturers were involved in the programmes at each institution and, in some cases, to make contact with these lecturers and get feedback from them about participation. The point to be made here is that the partnerships in education amongst all role-players involved in literacy training and literacy initiatives – as per the vision of the National Reading Strategy (DoE 2008) – may not be easy to achieve due to potential difficulties in sourcing information on, and accessing and initiating productive interactions with, key role-players.


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Those lecturers who participated completed a survey questionnaire that sought information about the literacy programme they presented for the BEd degree at their institution. Some questions were adaptations of the PIRLS 2006 teacher questionnaire, which sought information about areas of emphasis in teachers’ formal education and training, materials used by teachers for reading instruction and their instructional strategies and activities, and approaches to remedial assessment. A number of open-ended questions seeking information on the aims of the teacher education programme for literacy, challenges of presentation of the literacy programme for teacher education purposes, and approaches to dealing with diverse learner language populations in South Africa were also included in the survey. Further, the study guides for the Foundation Phase literacy programmes at all the identified institutions were requested.

Table 5.3: Data collected for the survey

Institution A B C D E F G H I J K L

Completion of survey

• • • • • • • •

Provision of study guides

• • • • • • •

As illustrated in Table 5.3, lecturers from 8 of the 12 institutions (each institution having been allocated a pseudonym for reporting purposes from letters A through to L), completed the survey questionnaire. The study guides for the literacy programme at 7 institutions were also provided for document analysis purposes. The lecturer at Institution E completed the survey questionnaire only. The lecturers at 4 of the institutions did not participate.

Main findings2

In the subsections that follow, the purpose statements for the literacy programmes provided by the participating lecturers are outlined. This is followed by lecturers’ indications of the reading instruction methodologies that are advocated and the delineation of the module compositions of the Foundation Phase literacy programmes. Thereafter, the focus is on the challenges experienced in the presentation of these programmes, as indicated by the lecturers involved.3

Purpose statements for the BEd literacy programmes

Lecturers provided purpose statements in response to a survey request to complete the statement The purpose of the literacy programme offered is to…, so as to explain the main outcome objectives of their BEd literacy teaching development programme. All of the purpose statements provided reflect the intention of lecturers to equip, enable, prepare and/or empower future teachers with both knowledge and skills to teach literacy to learners in the Foundation Phase. The goal of this training is specifically for teachers to help learners to become fully literate (in the case of Institution A) and by means of teachers’ implementation of their understanding of literacy training (at Institution F), as evidenced by the following purpose statements:• The purpose of the literacy programme offered is to ‘prepare Pre-service Foundation Phase

teachers to teach Foundation Phase children to read, write and become literate in the full sense of the word’ (Institution A).

• The purpose of the literacy programme offered is to ‘empower future teachers to understand literacy teaching in the broadest sense. Thus should help them to move away from traditional methods to more progressive approaches to holistic language learning and teaching’ (Institution F).


At Institution B, the goal is to promote learners’ language development, and at Institution I the goal is to assist learners to explore language in various contexts, as indicated by the following statements:• The purpose of the literacy programme offered is to ‘equip students with knowledge and skills

to teach [and] promote language development including reading and writing’ (Institution B).

• The purpose of the literacy programme offered is to ‘equip students with skills and knowledge so that they will assist learners to explore language in various contexts’ (Institution I).

The lecturer at Institution G emphasised the need to prepare teachers to be able to address the expected learning outcomes for the literacy learning programme for teaching language as stipulated in the Revised National Curriculum Statement for languages (DoE 2002). Emphasis was also placed on preparation to teach in schools in South Africa.

At Institution D the goal is to elicit students’ deep understanding of teaching reading literacy:• The purpose of the literacy programme offered is to ‘engage pre-service teachers in a deep

understanding of the processes of literacy teaching and learning by interacting with a variety of approaches and the strategies embedded in the respective approaches’ (Institution D).

Aside from stated lecturer goals for the teaching of reading literacy, it is also necessary to elucidate specific reading methodologies advocated at each of the institutions. These are considered in the next subsection.

Stated reading methodologies advocatedLecturers at each institution were requested to provide a brief description of the reading methodology their literacy training programme encourages their student teachers to use. Of the eight participant institutions, five lecturers (from Institutions A, D, E, F and G) reported encouraging students to use a balanced, top-down and bottom-up or transactional approach to reading instruction, involving an emphasis on both phonics instruction and whole language approaches to encouraging meaning and understanding – an approach endorsed by the national DoE (2002). Cementing the value of this approach, the IRA’s (2007) content feature4 for creating and sustaining preparation programmes that produce teachers able to teach reading well includes two important components: word-level instructional strategies (word identification, phonemic awareness, phonics and the application of these to instruction) in concert with multiple text-level comprehension strategies. The following lecturer statement is an example of this approach:• ‘Students encounter both top-down and bottom-up literacy approaches in the BEd

programme…The literacy strategy we espouse employs the fundamentals of letter–sound correspondence, word study and decoding as well as holistic experiences in reading, writing, speaking and listening to create an integrated framework that addresses the various aspects of literacy’ (Institution E).

The lecturers at Institutions A, D and F particularly emphasised the role of training in reading aloud, and shared, guided and/or independent reading within this balanced programme, as illustrated by the comments of the lecturer from Institution D:• ‘This balanced approach focuses on…activities like reading aloud, shared…, interactive…

and independent reading…’ (Institution D).

Lecturers at Institutions J and B referred to eclectic approaches to programmes in which the goal is likely to be diversity in exposure so that students have a repertoire of skills from which to draw:• ‘An eclectic reading approach [is followed] as the aim is not to elevate any method above the

others. Teacher trainees will choose the method that appeals to them and have more success with their use in the teaching of reading’ (Institution B).

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Another element of content stated by the IRA (2007) as being the bedrock of excellent preparation programmes is a foundation in research and theory. The IRA (2007) argues that research informs theories, which then guide decision-making. Furthermore, it is argued that strong theoretical foundations give programmes guiding principles for coherence purposes. Importantly, the lecturer at Institution E mentioned that:• ‘…We attempt to offer the best of reading research from a range of philosophies’ (Institution

E).

The IRA also indicates that excellent programmes for reading instruction address strategies for content area reading. The IRA further recognises that student teachers need in-depth instruction for reading instruction in the content areas and intensive, focused preparation in providing instruction and feedback to their learners, so that these student teachers acquire and use these strategies (IRA 2007). At Institution A, this necessity was emphasised as a programme feature:• ‘They also look at teaching reading to learn skills… ‘ (Institution A).

In the next subsection indications of how this content is presented at each institution are considered.

Module composition for the BEd literacy programmes

The number of modules and time period for presentation during the four-year BEd degree differs between institutions, as do the study unit foci for each preparation programme.5 Table 5.4 outlines the number of modules and total time allocation for these modules in each participating institution’s BEd programme.

Table 5.4: Presentation of each institution’s literacy teacher preparation modules during the BEd degree

Time of presentation

Institution A Institution B Institution D Institution F Institution G Institution I Institution J

1st year 1 year1 1 year 2 semesters 1 semester

2nd year 3 semesters2 1 year 1 year 2 semesters 1 semester 1 year

3rd year 1 year 1 year 1 semester 1 semester 1 semester

4th year 1 year 1 quarter 1 year 1 semester 1 semester

Total semesters

4 semesters 3 semesters1 quarter

6 semesters 6 semesters 6 semesters 3 semesters 4 semesters

Total modules

2 4 3 3 6 3 3

Notes:1 ‘Year’ meaning ‘year module’2 ‘Semesters’ meaning ‘semester modules’

Institution A presents its literacy programme in the form of two year-long modules, over the last two academic years of the four-year BEd, totalling four semesters. Institution B presents four modules: three semester-long modules during the second year of the degree and one quarter-long module during the final year. Institution D offers three year-long modules, during the first, second and fourth years of the degree. Institution F presents six semester-long modules during the first three years of the degree. At Institution G, presentation of the literacy programme is spread over the four years of the degree. Students complete two semester-long modules in their first year, two semester-long modules in their second year, one semester-long module in their third year and one semester-long module in their fourth year, amounting to six semesters of exposure to literacy content in total. Institution I presents content over the first three years of the degree amounting to three modules presented over three semesters. Seemingly, Institution


J presents three modules: one year-long module in the second year and one semester-long module in each of the third and fourth years, totalling four semesters.

Challenges associated with Foundation Phase literacy teacher training

Lecturers were asked to comment on any difficulties experienced in training teachers for their future reading instruction practices in terms of logistics (the institution’s timetable, financial costs, and availability of resources) with regard to implementing the training programme; experiences of the student teachers to whom they provide training; and the actual programme curricula at their institutions. Lecturers were also asked to comment on any issues or queries that student teachers returning from practicals raise about the teaching of reading in schools. Lecturers’ reports in response to these queries are discussed in the next subsections.

Logistical challengesReported logistical difficulties in the implementation of the training programme and the prescribed BEd curriculum at each institution indicated that the availability of resources, time allocation for lectures, and the ability to forge practical links between lecture content and actual practical exposure are areas of specific challenge.

Timetable structuring and actual time allocation for lectures was mentioned as an issue for five of the eight respondents (Institutions A, B, D, F, G) as evidenced by the following statements:• ‘The timetable is so full. This causes burnout and lethargy [for students] which impacts

directly on their preparation for reading teaching. [Students]…complain about the overload which interferes with their desire to do good reading teaching’ (Institution D).

• ‘Due to financial costs, the amount of contact sessions allocated for the teaching of literacy is not satisfactory’ (Institution G).

Lecturers from Institutions A and B specifically linked these time constraints to the inability to allow for effective student exposure to programme content in actual practice. An example of this is the following: • ‘Limitations within the time-table [limit]…students [being] in classrooms using methods

and approaches talked about’ (Institution A).

A key area of concern in this regard for the lecturer at Institution D was the amount of contact time allocated for the literacy programme and student assessment:• ‘I think that the curriculum feature that worries me most is the contact time and secondly

the assessment. With regard to contact time: the students do not have enough quiet time to absorb, think, reflect, think again and then respond to critical issues in education in constructive assessment tasks that have been indulged with adequate scaffolding and a realistic period of time in which to develop and complete the task’ (Institution D).

The IRA (2007) notes that excellent teacher education programmes do not just deliver content and evaluate students with tests. A pedagogy that demonstrates this knowledge practically is promoted, as teacher-educators recognise that student teachers need to be able to use what they learn to tackle challenges in today’s classrooms.

At Institutions J and G, there is a specific difficulty experienced in terms of the number of students, and lecturers’ ability to interact in an educationally meaningful manner with each of these students due to class size:• ‘All the language and literacy courses…have large numbers of students. It is only in small

groupwork that there is enough opportunity for questions. However, as there have been financial cuts, there is a likelihood that we shall have to deal with larger tutorial groups. That would impact negatively on the close interaction needed to clarify or sustain reading processes’ (Institution J).

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• ‘Classes amount to 80+ students per contact session. Large groups have a negative impact on teaching of skills’ (Institution G).

Resource availability for teacher education at higher education institutions is clearly another area of concern. Textbook and journal availability were particularly mentioned as areas of concern in this regard:• ‘Very limited…resources. Textbooks that are really good are out of reach of the majority of

students’ (Institution A).• ‘…not enough South African reading material for Foundation Phase’ (Institution F).• ‘Resourcing is a huge problem in my institution. Purchasing and accessing hard copies of

books is fairly trouble-free but purchasing of journal articles tends to be a drawn out and often unsuccessful process’ (Institution D).

At Institution D a lack of Information Technology (IT) resources hinders the imparting of the content that needs to be addressed: • ‘But the biggest difficulty is the IT resources. I do not have a laptop or data projector or an

interactive white board. This impedes the scope of my teaching since I can only ever refer to software possibilities of using IT for reading literacy teaching and learning’ (Institution D).

Student challenges The lecturers were also asked to discuss challenges experienced with the student teacher cohorts participating in the programme at their institutions. No challenges were reported by four of the Institutions (A, G, I and J). The lecturer at Institution B once again reiterated that:• ‘Student teachers…want to experience the “theory” immediately after it has been dealt

with in class. Unfortunately it is not always possible for them to gain such an experience’ (Institution B).

The lecturer at Institution F indicated a mismatch between what is taught at university and what student teachers actually experience in school settings: • ‘The schools in which our students work are locked in traditional reading methodology as

opposed to understanding and implementing progressive approaches to literacy and how to integrate this across the curriculum. This results in a mismatch between the theory that is taught at [this institution] and the practice that our students are seeing in schools’ (Institution F).

This suggests continuity difficulties between teacher education and beginning teachers’ school experiences. As such, it appears that regardless of the quality of content in teacher education, beginning teachers may have to fit in with the status quo in schools, resulting in a loss of any beneficial learning and practice skills that may have been gained during initial teacher education.

Another problem that may be prevalent at most if not all teacher education sites is a shortage of African language vernacular student teachers entering into training to become teachers: • ‘Not enough isiXhosa speaking [Foundation Phase]…students’ (Institution F).

In the experience of Institution A, enrolled African language student teachers do not always want to learn skills for mother-tongue teaching as they tend to gain employment at former Model C schools after training and therefore consider it important that training is provided in English.6 At Institution E, which provides a BEd programme for in-service teachers seeking to upgrade their teaching qualification to degree status, another difficulty experienced with these in-service students is that:• ‘Poor English language proficiency makes it difficult for many in-service teachers to cope

with the academic reading and writing tasks of the BEd programme. Teachers may have acceptable BICS [Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills] but not have adequate CALP [Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency]’ (Institution E).


While the lecturer at Institution D communicated the idea of the positive disposition of students with regard to their willingness to learn to teach reading literacy well, it was hinted that at the same time these students battle with their own reading literacy capabilities: • ‘…the trend is that…[students] want to teach reading literacy well and so they come to the

lectures with enthusiasm and participatory attitudes. They are also keen to be critical of reading literacy pedagogy but I am tempted to say that too few of them display adequate reading literacy themselves!’ (Institution D).

Fleisch (2007) corroborates this by mentioning that there is both anecdotal and small-scale empirical evidence of South African teachers’ difficulties with their own reading for learning purposes. At Institution D, which also offers an in-service BEd programme, experiences with in-service teachers have been positive:• ‘The students bring a wealth of experiences with and knowledge of literacy teaching. In the

last three years the age demographics has shifted somewhat to older students who have had some form of teaching experience either as au pairs, teaching assistants and the like. This provides endless opportunities for critical discussions with regard to reading literacy teaching, especially in the first year of the BEd program’ (Institution D).

However, the lecturer at Institution E indicated that capacity to monitor and support in-service students’ learning is hampered by minimal contact time: • ‘While pre-service students receive regular and detailed feedback regarding their teaching of

literacy [reading], during lectures and practice teaching, in-service teachers do not have the same advantage. In the pre-service programme students have between 30 and 40% contact time while the in-service programme only makes provision for 12% contact time’ (Institution E).

Programme curricula challengesLecturers were asked about their experiences of any difficulties in terms of the prescribed programme curricula. At Institutions A and F no challenges in terms of university programme curricula and their impact on the literacy programme were reported. The lecturer at Institution E indicated the lack of a prescribed curriculum to guide teacher education programmes in South Africa as a challenge:• ‘There is a prescribed curriculum for schools, but no prescribed curriculum for teacher

education. The Norms and Standards offer a framework which is used by academics to design an appropriate curriculum’ (Institution E).

At Institution B the diverse nature of the curriculum was mentioned as an area of challenge:• ‘The curricula is quite diverse as it covers first and second language teaching. The curricula

entails teaching of various strategies and techniques of teaching basic reading and writing’ (Institution B).

This would suggest that the sheer volume and range of topic areas that need to be addressed may be a challenge. At Institutions G and D this is seemingly the case, as evidenced by the following comments:• ‘The teaching of Literacy demands the teaching of theory as well as skills, which can be time-

consuming’ (Institution G).• ‘The curriculum is too full. I believe that it should be streamlined strategically without

minimizing the integrity of the respective subjects’ (Institution D).

At Institution J, the concern was raised that students only have exposure to content associated with the teaching of reading during the second year of their four-year degree:• ‘The Language & Literacy courses span three years of a BEd student’s degree. Reading is

taught in the second year of the programme only’ (Institution J).

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Meaningfully, the lecturer at Institution D suggested that the curriculum, as it currently stands, does not sufficiently promote critical thinking on the part of students:• ‘There has not been a progressive shift in the structure of the program – it appears to be

stuck in a curriculum paradigm that is not sufficiently characterized by critical thinking’ (Institution D).

The IRA (2007) argues that excellent preparation programmes are also excellent in challenging the traditional theories that students may initially hold (transmission and rote learning theories); student teachers shift to more constructivist views of teaching, and the constructivist approach is the most common theoretical orientation (IRA 2007).

Issues that students raise about experiences of teaching practicalsA key area of initial teaching skill development and reflection on learning experiences is student teachers’ opportunity for in situ practical learning experience associated with school classrooms. Lecturers were asked for commentary on the issues and queries that student teachers returning from practicals raise about the teaching of reading in school contexts. The lecturer at Institution D noted some challenges with this critical student learning experience. Specifically, some teachers in schools do not allow the students to complete the development tasks that have been set by the institution. Furthermore, the comments suggest, students do not always gain exposure to optimal mentoring of reading instruction by teachers at schools during these practicals:• ‘First year students do their TP [Teaching Practicals] in Grade R contexts…I require the first

year students to select fiction and non-fiction text for their reading teaching, to read aloud and to scaffold the children’s oral language. Some Grade R teachers do not want them to read story books to the children. Second year students do their TP in Grade 1 contexts. Their queries are mainly about phonics: many of the students see phonics teaching and learning as an end in itself...not as a means of accessing decoding and encoding of text. Third year students do their TP in Grade 2/3 challenging, previously-disadvantaged contexts, [teacher : ] learner ratio is about 1 : 35–55. The main query here is that the teachers don’t teach reading’ (Institution D).

The issue of mentor teachers at schools not actually teaching reading leads to a mismatch between students’ practical experience and the theory and strategies taught during lectures; this was further reiterated by lecturers at three other participating institutions (G, A and F):• ‘Students are surprised and concerned that the actual teaching of reading does not really

feature in many schools. The teaching of reading is not a planned and organized activity in many schools. Learners read if they want to read. [There is] [n]ot always planned and formal reading instruction’ (Institution G).

• ‘Students will ask: Why are teachers not teaching reading? Why are we not seeing the group reading methods we cover in our course?’ (Institution A).

• ‘...there is little or no match between the theory provided in lectures and the practice that the students are seeing in the majority of schools in the East London area. This includes ex model C schools. The students state that there is no time for reading both formal lessons or incidental. Teachers do group…reading but very few are teaching children to read. Phonics is taught in isolation maybe once a week. Phonics is not taught in context and little application is done beside endless worksheets and colouring in’ (Institution F).

At one institution (J), the issue seemed to be more about timing of teaching practicals in relation to lectures, perhaps indicating a potential disjuncture between theory and practice as a result of time lapse between these experiences and the ability to follow up on queries about practice as a result:• ‘...the various approaches to reading encountered in different schools are discussed by

students after teaching practice. It should be noted, however, that as two of these [Language & Literacy] courses (out of three courses) are taught in the first semester, i.e. before teaching practice in July and August, such discussion occurs a good [while] later than actual observation of approaches’ (Institution J).


Students completing practicals should be supervised by expert veterans who are available daily to coach, model, and oversee decisions in curriculum development, instruction and the needs of individual students. This presents a challenge in how to structure this supervision so that it provides adequate expertise and oversight (Darling-Hammond & Baratz-Snowden 2007).

Discussion and conclusions

The programme goals and methodologies supported by lecturers at the participating institutions are, for the most part, seemingly valuable, reflecting instructional ideals and methodologies long supported in local and international literature (DoE 2002; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development 2000; Pressley et al. 2001). One concern is the discrepancy apparent between different institutions with regard to time allocation, reflected in numbers of modules and semesters for the preparation of student teachers to teach reading literacy. As a result, it is conceivable that newly-qualified teachers enter classrooms around the country with varying levels of exposure to and experience in the teaching of reading. Perhaps guidelines from a regulatory body for teacher education in South Africa would help to ensure that student teachers receive at the very least the same amount of exposure to training in the teaching of literacy; even better would be guidelines assisting towards consistency in the quality of learning experiences across institutions.

Although not evidenced in the research data (but rather gleaned in the form of anecdotal evidence, from conversations with lecturers), it appears that lecturers involved in teacher preparation may be somewhat isolated in their professional task of training students. This perhaps indicates the lack of an organised community of practice from which these teacher-educators could gain vital information and experiences about successful pedagogical initiatives that each has undertaken with their students. Indeed, the lack of contact information available for these lecturers and the time it took to trace those responsible for the programmes at each institution presenting this course is an indication of the difficulties that may be experienced by anyone trying to initiate productive collaborations between role-players such as the DoE, NGOs and higher education institutions.

Furthermore, despite every good intention as reflected in lecturers’ goals, the methodologies advocated, the mostly well-constructed themes and learning objectives in the study guides,7

challenges to implementation such as those reflected by the lecturers may impede optimal outcomes for student teachers. Logistical challenges include timetable structuring and actual time allocated for these lectures within the BEd programme; inability to allow for practical experiences in the teaching of reading; large class sizes impeding the quality of interactions with students; and a lack of resource availability for the presentation and development of these modules at higher education institutions. Programme curricula challenges can be summarised as the absence of a prescribed curriculum to guide the development of teacher education programmes; the difficulty of adequately addressing the volume and range of topic areas that need to be addressed, in some cases for both first and second language learning; limited exposure to content that addresses the actual teaching of reading; and curricula that do not sufficiently promote students’ critical thinking. Student challenges include mismatches between higher education training and actual experiences in classroom settings; a shortage of students being trained to teach reading in the African languages, which are used in Foundation Phase settings, as well as a tendency on the part of African vernacular students to not want to learn to teach reading in these languages; and students who battle with their own reading abilities.

As highlighted throughout this paper, a major challenge appears to be both the time for practical implementation of knowledge gained and the quality of the mentorship that students receive during their teaching practicals. Specifically, it appears that some schools may not provide the conditions conducive for optimal in situ training to take place. Some teachers do not adequately model the teaching of reading, while in some instances students are prevented from practising

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the particular methodologies that they have learned at higher education institutions. Perhaps these classroom learning experiences need to be structured and monitored more closely than is presently the case. A question to be raised is: How do we ensure that students are paired with a teacher who can adequately if not expertly model and mentor the teaching of reading and allow the student to practise these skills? What criteria can we establish for the selection of school environments and teachers for these teaching practicals? It would seem that in-service initiatives for training in the teaching of literacy currently focus solely on the development of practising teachers’ skills and the management of school reading programmes. However, perhaps it is necessary to include content that addresses the optimal mentoring of student teachers too. Clearly there are no quick fixes for the challenges experienced. It does seem that there is a need for a more structured, systematic approach to addressing the concerns raised by teacher-educators. As Darling-Hammond and Baratz-Snowden (2007) argue, no single approach will meet the needs of all prospective teachers optimally; however, all must ensure that candidates understand the basics of learning, development, curriculum and teaching before they are asked to practise independently. At present, due to the impact of the aforementioned challenges on teacher preparation for the teaching of reading literacy, it is not clear whether students are able to achieve these basics before entering into independent teaching practice.

Endnotes 1. Note that all information contained in Table 5.2 was obtained from the higher education institutions’

websites during November and December 2006. Programme offerings may have changed since then.2. Only some of the supporting evidential quotations from the research data are presented in this paper,

while the full TLEP report contains all the quotations.3. Lecturer feedback from the questionnaires has not been edited, and is reproduced here as supplied.4. Refer to Table 5.1 in this paper.5. More in-depth coverage of module content and analysis is presented in the overall report for the TLEP.6. Lecturer interview, Institution A, 11 December 20067. This conclusion was arrived at as a result of the full content overview of each participating institutions’

modules in the TLEP report.

References Bloch C (1999) Literacy in the early years: Teaching and learning in multilingual early childhood classrooms.

International Journal of Early Years Education 7(1): 39–59Darling-Hammond L & Baratz-Snowden J (Eds) (2007) A good teacher in every classroom: Preparing the

highly qualified teacher our children deserve. Educational Horizons Winter 2007: 11–132Department of Education (DoE) (2002) Revised national curriculum statement Grades R–9 (schools).

Languages. English–Home Language. Pretoria: DoEDoE (2003) Systemic evaluation Foundation Phase mainstream national report. Pretoria: DoE, Chief

Directorate, Quality AssuranceDoE (2008) National reading strategy. Pretoria: DoEFleisch B (2007) Primary education in crisis: Why South African schoolchildren underachieve in reading

and mathematics. Cape Town: Juta & Co.Howie SJ, Venter E, Van Staden S, Zimmerman L, Long C et al. (2007) Progress in International Reading

Literacy Study 2006. Summary report. South African children’s reading literacy achievement. Pretoria: Centre for Evaluation and Assessment, University of Pretoria

International Reading Association (IRA) (2007) Teaching reading well: A synthesis of the International Reading Association’s research on teacher preparation for reading instruction. Newark, DE: IRAAccessed May 2008,www.reading.org/Libraries/Reports_and_Standards/teaching_reading_well.sflb.ashx


Moloi M & Strauss J (2005) South Africa working report. The SACMEQ II project in South Africa: A study of the conditions of schooling and the quality of education. Harare, Zimbabwe, & Pretoria: Southern and Eastern African Consortium for Monitoring Education Quality, & Ministry of Education

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (2000) Report of the National Reading Panel. Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction (NIH Publication No. 00-4769). Washington, DC: US Government Printing OfficeAvailable at: www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/nrp/smallbook.htm

Pressley M, Allington RL, Wharton-McDonald R, Collins Block C & Mandel Morrow L (2001) Learning to read: Lessons from exemplary first-grade classrooms. New York: The Guilford Press

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‘Something extra’? Recognising phronesis or practical wisdom in the recognition of prior learning in teacher educationMignonne BreierHuman Sciences Research Council

The Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) in teacher upgrading programmes presents a fundamental dilemma: How do you affirm knowledge and skills that you also believe to be inappropriate? This paper explores that dilemma in the National Professional Diploma in Education (NPDE), which was designed to upgrade thousands of under-qualified school teachers, and offered RPL on an unprecedented scale. Research conducted as part of the Teacher Education Research and Development Programme showed that institutions struggled to implement RPL as it is conventionally understood, in part because of the scale of the initiative and in part because of this dilemma. NPDE teacher-students who had been educated under apartheid, in a system that discriminated grossly against the black teacher, had poor knowledge of the subjects they were teaching, inappropriate teaching methods and limited English literacy. However, they also had many strengths that could not be captured within conventional definitions of formal and informal knowledge associated with RPL but could be regarded as manifestions of what Aristotle calls phronesis or practical wisdom. This concept is gaining popularity, if not clarity, in education literature as authors attempt to capture the ‘something extra’ that distinguishes effective teaching. The paper reflects on the manifestations of phronesis in interview transcripts and portfolio essays and concludes that it would be very difficult to ‘recognise’ it for RPL purposes, let alone assess and accredit it. Nonetheless, including the concept in the curriculum of a teacher upgrading programme such as the NPDE may help to make the RPL component more effective and meaningful. The paper also considers the nature of phronesis in relation to the other two forms of knowledge that Aristotle distinguishes (episteme and techne) as well as Basil Bernstein’s vertical and horizontal discourses, and concludes that phronesis complicates Bernstein’s dualistic categorisation of knowledge.

Keywords

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)teacher educationteacher upgradingpractical wisdomphronesispractical knowledge


Introduction

Post-apartheid criticism of the South African education system usually emphasises the legacy of under funding and poor quality of education for black people and the difficulties of overcoming decades of ‘neglect and dysfunction’ (Adler 2002). Inadequate teacher education produced teachers with ‘poor conceptual knowledge of the subjects they are teaching’ (Taylor & Vinjevold 1999: 230), inappropriate teaching methods, and low levels of ‘English linguistic competence’ (Taylor & Vinjevold 1999: 234). The poor performance of learners from black township and rural schools in particular is seen as the net result of this legacy.

At the same time there have been strong pressures in education policy more broadly to affirm the contributions of adults – contributions that went unrecognised under apartheid – through Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). Championed by the trade unions, RPL was originally mooted as a means of redress whereby workers who had been oppressed by the old regime could have their competences acknowledged and rewarded in the new regime or could gain access or credit in formal institutions of learning. Given that millions of people were deprived of even a basic formal education under apartheid, with all the economic disadvantages attached to that deprivation, the notion of recognising the knowledge and skills they had acquired non-formally (through trade union courses, for example) or informally (life experience) was very seductive. ‘From sweeper to engineer’ was the popular slogan.

In teacher education, however, there is a fundamental contradiction that bedevils the recognition of prior learning, as conventionally understood. Adler (2000) presents this contradiction indirectly when writing of in-service teacher training programmes:

One message to teachers needed to be that they were to be the active inventors of a new educational vision in South Africa, that what they knew and had learned was valued. However, there needed to be an equally powerful message that what teachers knew and learned was an inadequate base from which to proceed and grow in post-apartheid South Africa. (Adler 2002: 7)

This contradiction compounds the dilemmas associated with all forms of RPL; such dilemmas have been raised by researchers who hold a dualistic notion of knowledge (including the author and others who have worked with the concepts of Bernstein).1 Arguing that there are basically two forms of knowledge – one concrete and particular and the other abstract and universal – they raise the following types of questions:• How does a formal education programme recognise non-formal or informal education unless

that non-formal or informal education led to knowledge and skills that are equivalent – even broadly so – to that which is demanded in the formal programme?

• How do individuals acquire, in an informal context, the type of knowledge and skills associated with formal education? In the words of the early Bernstein (1971), how do they move from common sense to uncommon sense knowledge, or in his later work (2000), from horizontal to vertical discourse?

In teacher education, knowledge of concepts, the content of subjects and pedagogical theories could be seen as ‘vertical discourse’ and teaching practice as a form of ‘horizontal discourse’. Unfortunately, many black teachers trained under apartheid are likely to be seen as being in deficit in both respects. The question arises: What are the implications for RPL in general and teacher education specifically?

This paper explores that question in relation to the National Professional Diploma in Education (NPDE), a teacher upgrading programme that has tried to implement a form of RPL on a very large scale. The paper is based on research that was conducted as part of the Teacher Education

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Research and Development Programme.2 This research explored the implementation of RPL in the NPDE in three universities, and included:• extensive review of literature on RPL and teacher education;• interviews with selected teacher-students in the NPDE programmes, analysis of their RPL

portfolios and observations of their classroom practice; and• interviews with teacher-educators.

The research found many examples among the teacher-students of poor conceptual knowledge, inadequate teaching methods and inadequate English competence, presenting all the RPL dilemmas recounted above. At the same time, several of the teacher-students manifested knowledge and competences that defied categorisation in the dualistic terms in which RPL is commonly understood. This mastery was neither purely formal (or abstract, general or universal) nor purely informal (or abstract, particular, local and so on). It carried a strong sense of morality and of community and emphasised the particular in the light of the general – crucially, ethical – ideals. In searching for a conceptual framework to describe this form of knowledge, the author turned to the work of Aristotle (2000/circa 330 BC) and concluded that it was, in his terms, a form of practical wisdom or phronesis.

This paper considers the life experiences, personal qualities and knowledge of selected teachers in the light of various definitions of phronesis as well as opposing forms of knowledge. The paper begins with an account of the extent of deprivation in black teacher education under apartheid, before describing the particular form that RPL assumed in the NPDE. It considers the role that practical wisdom might play in future conceptualisations of RPL, in particular the recognition of the pastoral role of teachers. It also raises the possibility that phronesis could be seen as a third form of knowledge that unsettles traditional dualistic conceptions.

Teacher education under apartheid

Until little more than a decade ago, the education system in South Africa was split along racial lines, with separate education systems for white, coloured, Indian and African people, with the latter group receiving the least resourced and most inferior form of education. The mission schools, which some were able to attend, were an exception but they were systematically dismantled after the National Party came to power in 1948. The Nationalist government introduced mass schooling for Africans but its ‘Bantu education’ was designed to ensure a ‘black urban underclass of semi-skilled laborers’ (Cross & Chisholm 1990: 56).

Teacher education was also unequal. In the early decades of the 20th century, teacher training was seen as synonymous with secondary schooling and the few Africans who did reach secondary school were trained as secondary teachers. By 1939, only two per cent of African learners at school had reached post-primary classes. At the same time, white teacher training was located in post-matriculation colleges or university education departments (Cross & Chisholm 1990: 52).

With the development of apartheid came the development of black teacher training colleges, many of them in the black ‘homelands’ created in terms of the separate development policy of the government of the time. Welch (2002) reports that these colleges provided many black students with their only access to tertiary education, as the state provided teaching bursaries to students who did not have matriculation exemption (i.e. the necessary combination of subjects and grades in the school-leaving examination to qualify for entry to university). In the early 1990s, as South Africa entered the period of transition to democratic rule and began to develop new education policy, there were more than 100 teacher training colleges, most of them geared for African students and providing qualifications that were below the official


minimum of M+3 (matric plus a three-year qualification). Within white teacher education the norm was M+4 (National Education Policy Investigation [NEPI] 1992: 5).

A further concern was the pervasive education theory known as ‘Fundamental Pedagogics’ (FP), the strange mix of abstract phenomenological theory and highly prescriptive teacher manuals that shaped the teacher education programmes at the University of South Africa (UNISA), most of the Afrikaans universities, most of the universities that had been set up for African students, and the colleges of education set up for African or coloured students (NEPI 1992).

In trying to develop a ‘science’ of education, FP-inclined academics (many from UNISA) produced textbooks with list upon list of uncontextualised items to be learned by rote. However, the most important deficiency is that FP was (and still is) absolutely silent on context. NEPI reported:

Fundamental Pedagogics is intellectually harmful in that it neutralizes and depoliticises educational discourse, and does not provide students and teachers with the concepts necessary to assess critically its (or any other) claims about education. (NEPI 1992: 17)

A number of reforms were introduced post-1994 in order to overcome the worst effects of apartheid education. One of the most important from the perspective of this article was the introduction of Outcomes-based Education (OBE), which was meant to displace previous emphasis on content and rote learning, make explicit what learners should attend to, and direct assessment towards specified goals. The ultimate purpose was to encourage the development of (economically) useful skills by all sectors of the population (Mason 1999).

However, OBE received heavy criticism for, among other reasons, its failure to take account of the shortages of personnel and resources in black schools, its complicated and obscure terminology, and its problematic claims and assumptions about the relationship between curriculum and economic growth (Jansen 1998). A review committee was appointed and suggested a number of improvements, which resulted in a Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS) (Department of Education [DoE] 2000). A major task of the NPDE was to familiarise teachers with the RNCS.

RPL in the NPDE

The NPDE was designed to improve the qualifications of thousands of under-qualified teachers in South Africa.3 It catered for two main categories of teachers, of which one (REQV4 12) was slightly more qualified than the other (REQV 11) and consequently in a higher pay class (M+3 and M+2 respectively). Due to a limited budget, the DoE needed to restrict the programme to a maximum of 2 years, part-time. Instead of requiring the lower-qualified teachers to take an extra 2 years, it offered them credit through RPL. It became clear as the programme unfolded at the 17 institutions offering it, that the DoE regarded the RPL component as little more than a bureaucratic exercise, in which all candidates would inevitably be successful. But educators still had to put together programmes that offered at least a semblance of the practice as it is conventionally understood. RPL usually occurs prior to commencement of a programme and requires the candidate to demonstrate competences practically or to show them indirectly in a portfolio in which they reflect on prior experience and their learning derived from it. This proved to be very difficult in the NPDE.

The institutions were not able to offer RPL prior to the commencement of a programme, because this would have meant extending the length of the programme and there was no funding for this. Most of the programmes were not able to conduct systematic classroom observations because of the time, logistics and finances involved. They generally resorted to the portfolio method as a

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means to determine prior learning but this presented further difficulties, for reasons elaborated below.

The NPDE teacher-students were mostly middle-aged, black African women, with outdated one- or two-year qualifications, who were teaching at Foundation Phase level (Grades 1 to 3, usually six- to eight-year olds). Many had made previous, unsuccessful attempts to improve their qualifications. There were also some younger teachers who had studied more recently but had not been able to complete their qualifications due to personal circumstances that had caused them to drop out of university.

Many of the older teachers were at a particular disadvantage in the NPDE programme. They had received the kind of teacher education discussed earlier in this paper, which was limited largely to a set of procedures and methods that are now largely discredited, including rote learning. They had received insufficient or inappropriate instruction in the content of the subjects they were required to teach and little preparation for the type of reflection usually associated with RPL and commonly featured in recent teacher education curricula. They had been given little opportunity to develop the type of English language and literacy skills necessary to meet the demands of the English-medium NPDE programme. Furthermore, many were teaching at Foundation Phase level in mother tongue, which meant there was little incentive – or even need – for them to improve their English language skills in the workplace.

The research noted the conundrum or paradox at the heart of the NPDE programme:• RPL is about recognising and affirming prior learning based on informal or non-formal

(usually practical) experience.• Many of the teachers had received an education that is now considered to be inadequate

and have developed practices (such as rote learning) that are known to be unsound and inappropriate.

• How do you recognise and thereby affirm the prior learning of such a teacher?

The study found that the paradox, combined with the limited, bureaucratic aims of the DoE, militated against any form of RPL as it is generally known. The three university programmes that were studied in depth mostly provided extra exercises that the RPL teacher-students were required to perform alongside the mainstream NPDE tasks. These involved the preparation and presentation of lessons and subsequent reflection on the lessons. Alternatively, they were asked questions that encouraged them to reflect on particular incidents in their teaching careers. This was the closest attempt at RPL that the research identified, but not all of the students took the task seriously and we found several instances in which students had copied each others’ work – in other words, produced the same personal experience, to the letter in some cases. Only one of the three institutions did systematic classroom observations.

While the research exposed the inadequacies of the RPL offered in the NPDE programme and argued that it should not be called RPL at all, these were not its major conclusions. The empirical work (observations of teaching practice, perusal of portfolios and course documentation, and semi-structured interviews with teacher-students and teacher-educators) raised familiar questions about the soundness of the academic knowledge (including content knowledge and English literacy) of some of the teacher-students (particularly the Foundation Phase teacher-students); but it also exposed their very great strengths and another dimension of knowledge that the researchers found difficult to describe.

This dimension is captured, to some extent, in the words of one of the teacher-educators who was interviewed for the research by Alan Ralphs. The teacher-educator was sceptical that one could ‘RPL’ the rural teachers in his NPDE programme when one knew that their experience and knowledge (of formal subjects) was lacking but he did concede that they had competences suited to the conditions under which they had to work.


They need to manage a very different teaching/learning situation. There are areas with HIV/AIDS, and traditional leadership, the school blows over and they have to rebuild it out of mud again. There are large distances to travel, resources are not available, kids’ social problems – these are the things that teachers have to deal with more than with teaching and learning and it’s kind of identifying those needs really is probably what RPL should be about, and recognising that people have competencies and building on them. (Ralphs 2006: 38)

This dimension is also echoed in the words of Harley et al. (2000). Reporting on a study of ‘effective’ teachers in six KwaZulu-Natal schools, they refer to a ‘something extra’ (2000: 294) which, quoting Barber, is ‘that part of all education that does not obey the laws of physics, that defies logic, but at the same time, is the key to educational success’ (Barber 1995: 76). Barber was referring specifically to classroom practice and ‘the extraordinary ability of [some] teachers to generate sparks of learning, even in the most inauspicious circumstances’ (1995: 76).

The research found examples of teachers working against great odds to further their qualifications while teaching full-time. Of those interviewed in depth, all came from impoverished homes and most had had to curtail their education to earn money for their families. They spoke of moral and religious values that had shaped their attitudes to life. And it appeared from their accounts that they had gained great strengths in the course of their difficult lives (Ralphs 2006).

An isiXhosa-speaking Senior Phase teacher in her thirties, Ms N, in her portfolio spoke highly of the values that her parents had instilled in her and the subsequent trials that had put these principles to the test.

I attribute all my achievements and abilities to my parents who taught me to be self sufficient, waking up early every day, not sleeping during the day and that hardwork and dedication are a key to success. They always applauded and encouraged me with gifts for every achievement in my life. They instilled values and norms which made me confident and positive under any circumstances.

Ms N described how her first teaching job was in a community wracked by faction fighting. She experienced the traumatic effects of violence in the lives of learners and in the school as a whole.

…I gained experience of dealing with traumatised children, having to understand where they were coming from, like they were old in age because they were dealing with this, that kind of stuff...You have to understand where they are coming from, and that also, it creates compassion and patience with learners, you have not to rush them with anything. (Ms N interview)

At another school in which she worked she found learners studying physical science at final-year level who had done no chemistry at all. The school’s science equipment was almost non-existent and any posters that the teachers put on the walls were stolen. Teachers had to buy their own apparatus and improvise while also trying to keep burglars at bay. ‘So it has been that struggle throughout the years. But it gave us strength and experience to continue’ (Ms N interview).

Mr M, in his late forties, grew up in a very religious family. His father was an Anglican priest, his mother a nurse. Mr M cited the involvement of his father in the church and in the affairs of the community as particularly significant in his own development as a child, although frequent moves during this time meant that he also had a relatively unstable primary schooling. However, he had also learned how other children lived in different communities. His education included an induction into the culture and traditions of rural communites, the traditional rites

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of initiation for young men and women, and the responsibility of looking after the family’s sheep and goats. To these he attributed his strong sense of independence and responsibility, as well as other insights associated with handcrafts such as hat-making and carving.

Mr M dropped out of his studies at university in his second year because his father became seriously ill and he needed to earn money for the family. He took a job in a funeral parlour while trying to continuing his studies on a part-time basis. This proved too much for him and he left university with his degree unfinished. In his portfolio he reflected philosophically on these unfortunate circumstances:

On my fathers illness and death, I learnt to stand on my feet, be responsible and considerate to my family members. This kind of endurance help me to give support to my learners as well as my colleagues during sorrowful times, encourage them to be strong and face up to the challenges.

What kind of knowledge?

The accounts above demonstrate a number of qualities: innovativeness, compassion, independence, responsibility, ingenuity and endurance, moulded in the spirit of intense personal and religious values. They suggest particular types of disposition but also much more. Beneath these qualities are indications of a form of knowledge and reasoning that enables the individual to be described as such: that which enabled Ms N to deal compassionately with children in a violent community and to innovate in the absence of classroom equipment; that which enabled Mr M to learn from different cultural experiences and hard personal times.

In seeking to understand the nature of the knowledge at stake here, I found it useful to consider the work of German philosopher Cassirer who said that to understand a form of knowledge we need to consider the relationship within it between general and particular.5 Considering the ‘logic’ of the cultural sciences, Cassirer (2000) argued:

We understand a science in its logical structure only once we have clarified the manner in which it achieves the subsumption of the particular and the universal...There is no general schema that we could refer to or invoke here. The task is the same for all the sciences; but its solution pursues different paths…It is different when we compare the system of mathematical concepts and that of the empirical concepts of nature; and it is different when we contrast the latter to historical concepts. Careful analyses of particulars are always necessary in order to establish these differences. This relation appears in its simplest form when one arrives at expressing the universal in the form of a concept of law from which the individual ‘instances’ can be deductively derived. (Cassirer 2000: 69)

The knowledge that we encountered involved both universal and particular but was not deductive in its orientation.

From Cassirer I moved to Bernstein, whose concepts of vertical and horizontal discourses are often used to contrast academic and everyday knowledge. Horizontal discourse is commonsense knowledge that all can access, that applies to all and ‘has a common history in the sense of arising out of common problems of living and dying’ (Bernstein 2000: 157). ‘A horizontal discourse entails a set of strategies which are local, segmentally organized, context specific and dependent, for maximizing encounters with persons and habitat’ (Bernstein 2000: 159).

Examples he gives are ‘learning how to dress, running errands, counting change, addressing different individuals, using a telephone, selecting a video’ (Bernstein 2000: 159). Such strategies are not related to each other by any integrating principle and therefore are segmental.


Vertical discourse consists of two different types, both distributed through principles of recontextualisation: hierarchically organised, principled structures of knowledge, as in the sciences, or series of specialised languages with specialised modes of interrogation and criteria for the production and circulation of texts, as in the humanities. Bernstein (2000) calls them vertical and horizontal knowledge structures respectively.

Horizontal knowledge structures can be divided further into those with a strong grammar, (languages that have an explicit conceptual syntax capable of relatively precise empirical descriptions such as economics, linguistics, mathematics, logic) and those with weak grammars, such as sociology, social anthropology and cultural studies. To put it more simply, one knows when one is ‘doing’ mathematics or logic because of their specific rules and principles but in the social sciences it is far less clear how one is to acquire the appropriate ‘gaze’ (Bernstein 2000: 165). Another distinction can be drawn according to transmission. While vertical knowledge structures and horizontal knowledge structures with strong grammars are explicitly transmitted (i.e. the pedagogy makes clear the principles, procedures and texts to be acquired), horizontal knowledge structures with weak grammars may be tacitly transmitted, as in the crafts.

Where could one place the competences of Ms N and Mr M? They were much more than horizontal discourse, because they were concerned with the general as well as the particular and contained elements of flexibility and improvisation that transcend the segmental competences of local strategies. They were also much more than the principled and hierarchically organised structures or series of specialised languages of the hierarchical and horizontal knowledge structures of Bernstein’s vertical discourse, although such knowledge might have been utilised. Instead their competences appeared to have elements of both horizontal and vertical discourse, in that they were concerned with the particular circumstances of everyday life but also with principles, ideas and facts that might be better associated with vertical knowledge. This was not in itself a challenge to the dualist conception of knowledge because research has shown in any case that vertical discourse cannot be defined without reference to the particular, as in the use of ‘examples’ (see Breier 2003; Breier 2006). The difference lay in the universal/particular trajectory. Whereas vertical discourse recruits the particular in the service of the general, the knowledge that we wished to describe recruits the general in service of the particular. This form of knowledge enables the individual to negotiate the particular in the light of the general, but the emphasis remains on the particular. The trajectory is always towards the particular rather than towards the general.

There is one further important difference between this form of knowledge and either the vertical or horizontal discourse of Bernstein’s distinctions. This is its essentially ethical or moral component, a particular form of esoteric knowledge that might be presumed in Bernstein’s concept of vertical discourse but is not explicitly addressed. Yet the form of knowledge we wish to describe must be described with reference to the ethical and the moral, or its most essential ingredient will be lost.

Was it a three- rather than two-part categorisation of knowledge that we needed? Eraut (1994) provides a promising three-part distinction between propositional, personal and process knowledge. On closer examination, however, it seems that in his terms personal knowledge can be propositional and what is not propositional would appear to be process-oriented, so the binary opposition remains. Nonetheless, the concepts provide important reminders that the two-part distinctions between vertical and horizontal, formal and informal and so on, are missing a dimension.

In the end it was Aristotle’s (2000/circa 330 BC) concept of phronesis or practical wisdom that was found to provide a name and description for the type of knowledge encountered in the research. This concept has similarities to Eraut’s ‘personal knowledge’ but contributes an ethical dimension and lays necessary emphasis on a kind of relationship between particular and

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general that is lacking in ‘personal knowledge’. Whether it presents a third form of knowledge that challenges the conventional dualistic divide is a question considered in this paper but not resolved.

What is phronesis?

In his Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle presents the concept of phronesis, also translated as practical wisdom, and juxtaposes it with scientific and craft knowledge. He says it is acquired with experience and makes one wise as well as informed:

…though the young become proficient in geometry and mathematics, and wise in matters like these, they do not seem to become practically wise. The reason is that practical wisdom is concerned also with particular facts, and particulars come to be known from experience; and a young person is not experienced, since experience takes a long time to produce. (Aristotle 2000/circa 330 BC: 111)

There is some confusion in the translations of and commentaries on Aristotle’s concept of phronesis as to whether the authors mean a form of knowledge, a form of reasoning or understanding, a form of disposition, or a personal quality.6 For example, Gadamer speaks of phronesis as a kind of ‘moral knowledge’ (1985: 287); Saugstad as a form of ‘practical’ knowledge (2005: 347); Gustavsson as ‘knowledge’ (undated a); Nussbaum as a kind of perception or understanding (2001: 305); and Kristjansson as ‘an intellectual disposition’ (2005: 464); while Noel (1999) presents a range of interpretations from numerous authors ranging from phronesis as a ‘state of capacity’ or ‘characteristic of a person’ to phronesis as a form of practical reasoning or perception (1999: 273–289). There is one common denominator, however, across all these definitions. Phronesis has a moral or ethical component.

Flyvberg (2001: 57) refers to phronesis as one of three ‘intellectual virtues’, with the others being episteme and techne. However, his detailed characterisation of these virtues suggests they are all forms of knowledge. The following is a direct quotation:

• Episteme Scientific knowledge. Universal, invariable, context-independent. Based on general analytical rationality.

• Techne Craft/art. Pragmatic, variable, context-independent. Oriented toward production. Based on practical instrumental rationality governed by a conscious goal.

• Phronesis Ethics. Deliberation about values with reference to praxis. Pragmatic, variable, context-dependent. Oriented toward action. Based on practical value-rationality. (Flyvberg 2001: 57)

As shown in Figure 6.1, episteme, in Bernstein’s terms, could be seen as vertical discourse, encompassing the forms of disciplinary knowledge enshrined in our educational systems today, such as mathematics and the natural and social sciences. Its mode of transmission is explicit, through verbal instruction (written and oral). Outside formal education, there are few opportunities to acquire vertical discourses, with the result that few RPL candidates with limited formal education are able to recruit epistemic knowledge for RPL assessment although they might show general preparedness to study these disciplines.

Techne could be regarded as one of the forms of vertical discourse that Bernstein calls a ‘horizontal knowledge structure with a weak grammar’ (2000). Indeed Bernstein specifically positions the crafts in this position. (Gamble, 2004, discusses the complex reasoning behind this.) Unlike other variants (such as the social sciences) techne is mainly, but not exclusively, tacitly transmitted. This is the form of knowledge that can most easily be recognised in RPL through demonstrations, practical tests, products, artefacts and so on.


It is significant that, in Bernstein’s terms, episteme and techne are essentially variants of the same form of knowledge (vertical discourse).

Phronesis might include the sets of strategies of Bernstein’s horizontal discourse but it is certain that phronesis is much more than simply a set of strategies for particular contexts; for an essential feature is a flexible relationship between general and particular. For this reason I have positioned it in the diagram between horizontal and vertical discourses, with double pointed arrows showing its interaction with the competing forms of knowledge. Like horizontal discourse its mode of transmission is indirect in that it is not specifically and pedagogically transmitted. Instead it can be gleaned indirectly through narrative, modelling and experience, both verbally and non-verbally. While epistemic knowledge is manifested in propositions and principles, and technical knowledge in products or artefacts, phronesis is manifested in ethically motivated deliberations, judgements and actions.

Figure 6.1: Two categorisations of knowledge: Bernstein vs Aristotle

Bernstein Mode of Aristotle

transmission

Vertical Explicit Episteme knowledge structure

Verticaldiscourse

Strong grammar

Horizontal Explicit knowledge structure

Weak Techne grammar

Tacit (crafts)

Indirect Phronesis

Horizontal Indirectdiscourse

Source: Adapted from Bernstein (2000: 168).

It is probably significant (and indicative of the values that our society currently prizes) that there is no direct English translation for phronesis, while there are terms that relate to episteme (epistemic, epistemology) and techne (technique, technical and technology).

The term ‘practical wisdom’ is used in modern translations and commentaries (for example, see Aristotle 2000/circa 330BC; Nussbaum 2001) but it does little to clear the confusion as to whether phronesis is a form of knowledge or disposition. Wisdom, as the Concise Oxford Dictionary tells

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us, can be both ‘the quality of being wise’ and ‘the body of knowledge and experience that develops within a specified society or period’ (Soames & Stevenson 2004).

In this paper the argument is for a definition of practical wisdom that accommodates both knowledge and reasoning, in the same way that philosophy or mathematics or physical science or other disciplines encompass both forms of reasoning and bodies of knowledge. Furthermore, practical wisdom has the following features:• It is flexible. Quoting Nussbaum (1985), Gustavsson says that it brings ‘a kind of complex

sensitivity to the outstanding features of a concrete situation’ (undated a: 4). Like the flexible ruler, which had curves and grooves that could not be gauged with a straight ruler and was used to measure columns in architecture on the Greek island of Lesbos, phronesis ‘adapts to the form of the stones and yet keeps its own direction’.

• Its gaze is one of ‘intellectual virtue’ rather than intellect alone (Gadamer 1985: 22). It is also ‘no cold ray’, as is the Kantian vision of reason, but is imbued with emotion and imagination (Gustavsson undated b: 9) and has a strong ethical, moral component.

• It is oriented beyond the self towards a wider community and in the interests of that community. In this respect it embraces the notion of sensus communis, which Gadamer has defined as ‘the sense that founds community’ (1985: 21), and it ‘seeks the good life, with and for others’ (Gustavsson 2007: 83).

Richard Bernstein (1983, quoted in Gustavsson 2007) provides the following useful definition (which notably refers to phronesis as both reasoning and knowledge):

Phronesis is a form of reasoning and knowledge that involves a distinctive mediation between the universal and the particular. This mediation is not accomplished by any appeal to technical rules or method…or by the subsumption of a pregiven determinate universal to a particular case. The ‘intellectual virtue’ of phronesis is a form of reasoning, yielding, a type of ethical know-how in which what is universal and what is particular are codetermined. (Gustavsson 2007: 79)

Different forms of practical wisdom

The research not only revealed to us the importance of practical wisdom, it also made it clear that there were different forms, some more ‘vertical’ or ‘epistemic’ than others. The diagram (Figure 6.1) shows how phronesis can draw on both horizontal and vertical resources. The following account of the experiences of Ms T demonstrates this further.

Ms T is an isiZulu-speaking teacher teaching at Foundation Phase level (the first three years of schooling), who teaches in isiZulu and seldom needs to speak or write in English in the school context. She was in her late forties at the time of the research. Her portfolio, which following the norms of the NPDE at her particular university was written in English and had many grammar and spelling mistakes, spoke repeatedly of her love of and care for her learners. It also mentioned several times that she had four children for whom she had full responsibility as her husband had a ‘misordered mind’. In an interview she revealed that her children ranged from Grade 1 to a first year technikon engineering student. And the ‘misordered mind’ of Mr T had once even led to his trying to kill her with an axe.

In my observations of her teaching, I found that Ms T was indeed a loving, caring teacher who tried to attend as much to the spirited and gifted as the slow and needy. Interviews with her head of department and principal confirmed and reinforced my impressions. They both spoke of her love for the children, the extra care that she took with those who needed it, and her success in teaching isiZulu even to learners from higher grades. Both were adamant that she had more to offer the school and its learners than a young graduate fresh out of college or university. The latter might know more about the RNCS (an important focus of the NPDE) but in theory only;


and anyway, they said, the new RNCS was nothing more than a restatement of what they had been doing for years.

Although her qualities of love and care equipped her for many of her classroom situations, they did little to assist Ms T in negotiating with the bureaucracy of the university at which she was studying. It would appear that Ms T’s particular form of practical wisdom was drawing mainly from her horizontal or commonsense repertoire. As the following anecdote illustrates, she had far fewer epistemic resources at hand.

In the Mpumulanga Province where Ms T worked, schools had been warned that their under-qualified teachers would be redeployed and replaced if they did not pass the NPDE. It was thus of vital importance to Ms T that she obtain this qualification. Yet at the time of the research the university was refusing to allow her to graduate, even though she had completed and passed all the necessary courses, because it had discovered that she had been admitted without the necessary entry qualifications; she needed a full two-year diploma and she had not completed hers. Instead of accepting responsibility for their own mistake, the university was refusing to allow her to graduate and requiring instead that she re-register for another course for which she was eligible. Of the qualities that Ms T displayed in the classroom, only her tenacity prepared her for her battle with the university authorities. Here she also needed – and lacked – a different, shrewder kind of practical wisdom that could not be exercised without greater mastery of the language (English) and discourses of authority. Her letters, telephone calls and countless photocopies of mostly irrelevant documents failed to bend the university and nearly two years after completing her studies she had still not been allowed to graduate.

Mrs T’s experience demonstrates a range of forms of phronesis – ranging from that which demands complex mastery of vertical discourses to that which draws on horizontal resources alone. The latter amounts to a form of pastoralism.

There is a danger that one might discount the latter as much less important than the former, given the growing recognition that South African teachers lack sufficient knowledge of the subjects they teach, with severe consequences for the academic performance of their learners. At the same time there is growing recognition that in the context of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the pastoral role is of great importance even if it has received little attention in education policy. Bhana et al. (2006) note the huge amount of pastoral work that teachers in under-resourced schools in poor communities are having to perform. This work

does not count towards promotion nor is it noticed in any public way by the teacher hierarchy. But, we argue, it is this work that is cushioning learners from the trauma of loss that many are confronting. It is thus vital for the well-being of schools, even as it is hidden from public recognition. (Bhana et al. 2006: 5)

The importance of the pastoral role in teacher education curricula is recognised internationally (for example, Secondary Heads Association 2004; Cleave et al. 1997) but in the South African Norms and Standards for Educators (DoE 2000) it is mentioned only once. The DoE’s tall order presents the following roles of the teacher:

• Learning mediator • Interpreter and designer of learning programmes and materials• Leader, administrator and manager• Community, citizenship and pastoral role• Scholar, researcher and lifelong learner• Assessor• Learning area/subject/discipline/phase specialist. (DoE 2000: 7–8. Emphasis

added.)

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The DoE defines all seven roles in terms of practical, foundational and reflexive competences. The term ‘pastoral role’ is not mentioned again but would seem to be best located in reflexive competence:

Where the learner demonstrates the ability to integrate or connect performances and decision making with understanding and with the ability to adapt to change and unforeseen circumstances and explain the reasons behind these actions. (DoE 2000: 13)

As part of his/her community, citizenship and pastoral role, the teacher is urged to reflect on ethical issues and also critically analyse the degree to which the school curriculum promotes HIV/AIDS awareness, among other requirements.

None of these injunctions capture the qualities of love, compassion, care and so forth that our teachers manifested. But it is unlikely that practical wisdom, in all its many facets, can ever be captured in neat lists of bullet points.

Harley et al. (2000) noted that an effective teacher was not one who played all of the roles or who demonstrated all of the competences underpinning each of the roles but rather ‘one who made an appropriate weighting of the roles and a selection of competences in response to specific contexts’. These teachers, as noted earlier, had ‘something extra’.

Harley et al. argue further that the ‘something extra’ cannot be fully disaggregated or apprehended by means of a description of discrete roles. In their view, any attempt to ‘neatly “package” the education enterprise by means of technical specifications’ created ‘an unattainable ideal and in doing so fails to capture the heart of the profession’ (2000: 295).

Recognition of practical wisdom

The teacher accounts in this paper contain references to the sort of people and the kinds of qualities that encourage one to think of knowledge as more than just episteme and techne. They are qualities emanating from practical wisdom but not to be equated with it directly. They provide a sense of the practical wisdom that underlies these qualities, rather than manifestations of the knowledge and reasoning itself. We would need to conduct further research, involving more detailed interviews, preferably in mother tongue, in order to speak directly of that knowledge or reasoning.

In giving emphasis to phronesis, one does not wish to imply that the qualities and knowledge described in the accounts of Ms T and other teacher-students should necessarily be exchangeable for access or credits in a teacher education programme that demands ‘hard’ propositional knowledge, nor even in a programme like the NPDE, which is largely about (pedagogical) process knowledge. To do so would be to disadvantage even further those school children who are struggling to escape the legacies of educational apartheid and need the knowledge and skills associated with the vertical discourses – in other words epistemic knowledge – in order to gain status and material success. The point is that by giving recognition to practical wisdom, by acknowledging that such a form of knowledge exists, one also accords the respect that is due to persons who have not had the opportunities or any of the advantages of formal education but have managed to survive under the harshest of conditions in a way that few of the formally-educated will have been able to do. If one considers that teaching is a moral activity (Noel 1999) and recognises that practical wisdom is as important for good teaching as the specific propositional and process knowledge that is taught in formal programmes, then one can understand, for example, why the school in Mpumulanga was so concerned that it might lose a loved and experienced teacher like Ms T.


Is it possible to recognise practical wisdom in an RPL context? It probably is, in the context of an individual process with few time constraints (which rules out the NPDE entirely). It would probably need to be recounted and recognised in narrative. Whether it could ever be assessed, judged, given a mark out of 100, is another question entirely. But readings on practical wisdom should certainly form part of any teacher education curriculum and any RPL portfolio development course. One needs to be reminded that the ‘good’7 life is achieved not only through intellectual knowledge and practical skills but also through the fine art of bringing ethical ideals flexibly to bear on the complex circumstances of daily living.

Endnotes1. See Breier (2003), Harris (2006) and Young (2006) for critical discussions of RPL and use of Bernsteinian

concepts in this context.2. Teacher Education Programme (TEP)3. At least 40 000. See Breier (2008) for a discussion of the estimated numbers.4. Relative Education Qualification Value5. See Breier (2003; 2006) for a consideration of the relationship between general and particular that

defines the ‘logic’ of law.6. Like Bourdieu’s practical knowledge, which has Aristotelian origins, according to Flyvberg (2001: 60).7. ‘Good’ is used here in the Aristotelian sense, to refer to a life that seeks to be virtuous as well as

comfortable, with an orientation towards a wider community.

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university courses in labour law. Doctoral thesis, University of Cape TownBreier M (2006) ‘In my case’…the recruitment and recognition of prior informal experience in adult

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Cape Town: HSRC PressCassirer E (2000) The logic of the cultural sciences. New Haven, CT & London, UK: Yale University PressCleave H, Carey P, Norris P, Sloper P, While D & Charlton A (1997) Pastoral care in initial teacher education:

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Trajectories of restructuring: The changing context for initial teacher education in South AfricaGlenda KrussHuman Sciences Research Council

This paper aims to illustrate the complexity of institutional restructuring dynamics in distinct South African higher education institutional contexts, in order to highlight the challenges posed for the initial teacher education system. It focuses on education faculties and schools that have undergone successive waves of internally- and externally-mandated change over the last 10 years. The first section demonstrates that there is a simple and a complex form of institutional merger, characterised by varying degrees of integration, subordination or cessation of the former institutional configurations. This means that at the micro level, in planning and implementing their initial teacher education programmes, some higher education institutions are faced with reconciling diverse groups of academics with distinct histories, expertise and commitments. The second section of the paper attempts to delineate the impact of institutional restructuring on initial teacher education programmes and curriculum. The paper concludes with a consideration of the challenges for the relationship of teacher education providers with the national Department of Education, with institutional leadership and within faculties or schools.

Keywords

teacher educationhigher education institutional restructuringmergerscolleges of educationSouth Africa

Introduction

The recent release of the National Policy Framework for Teacher Education and Development in South Africa (Department of Education [DoE] 2007) emphasised that ‘decisive measures’ are required to increase the supply of new teachers in this country. This requirement is supported by the fact that, while there has been a marked decline in the number of students enrolling in initial teacher education programmes, demand trends suggest a growing shortage of teachers, particularly for the primary school phase (Crouch & Perry 2003; Hall, with Altman et al. 2005; Peltzer et al. 2005). The task of initial teacher education is now the primary responsibility of 22 higher education institutions faced with multiple demands – from a new higher education qualification structure to new programme and curriculum frameworks, from shifting student demographic profiles to new funding and financing models, from new educational approaches


to new higher education challenges. Perhaps the greatest challenge is that they face these demands shaped by the experience of a decade of institutional restructuring, both internally driven and externally mandated. Their engagement with new policy frameworks, with qualifications and curriculum change, and with the professional development of new teachers and of serving teachers, all occurs on a base of profound institutional change and considerable organisational instability.

Hence, as part of the Teacher Education Research and Development Programme1 funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, we initiated a study of the restructuring processes evident in public teacher education providers and the ways in which these shape the conditions for and approaches to initial teacher education.

An initial analysis of the policy and legislative context suggested that restructuring had four main trajectories in distinct periods. First, in the mid- to late 1990s many of the then 35 higher education institutions restructured internally in response to changing higher education imperatives. In many cases the status and position of the education faculty was considerably diminished within the institution. Second, in 2001 colleges of education were legislatively incorporated into higher education, driven by state concerns about the cost, efficiency and quality of colleges. Third, from 2004 a process of mergers and partial incorporations was initiated to restructure the higher education landscape, impacting in distinct ways on education faculties and schools. Fourth, some institutions experienced these multiple waves of restructuring cumulatively in rapid succession, over an extremely short period of five years. Once the study was completed a fifth trajectory was evident, in that over the past two years some institutions once again have restructured internally to deal more effectively with the effects of incorporation or merger.

These institutional changes in South Africa were driven in complex ways by a double dynamic that is operating globally to re-shape teacher education.

Teacher policy, standing at the heart of the education system, is being reformed, remodelled and transformed in a range of developed and developing countries. Debate about the most appropriate policy and mechanisms for producing and distributing educational services, about a new relationship between government, schools and teacher-educators, has become vigorous globally (Avalos 2000; Butt & Gunter 2005; Sandy 2006; Stuart & Tatto 2000). Such changes in teacher policy soon impact on teacher education.

At the same time, teacher education has typically been shifted from the specialised college sector into the higher education sector, in both developed and developing countries. Hence, teacher education internationally has also become subject to the multiple new demands of globalisation and the knowledge economy as they are played out on the higher education terrain, particularly in the form of new funding and managerial models.

For teacher education providers in South Africa, as across the world, institutional change is thus inevitable, driven both by shifting education policies and relationships (in South Africa, the shift to an outcomes-based education system and national qualifications framework, for example) and by shifting policies and relationships within their new higher education location (see Hall et al. 2004; Kotecha and Harman 2001; Parker 2003). However, as Robertson (2005) cautions, the form of change is not inevitable and always brings with it the legacy of the past – and the challenge to ensure that change ‘maximises outcomes’ for all South Africans:

Futures are not inevitable. They are imagined and created, but always with the legacy of the past bound into their very fabric. The important task we have is to be willing to imagine the creation of institutions and social relationships that maximize outcomes for all individuals rather than for a few. (Robertson 2005: 167)

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In particular the form of change is not inevitable – or the same – for different institutions.

Higher education institutions in South Africa have distinct historical legacies, which continue to shape their response as they reorganise in the face of the multiple challenges set in motion by new policy and regulatory frameworks since 1994. In the present they experience the trajectories of restructuring in different combinations (Jansen 2002; Lewin et al. 2003; Sayed 2002). So, while the policy intention is to create a single teacher education system, institutional mediation leads to complex outcomes. Schools, departments and faculties of education are positioned differently within their institutions and in relation to the national teacher education system, and face the challenge of integrating diverse bodies of academics from merged and incorporated institutions in different ways.

The study thus aimed to provide a detailed empirical analysis of the complex ways in which forms and processes of higher education institutional restructuring shape the conditions for and nature of initial teacher education approaches and programmes in distinct institutional contexts. In order to situate the analysis offered in this paper, the following section describes the empirical study conducted.

Researching change in teacher education

This section briefly describes the research design of the study and the selection of a sample.

A multiple case study design

A multiple, comparative case study design was developed to facilitate a ‘thick description’ of the nature of institutional restructuring at the macro, meso and micro levels, focusing respectively on responses to national policy directives, institutional strategic dynamics, and microdynamics within departments or faculties. The following specific focus and techniques have been applied to each case study:• An institutional history with a focus since 1994 – constructed from an analysis of official

institutional policy and documents, interviews with current managers or former heads of colleges of education or merging entities, and analysis of HEMIS2 data and secondary research reports.

• Analysis of the (range of) mediations of the new national teacher education policy framework and the experience of restructuring teacher-educators within the newly-restructured institutions – drawn from individual interviews with senior and long-serving staff members and focus group interviews with teacher-educators, to represent all the ‘constituent’ institutions.

• An overview of the current institutional governance structures that have developed, focusing on the relative power and contribution of ‘constituent’ institutions – drawn from interviews with current managers as well as former heads of colleges of education or merging entities.

• An overview of both the recent history and current positioning of teacher education within the higher education institution – drawn from interviews with current managers within the institution in general and in the teacher education school, department or faculty, as well as with former heads of colleges of education or merging entities.

• Analysis of the effects of restructuring on the core business of teacher education, exploring consensus or conflict and tension around pedagogical approaches and discourses of initial teacher education – through interviews with senior academics and focus group interviews with teacher-educators.

Selection matrix

A matrix was devised for the selection of cases that would reflect the full range of experience nationally. The key differentiating dimensions identified were the four trajectories of restructuring outlined above and the shift observed in the internal organisational form, from

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an education faculty with direct access to institutional resources and power, to an education school or department that has to compete for access within a larger and more general faculty.

Table 7.1 reflects the selection matrix, summarising the main forms of institutional restructuring experienced in 2006 by all 22 higher education institutions offering teacher education. The 11 institutions selected for case study are highlighted in italics.

A focus on a single trajectory

It is only possible in the scope of this paper to focus on a single trajectory of institutional restructuring for illustrative purposes. The fourth, most complex trajectory – of successive waves of internal restructuring, college of education incorporation and higher education merger over an intense period – has been chosen. The analysis is thus based on trends evident at seven higher education institutions: Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), North-West University (NWU), University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), University of Limpopo, University of South Africa (UNISA) and University of the Free State.

Table 7.1: A matrix of trajectories of restructuring

Education faculty School or department of education

Direct access to institutional managerial and financial power

Indirect access to institutional managerial and financial power

Internal higher education institutional reorganisation in response to shifting context

Rhodes UniversityUniversity of Stellenbosch University of the Western Cape

University of Cape TownVaal University of Technology

Incorporation of teacher education colleges externally imposed

University of PretoriaUniversity of Zululand

University of VendaUniversity of the Witwatersrand

Higher education institutional mergers externally imposed

Tshwane University of TechnologyUniversity of Fort HareUniversity of Johannesburg

Central University of Technology, Free State

Internal restructuring, teacher education college incorporation and institutional merger externally imposed

Cape Peninsula University of TechnologyDurban University of TechnologyNelson Mandela Metropolitan UniversityNorth-West UniversityUniversity of KwaZulu-NatalWalter Sisulu University

University of LimpopoUniversity of South AfricaUniversity of the Free State

The paper aims to illustrate the complexity of dynamics in specific institutional contexts and to highlight the challenges posed for managers and academics involved with initial teacher education programmes. It is divided into two sections. The first demonstrates that there is a simple and a complex form of merger, characterised by varying degrees of integration, subordination or cessation of the former institutional configurations. This means that at the micro level, in planning and implementing their initial teacher education programmes, some institutions are faced with reconciling diverse groups of academics with distinct histories, expertise and commitments. The second section of the paper attempts to delineate the impact of institutional restructuring on initial teacher education. It shows that over the

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period of restructuring, higher education dynamics – particularly new financial imperatives – are increasingly shaping education faculties and schools, and that consequently initial teacher education has diminished in significance across the system. Restructuring impacts on curriculum reform and development directly or less directly, depending on the extent to which incorporated colleges of education and merged higher education institutions retained strong leadership, a significant group of staff with valued expertise and complementary programmes. Finally, the second section identifies key issues of contestation or potential synergy. In conclusion, the paper considers the challenges for the relationship of teacher education providers with the national DoE, with institutional leadership and within faculties or schools, to aid the task of ‘maximising outcomes’.

Section 1: The dynamics of externally-mandated change –mergers and complexity

It is not possible to describe the fascinating history and complex dynamics of each higher education institution in detail but only to identify broad patterns and trends, with pen sketches of individual cases as illustration.

Jansen’s South African taxonomy (2002) is useful to illuminate the form of incorporation and merger. Mergers and incorporations have led in some cases to ‘institutional obliteration’ where little remains of the structures and programmes of one partner; or to ‘protected enclosure’ where the incorporated institution continues to operate as usual but formally within the new institution; or to ‘subsumed integration’ where one of the partners is integrated but in a subordinate manner, retaining only parts of their former identity or programmes; and finally ‘equal partnership’ where integration occurs on a more equitable basis.

Each of these forms was evident to varying degrees, distinguishing two distinct institutional patterns, with different consequences and potential impact.

Simple and complementary mergers

First, there is a simple pattern. These institutions experienced relatively simple higher education mergers in that they were either partial incorporations of a single campus of a higher education institution or totally complementary institutional mergers. These mergers occurred on the basis of a form of college incorporation that led to the effective ‘institutional obliteration’ of the college in that no programmes or staff were retained and only ‘pipeline’ students were catered for.

In the University of the Free State case, for example, the merger interaction is effectively one of legal incorporation of a single campus of two other institutions. This means that the terms of interaction, of incorporation into existing structures and practices, were more clear-cut – although the resultant dynamic is not a foregone conclusion. For the School of Education at Free State it would appear that the primary concern was education’s academic standing and survival within a Faculty of Humanities, but that neither the incorporation of the Qwaqwa and Bloemfontein Vista campuses nor the earlier college incorporation was seen as a strategic asset to this process.

In the case of the University of Limpopo, the institutional merger with the Medical University of Southern Africa (MEDUNSA) did not directly affect the School of Education, except in a general manner, as MEDUNSA’s medical niche was strongly complementary to Limpopo’s existing areas of focus. Although there are those who would argue that there are strategic opportunities to be mined, there was not evidence, at the time of this research, of a proactive response from the school.

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For education faculties and schools at these universities, despite institutional restructuring through mergers and college incorporation, it was largely possible to continue with ‘business as usual’. As discussed below, the challenge remains to integrate the small number of new staff from the incorporated campuses, at the University of the Free State, for example.

Complex successive waves of restructuring, then mergers

The second pattern is of successive waves with complex institutional mergers and which involves two institutions with education faculties or schools that have recently incorporated colleges of education, typically but not solely in a process of ‘subsumed integration’ or ‘protected enclosure’. This means that they have retained some of the college staff, typically using their expertise to develop the new Bachelor of Education (BEd) programmes, particularly for the Foundation Phase (see Becker et al. 2004; Sehoole 2005; Van der Westhuizen 2004). This second pattern involves the externally-mandated merger of entire higher education institutions with considerable structural and procedural reorganisation for all academic staff and may involve the merger of institutions with potentially competing teacher education programmes. What adds to the complexity is that there are multiple parties to the merger – one or more former teacher education colleges, two or more universities or technikons – and the relations and balance between these differ within the same new higher education institution.

In turn, two patterns of such complex institutional mergers may be discerned. In the first, the form of merger is characterised by a degree of equal partnership, veering towards subsumed integration – evident in the cases of CPUT and UKZN. Typically here a strong leadership was able to promote the interests of staff from each party to the merger. So at CPUT, for example, the former Cape Technikon strategically recruited two colleges of education, one traditionally English and the other Afrikaans, that could expand their niche from Further Education and Training (FET) to all phases of teacher education. The incorporation in 2001 was understood by the colleges to be a merger and there was considerable resentment that Cape Technikon dominated the new relationship de facto, gaining valuable real estate and considerable student numbers. Then in 2006 Cape Technikon merged with Peninsula Technikon, where the Education Department had been part of the science faculty. The Peninsula Technikon Education Department chose to join the Cape Technikon Education Faculty in the merged institution. Time and the balance of relationships will determine which scenario will prevail – whether the relationship will be one of equal partnership or become a subsumed integration into the larger faculty, following the pattern of college incorporation.

In the second pattern, the form of merger is largely institutional cessation, with subsumed integration of complementary parts of one or more parties to the merger – evident in the cases of NMMU and UNISA. For example, the University of Port Elizabeth (UPE) incorporated colleges of education in such a way that they did not retain any staff or programmes, resulting effectively in ‘institutional obliteration’ of the college, while the university benefited in the form of a considerable injection of funds to cover the fees of ‘pipeline’ students. UPE also incorporated the Port Elizabeth campus of Vista University, thus determining that it was the senior partner in that relationship. The merger in 2005 with Port Elizabeth Technikon, which had incorporated a college but retained some staff and a single programme, meant that this pattern was largely reproduced in the new NMMU. Considered together with the fact that the technikons had a recent history of teacher education, introduced only after 1993, with very small enrolments in a niche area (typically FET), the former UPE staff came to dominate the merger de facto.

The case of NWU straddles these two patterns, with a merger between formally equal university partners, both of whom had incorporated teacher education colleges in a form of protected enclosure. Given the very distinct historical legacies, institutional cultures and strongly contrasting ideologies of the two universities, the main parties operate largely on parallel tracks in practice. There are two education faculties with two deans operating on the two campuses at considerable geographical distance from one another. The complexity of the dynamics of

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interaction is such that there is a possibility of subsumed integration or institutional cessation of one partner in the future.

These higher education institutions face a major challenge at the micro level to integrate groups of academic staff with distinct histories, institutional cultures and sometimes conflicting approaches to teacher education within a single organisation (see also Arnolds and Boshoff 2004; Humphrey 2003; Pillay 2004; Woodward and Parsons 2004). The form of incorporation or merger will continue to impact over the medium term in shaping the conditions of consensus or contestation created within the ‘new’ institution – and the conditions for initial teacher education. Before discussing this in Section 2 below it is important to consider the challenges – at the meso level – of the position of initial teacher education within the new higher education institutions.

Higher education dynamics shape education’s position within institutions

Initially after 1994 state steering and the dynamics of education change drove the restructuring of teacher education more strongly. However, the merger process made it clear that higher education imperatives were increasingly predominant in driving change and shaping institutional conditions. Many academics and senior managers interviewed for the present research reported support in principle from central management, rectors or vice-chancellors to promote teacher education within their institution in the national interest. In the majority of cases contestation at the meso level, determining education’s institutional status, depended on its financial standing within the higher education institution, its ability to enrol students, and its image as an academic discipline. (A commonly reported view of those in other faculties was that teacher education is not ‘the real thing’, not a strong academic discipline.) Together with the devolved faculty structures and decentralised financial models adopted by many higher education institutions, this might result in the needs and priorities of initial teacher education being overshadowed by other pressing responsibilities of institutions.

The cases do illustrate a degree of variation, with higher education dynamics in some cases playing a strong determining role, and in others articulating more effectively with education dynamics to varying degrees. At UNISA, for instance, shortly after merger, the Faculty of Education was changed to a school within a college, and then a year later to a cluster of departments within a school within a college, driven by financial imperatives of the newly-merged mega-university. Here higher education dynamics have operated strongly but in a potentially negative way, in that institutional financial policies are exerting pressures on education that may be in tension with professional education imperatives – or certainly, the priorities of initial teacher education as academic staff perceive them. The UKZN case reflects the growing pressure from the university centre to improve research outputs, which for some staff is in tension with their task of professional education of teachers. CPUT represents the other end of the spectrum, in which merging was seen to provide an opportunity to further education agendas within the institution, shaping a more proactive strategic pathway for initial teacher education.

The challenge for teacher education faculties and schools is to ensure financial security and synergy with other priorities of the higher education institution – in order to protect or promote their educational priorities.

Section 2: Impact on initial teacher education

This section considers the impact of the double dynamic driving restructuring and of the specific forms of institutional restructuring experienced. It signals general trends across the system but focuses on the institutions that have experienced successive waves of restructuring. First, it describes the current organisational structure, focus and capacity of education schools and

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faculties to produce new teachers across the phases of the school system. Second, it considers the points of potential contestation and synergy within schools and faculties as a result of successive waves of restructuring.

Current organisational structure, focus and capacity

Current organisational structureIn general there has been significant internal change, from a discipline-based organisation informed by the logic of fundamental pedagogics or other educational philosophy, to a tripartite-programme-based structure derived from the distinction between initial, in-service (i.e. continuing professional development) and postgraduate teacher education. This logic is found with a number of variations in most higher education institutions, strongly shaped by education imperatives and dynamics.

Where institutions have experienced successive waves of restructuring, there were essentially three main responses with variations on the theme: include the incorporated or merged entities within existing structures; co-exist on parallel tracks in separate structures; or create new, integrated structures. There is a degree of disjuncture between the new formal internal organisation as intended and the extent to which staff have accepted or contested the structure to make it work effectively in practice. This is particularly the case where there have been complex, multiple mergers or a lack of strong leadership at critical points in the process. The cases illustrate the demands of creating new integrated structures, which tend to question the basis for longstanding academic ‘homes’ and disciplinary territory. Finally, the way in which leadership positions are filled in merged institutions (in particular, the extent to which each party to the merger is represented) creates the potential for power imbalances and ‘undercurrents of dissatisfaction’, which may impact on programme delivery.

Programme structureEducation changes determined the nature of the tripartite-programme-based division, but micro-level dynamics of specific institutions determined the final shape of internal structures – and likewise with the programme structure of individual institutions. Different higher education institutions are prioritising initial teacher education, in-service programmes/continuing professional development, or postgraduate programmes as a niche area of specialisation, related to their patterns of restructuring. Just who prioritises what is not solely determined by incorporation or mergers but rather by the institutional legacy, the research profile and the strategic vision of the faculty or school or, in some cases, the higher education institution’s central management. The choice of programme focus within a faculty or school, however, can exacerbate or facilitate contestation and tension at the micro level, between the groups of staff brought together in a single new higher education institution, who may prioritise one of the three areas of focus differentially. This is exacerbated when the institution prioritises or accords greater status to one of the three areas, in particular to postgraduate programmes and research.

Enrolment patternsThe balance of enrolments found at the time of the research conducted for the National Teacher Education Audit in 1994 had shifted considerably by 2006. The proportion of postgraduate enrolments has stayed relatively steady but it is evident that only a few higher education institutions have significant research capacity, reflected in the number of accredited publications and the quality of postgraduate programmes – see the 2006 Higher Education Quality Committee review of MEd programmes (Council on Higher Education 2006). Relative to total output across the system, for instance, education has a very low share, consistently representing 5% of the national total of publications – 288 articles of a total of 6 018 in 2000 and 348 of a total of 6 492 in 2004. The proportion of initial teacher education enrolments has declined dramatically and the proportion of formally certificated in-service and upgrading programmes (NPDE and ACE3 qualifications) has increased dramatically. In fact the proportions of the two have virtually

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inverted over the last 10 years. This trend is driven in a contradictory way by an intersection of the education imperatives of the national DoE to promote teacher upgrading and equity and the entrepreneurial or survival interests of individual higher education institutions – and even individual academics.

Mergers and teacher education college incorporation provided significant opportunities for higher education institutions to grow student numbers, and some have taken advantage of this to expand into complementary new fields and qualifications, while others have responded in a reactive and short-term manner to the opportunities offered. Restructuring has also shifted the traditional student demographic profile in some institutions, which presents challenges for implementing mergers.

Emerging from the analysis is evidence that the desirable and achievable balance between teaching and research, between initial teacher education and in-service education programmes, between professional education and postgraduate education programmes, and between professional education programmes oriented to different phases of schooling, is strongly contested – both within higher education institutions and between institutions and the national DoE.

Impact on approaches to initial teacher education

The degree to which restructuring impacts on approaches to initial teacher education and curriculum processes varies between the higher education institutions that have experienced successive waves of change (see also Jansen 2002; Mfusi 2004).

In some cases, restructuring has had a strong direct impact on the nature of initial teacher education programmes. These higher education institutions have to develop new approaches and curricula based on complex organisational dynamics that include multiple academic voices with potentially contrasting histories and identities, potentially giving rise to contestation and requiring considerable energy to negotiate and create synergy – the cases of CPUT, NWU and UKZN. The challenge at UKZN, for example, is to establish working relationships between groups of staff who have come from a college of education, a historically advantaged university with two geographical locations, and a historically disadvantaged university, each with its own distinct ethos, focus and programmes.

In the other cases, restructuring has had a ‘medium’ degree of direct impact on initial teacher education. In these cases – NMMU, UNISA and the University of the Free State – a single institution dominated incorporation and the merger, and only a small number of academics from one or more of the other parties are retained as a minority within the newly-created institution. This means that the structures, curricula and staff of the dominant party tend to determine the approach and practice in the new institution. However, the academics from the ‘legacy’ institutions maintain a subordinate voice that needs to be accommodated in the process of dealing with the demands of curriculum development. They may add to and complement what is possible in initial teacher education programmes or they may potentially undermine new programmes in practice – but two of the possible responses. The cases in the study have dealt with these challenges of accommodating subordinate voices in different ways. For instance at UNISA it was explained that programmes of the incorporated colleges of education and merged universities were ‘taught out’, because college programmes were not seen as valuable and Vista and Technikon SA did not have a strong education identity or programmes to offer. The subsumed academic staff were generally positive about becoming part of a ‘more reputable’ academic institution but they highlighted the often negative ways in which the process impacted on their personal and professional lives.

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The impact of mergers and incorporation on personal and professional livesAlthough not a core focus of the present study, inevitably in the course of interviews it became clear that the toll on individual academics – both personally and professionally – had been high, and that this impacts significantly on the conditions for teacher education. If those responsible for carrying out institutional mandates are not fully focused on their task because of personal stress or professional dissatisfaction there is a negative impact on what is possible. It is important to understand the points of contestation and impact on personal and professional lives in order to manage change more effectively and lessen the impact on individuals.

A descriptive list of the common issues related to personal and professional lives was compiled across the cases. The work of Trowler (1998), who distinguishes four approaches that academics evince to deal with change (sinking, swimming, coping mechanisms and policy reconstruction) was used to make sense of the list. Trowler argues that rather than passively ‘suffering’ the impact of change large numbers of academics in fact adopt a ‘policy reconstruction’ approach, using strategies such as curriculum and syllabus innovation or strategically manipulating or reinterpreting policy in terms of their own experience and interests. Such positive ‘policy reconstruction’ strategies were widely evident, perhaps given the strongly articulated and widely shared commitment to contribute to education transformation and the quality of the future teaching corps in South Africa. In more rather than fewer of the institutions visited a generally positive outlook and pragmatism guided the daily work of the academic staff, despite awareness of the personal demands and challenges arising from this common commitment to the professional development of teachers.

Curriculum change and approaches to teacher educationCurriculum change is strongly driven by national education policy processes in the first instance, but these institutional restructuring patterns and dynamics complicate the demands and challenges.

In general there has been widespread recurriculation after 2000 to bring initial teacher education programmes in line with the Norms and Standards for Educators (DoE 2000) and the various qualifications requirements of the South African Qualifications Authority. In most cases this primarily entailed the repackaging of existing programmes as the core of the new BEd. In many cases curriculum development processes only extended to the alignment of the curricula of the merging parties. In one case the principle of ‘equivalence’ was used as a compromise that allowed a degree of curriculum and pedagogical variation between groups from merging institutions, with a shared set of outcomes.

A strong awareness of the need to develop new curricula was expressed at most higher education institutions, particularly in those cases that had undergone multiple waves of restructuring. However, national processes hampered institutions from actively undertaking this task: first, because of delays in finalising a new national framework for teacher education in response to the recommendations of the Ministerial Committee on Teacher Education (the framework was finally gazetted by the DoE in April 2007); and, second, by the demands of preparation for the review process of the Higher Education Quality Committee, being rolled out over an extended period of three years from 2006.

Nevertheless, it was evident from the present research that there are significant common issues of contestation between groups of academics from incorporated teacher education colleges or merged higher education institutions, and that these issues present a challenge for initial teacher education in the new institution. Examining the substance of the (contrasting) approaches to teacher education that academics with different institutional identities contribute to the programme and curriculum design, and the lines of debate and contestation that may ensue, can contribute to the task of building synergy within institutions. (A second phase of the study, focusing on the new institutional cultures that emerge out of the processes of restructuring, will consider this task.)

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Two sets of issues are highlighted in this regard. A first set of issues with which teacher-educators are grappling relates to the pedagogical and theoretical approaches articulated by academics from different backgrounds and institutional identities, which shape future curriculum development in teacher education.

By way of illustration, in one case with a subordinate form of integration, academics from each of the institutions shared a fundamental pedagogics approach, which it was claimed made it relatively easy to reconcile different modules, qualifications and programme structures for recurriculation. However, this approach has been largely discredited and the academics share a common challenge to shift away from it. In other cases there were significant differences along ideological–pedagogical lines, reflecting different models of teacher education, which made the process of recurriculation more complex and conflict ridden. Academics interviewed framed the differences variously in terms of a dichotomy between ‘Christian National Education’ and ‘People’s Education’, or between Afrikaans and English traditional approaches, or between ‘behaviourist’ and ‘child-centred’ approaches and so on.

A second complex set of issues around which there have been strong efforts to create synergy, or around which there has been considerable contestation, relates in the first instance to the perceived differences in the ‘college of education’ and the ‘university’ approach to teacher education. Clearly the set of issues has various interwoven strands and multiple layers – and is not specific only to those institutions that have incorporated colleges. At its heart it centres on different positions in relation to the most desirable balance between ‘theory’ and ‘practice’ in teacher education programmes and curricula. It is also overlayered with debates around the specific nature of initial teacher education required for different school phases, particularly for primary as opposed to secondary schooling. Contestation centres around the best place for content subjects to be taught, the best way to deliver professional teacher education, the most appropriate balance between theory and practice in programmes, and the most appropriate balance between research and teaching in teacher education programmes.

Competing discourses and models of teacher education and competing resolutions of the balance between theory and practice were often expressed in tensions between groups of staff. In the most complex cases of restructuring these tensions had led to stereotyped perceptions of each other’s positions. In some cases, unfortunately, these differences in approach and organisational culture are overlaid and exacerbated by the fact that positions are drawn along racial (or language) lines. Academics in these situations – particularly where there had been little integration, and there is operation on parallel tracks – generally stressed that the dynamics of ‘covert’ and subtle racism, inter-site tensions and inferiority/superiority complex issues combine racial divisions with institutional background, which tend to deepen tension.

At the micro level the amount of management and effort required to structure positive opportunities for engagement and dialogue in these higher education institutions is considerable.

In conclusion – futures and outcomes

The paper reflects the emerging teacher education system and in particular the position of initial teacher education after undergoing an inevitable and necessary series of seismic changes. In pointing to the challenges and demands arising out of institutional restructuring, the paper aims to contribute to the creation of a new vision for the future. There are instances of success in creating new institutional forms and relationships, but at this early stage in the process the challenges for individual academics, faculties and schools remain considerable and are highlighted in this final section.

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The relationship between the national DoE and higher education institutions

Currently, there is a lively national debate around the ideal nature of state steering in higher education and the potential loss of academic autonomy (Freedman & Edigheji 2006; Habib, Bentley & Morrow 2006; Hall 2006; Hall & Symes 2003; Jansen 2005; Jonathan 2007). Engaging with the debate around state steering and institutional autonomy, problematising the ideal relationship between national and provincial teacher education structures on the one hand and higher education institutions on the other, is critical in order to deal with initial teacher education – and produce the much needed corps of new teachers – more effectively in the future.

State steering of the teacher education system has strengthened over the period since 1995, driving externally-mandated restructuring. However, there has been an absence of a coherent vision at critical points. The creation of a new policy vision for teacher education is a priority. The national framework goes some way towards this. However, the case studies emphasised that the substantive implementation and mediation of policy at institutional level is critical to determine the actual form and direction of change. Ad hoc policy implementation potentially has severe unintended consequences. For instance the loss of the close relationship between provincial education departments and teacher education providers that resulted from the closure of colleges of education was a constant theme raised in relation to the current mismatch between supply and demand. The implications of the location of initial teacher education in higher education institutions, subject to potentially competing higher education imperatives driving decisions on the resources for teacher education, need to be taken into account more centrally. The shift away from initial teacher education enrolments towards the more lucrative continuing professional development programmes, driven by state funding to upgrade the quality of the teaching workforce, is another instance of unintended consequences and of the double dynamic driving restructuring.

Coherent, systematic interventions across the board, based on a strong relationship between provincial and national departments of education and higher education providers of teacher education, seem to be necessary.

The relationship between faculties and higher education institutions

Individual higher education institutions also have a role to play in creating a new national vision. The present research found a degree of stated commitment of senior higher education institutional managers to recognising their contribution to teacher education as a national priority. At the same time there was a degree to which teacher education was disadvantaged within institutions by being in the lowest subsidy funding category, but without compensatory recognition of the high costs of professional education in financial expectations. The research identified that there are new pressures on academics to increase research outputs and raise academic standing, again without recognition of the specificity of professional teacher education.

A substantive recognition on the part of higher education institutional managers of their responsibility to the public good in terms of the production of future teachers might aid education faculties and schools in developing a strategic vision.

The lack of a strong institutional vision of how teacher education is meant to be is evident in the way that some faculties and schools were swept along by restructuring, responding in a reactive, short-term, narrow-interests manner that was ultimately potentially undermining to their own best efforts. The contrast with those that had a stronger strategic vision that was able to channel a more proactive, medium- to long-term response in the broader interest of teacher education stood out starkly.

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The relationship within faculties and schools

The institutional pressures described in this paper often frame contestation within education faculties and schools and can exacerbate differences between groups of staff with different institutional identities and demographic profiles. There were evidently competing visions of the ‘best’ way to conceptualise initial teacher education, in terms of the underlying approaches and philosophies, the balance between theory and practice within curricula, and the ideal requirements for primary and secondary school phases and between academic research and professional education as priorities. The absence of a coherent, shared vision of teacher education and the personal and professional experience of multiple waves of restructuring have contributed to a situation in which academics adhere strongly to their own ways of organising the curriculum, as one ‘safety net’ in an unstable situation. The danger for initial teacher education, of differences becoming solidified into stereotypical and prejudicial perceptions, was highlighted as a key challenge for faculties and schools to address at the micro level.

Acknowledgement

A team of researchers conducted the case studies and their contribution to the present research project is fundamental. In alphabetical order, their work is acknowledged: Adele Gordon, Crispin Hemson, Chaya Herman, Anne Hill, Ursula Hoadley, Bernadette Johnson, Peter Kallaway, Moeketsi Letseka, Chief Mabizela, Venitha Pillay and Yusuf Waghid.

Endnotes1. Teacher Education Programme (TEP)2. Higher Education Management Information System3. National Professional Diploma in Education and Advanced Certificate in Education

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Stuart J & Tatto MT (2000) Designs for initial teacher preparation programs: An international view. International Journal of Educational Research 33(5): 493–514

Trowler P (1998) Academics responding to change. New higher education frameworks and academic cultures. Buckingham: Society for Research into Higher Education & Open University Press

Van der Westhuizen C (2004) The games institutions play, or, The impact of university incorporation on the attitudes, beliefs and perceptions of college lecturers. South African Journal of Higher Education 18(1): 153–164

Woodward R & Parsons PG (2004) Staff perceptions of the impending merger of two South African higher education institutions. Paper presented at the 2004 Tertiary Education Management Conference, Hobart, Tasmania (26–29 September)

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Bureaucratic compliance and academic coherence: Curriculum restructuring in teacher educationGlenda Kruss, Ursula Hoadley and Adele GordonHuman Sciences Research Council

This is not a typical academic conference paper, but rather is intended to provide an overview of a panel presentation and to guide discussion and debate. It introduces a research project on institutional restructuring and its impact on curriculum restructuring in South African teacher education since 1994, conducted over the past three years.1 We begin by providing an overview of the centralised, state-mandated processes of curriculum restructuring and then, via summary outlines of two case studies, illustrate the range of experiences and dynamics at the institutional level: Ursula Hoadley focuses on the complexities of recurriculation processes at the new North-West University; while Adele Gordon analyses the dynamics at the University of the Witwatersrand. Finally, Glenda Kruss discusses the dominant trend towards bureaucratic compliance found across the system, and concludes the panel by considering the implications for teacher education policy-makers, and for teacher-educators.

Keywords

teacher educationcurriculumrestructuringmergersSouth Africa

Introduction

University2-based teacher education has experienced complex processes of largely externally-driven, state-mandated institutional restructuring in South Africa since the mid-1990s. These educational dynamics are intertwined with the processes of internally-driven restructuring, as higher education systems globally respond to new imperatives.

One of the most significant changes, in line with global trends, was to move teacher education into the higher education sector, with curriculum decisions decentralised to higher education institutions, but subject strongly to centralised state regulation. The international experience is that universities have responsibility for, but increasingly have less control over the nature and forms of, teacher education, in favour of school-led and government-led processes (Furlong 2005; Phillips & Furlong 2001; Sayed 2004).In South Africa, however, unlike the trend in many other countries, university-based teacher-educators now have increased opportunity and responsibility. As Parker and Adler (2005) argue,


within the new South African policy framework teacher-educators have the potential power to ‘redefine knowledge and practices for teacher education and to re-insert disciplined and disciplinary inquiry into teacher preparation programmes’ (2005: 62). One reason that there is a new space for teacher-educators is inherent in the epistemological underpinnings of the new Norms and Standards for Educators (NSE) policy framework (Department of Education [DoE] 2000a). The NSE defines roles, applied competences and qualifications, and in so doing provides objectives and general directions that academics should interpret and create into new qualifications and curricula designs. Unlike in the past, there is a new expectation that teacher-educators will be strong academics, conducting research and at the same time developing research-led curricula to produce competent teachers capable of transforming the schooling system in South Africa.

However, the ability of academic teacher-educators to achieve this potential is circumscribed by the challenges they face: to develop new programmes on the base of a rapidly restructuring and shifting institutional and policy landscape. The higher education landscape in South Africa is historically differentiated and unequal, which shapes what is possible in the present for universities with distinct legacies. Likewise, academics based in institutions with varying experiences of institutional restructuring are positioned differently to mediate new policy. They face distinct challenges that vary in form and intensity. And it is apparent that the newly-created institutions may face specific challenges, as academics negotiate the potentially conflicting models and approaches that inform their work.

The panel presentation

The panel reports on a comparative study of the processes of recurriculation of initial teacher education programmes undertaken by academics based in five higher education institutions that have undergone diverse forms of institutional restructuring since 2000.

We begin by providing an overview of the centralised, state-mandated processes of curriculum restructuring since 1994, in relation to higher education in general, and to Initial Professional Education of Teachers (IPET) specifically, overlaid by processes of institutional restructuring. These are summarised in Table 8.1.

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Table 8.1: Overview of curriculum restructuring since 1994,in higher education and in IPET

Period Higher education in general IPET specifically

1. Debating new higher education curriculum policy:1994–99

Curriculum restructuring driven by national mediations of global trends – National Qualifications Framework (NQF) compliance and programme-based funding.Programme and curriculum change within institutions increasingly driven by changing funding regimes.

Curriculum change in response to introduction of Outcomes-based Education and Curriculum 2005 (C2005) (DoE 1997) at school level.

2. A new IPET policy framework: 2000–03

Curriculum restructuring driven by the NSE 1995 (Parker et al. 1997a, 1997b, 1998) and the NSE 2000 (DoE 2000a, 2000b), and the Revised National Curriculum Statement for schools (DoE 2000c, 2001a, 2001b).The seven roles of educators increasingly become the curriculum.Overlaid with dynamics resulting from college of education incorporation, where the form of incorporation was other than ‘institutional cessation’.

3. Refining implementation in a shifting landscape: 2003–05

Curriculum ‘alignment’ driven by imperatives of higher education institutional merger.Programme and curriculum change within new institutions driven by funding pressures.Emphasis on quality assurance: Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) reviews.

Ministerial Committee on Teacher Education (2006; DoE 2005).‘Policy vacuum’, caused by delays in finalising framework for teacher education, is a constraint.

4. Facing the challenges: 2006–present

Renewed focus on curriculum restructuring driven by imperatives of institutional merger, once fundamentals of new higher education institution are more firmly in place.

Curriculum development driven by HEQC national review (given outcomes of 2005 MEd review).Qualifications revision and curriculum development facilitated by the National Policy Framework for Teacher Education and Development in South Africa (DoE 2007b) and The Higher Education Qualifications Framework (DoE 2007a).

Source: Compiled by Kruss.

Academics and management at each higher education institution mediate, resist and contest the national pressures in different ways for reasons shaped by their specific conditions at the meso and micro levels. The outcomes of these processes are new forms of IPET programmes and curricula that differ widely from one another and from the ideal proposed in the NSE.

For the panel, we present only two of five cases, North-West University and University of the Witwatersrand (colloquially known as Wits), to illustrate the range of experiences and dynamics at the institutional level. We have selected these cases at two extremes of the spectrum: in order to demonstrate the dominant trend of recurriculation, which takes the form of bureaucratic compliance with the NSE, but also to show that it is possible to mediate curriculum change in an academically coherent way.

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In the next two sections, we include only a summary outline of each case.3

1. A distant reality – aligning the BEd curriculum at North-West University Ursula Hoadley

The first case4 focuses on the complexities of recurriculation processes at the new North-West University. Processes at the meso level of the new institution impacted on the way in which the new BEd curriculum was constructed.

Firstly, Mafikeng campus was subordinately positioned in the merger process, and hence academics made minimal input into the substantive processes to align curricula across the campuses. Although involved in the development of programme outcomes, Mafikeng campus staff participated minimally in the development of module outcomes and study guides for the majority of subjects. The case study therefore questions the extent to which the new curriculum meets their needs or reflects their interests, although the curriculum has been accepted in principle. The current strategy adopted by many staff appears to be to ignore the new curriculum; Mafikeng campus staff continue to teach as they have done in the past. Potchefstroom campus staff, through inherited advantage that was entrenched in the merger processes, were able to shore up decision-making power in order to create a curriculum that, at a structural level at least, responds to their needs. The two campuses continue to operate along parallel tracks, and are likely to do so well into the future. Drawing on Bernstein’s (1996) notion of recontextualisation, the case demonstrates how, secondly, the Academic Development and Support Unit, which was set up to assist with the alignment of curriculum across the newly-merged institution, led a highly bureaucratic process in mediating macro-level policy. This unit largely determined how propositions in what Bernstein (1996) terms the Official Recontextualising Field (the state) were recontextualised in what he terms the Pedagogic Recontextualising Field (teacher-educators) at the level of the institution. The unit drove a strong programme of bureaucratic compliance with official policy in the creation of an aligned BEd curriculum.

Two reasons are offered for the lack of resistance to this process from the Pedagogic Recontextualising Field. One is a fragmented academic culture across the faculties, and the other is the historically close relationship between the state and Potchefstroom University. What has now been produced is an integrated BEd curriculum with weak specification at the intended level, and a constructivist pedagogy promoted in the espoused curriculum. The problem with this curriculum is that it might just suffice for the students at Potchefstroom, which supplies graduates to former Model C schools. But teacher-students destined for rural schools, which are predominantly poor, are unlikely to experience positive learning with constructivism and its set of associated concepts in the classrooms they will enter.

2. (Re)configuring the (con)text: IPET at the Wits School of EducationAdele Gordon

The second case5 analyses the dynamics at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits). Despite the long-standing relationship between Johannesburg College of Education and the School of Education at Wits, the amalgamation to form the Wits School of Education led to a period of instability. Staff relations were fraught and there was great uncertainty regarding the roles of teacher-educators, particularly in view of the priority given to research and academic excellence written into the Wits 2010 vision.

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Under strong leadership, this period has given way to one characterised by greater stability: there is a growing, albeit tentative, commitment to a common vision of teacher education that is being forged through a process of ongoing reflection on current courses and programmes.

An examination of recurriculation processes shows that two different processes are evident. The depth of the working relationship between members of the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) staff developed over many years. This is seen in the coherence of structure and format in the PGCE programme, which places social justice and multiculturalism at the core of the curriculum. In contrast, macro-policy changes driven by the NSE and National Curriculum Statement (NCS) (DoE 2001a) were accommodated by individuals or departments at the College and this process, together with the need to include additional courses and take cognisance of integrated subjects in the BEd programme, resulted in overload for staff and students. Changes now considered are following a process similar to the one used to develop the PGCE programme, one that is driven more strongly by a coherent academic logic. A Curriculum Committee, tasked to review the BEd programme content and format, together with a Teaching Experience Committee, is revising the BEd programme.

Despite the progress accruing from the work of these committees, on delving into the inner processes of curriculum restructuring in both IPET programmes it became apparent that tensions remain. Contextualisation of teaching practices to forge praxis, enhancing students’ capacities to learn through promoting academic literacy, and assuring that students attain adequate levels of content knowledge remain highly contested issues.

3. From bureaucratic compliance to academic coherence:Directions and controversiesGlenda Kruss

The dominant trend identified across the cases is that curriculum restructuring has taken the form of bureaucratic compliance with the NSE, a literal adoption of the seven roles of educators – without engaging with specific contexts, without a coherent academic logic, and without an integrative core. Moreover, while official and espoused curricula may be shared, there is evidence that enacted curricula continue to be shaped strongly by past academic identities and commitments. There are however trends that illustrate what is possible, and the ways in which teacher-educators are inserting disciplined inquiry into new curricula.

The challenge is to find ways to meet the expectation for teacher-educators to be strong academics, conducting research and at the same time developing research-led curricula to produce competent teachers capable of transforming the schooling system in South Africa.

The panel concludes by considering the ways in which our research informs such a task.

What are the implications of the case studies forteacher education policy-makers?

First, we call for consolidation of the teacher education system within its university location. There have been public calls for attention to be paid to the production of new teachers. Many have questioned the wisdom of closing the colleges of education, and there have been recent political calls for their re-establishment. Our study cautions against such a renewed process of institutional restructuring.

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While the current conditions for IPET in higher education are not ideal – and the study shows that the constraints are many – it is equally evident that the most pressing requirement is not more change or new structures. To restructure the system once again would most likely destroy the fragile gains made by universities over the past few years, and undermine the capacity of the teacher education system yet further. What is required, rather, is the consolidation of the changes of the past decade, to facilitate the stabilisation and maturation of an emerging system of university-based teacher education.

Thus, we would support calls for a moratorium on structural change, to allow for a period of consolidation.

Second, we call for active dialogue between those involved in teacher education.

The lack of coordination and alignment between and within the national, provincial and institutional levels is marked. It has been difficult to talk of a ‘teacher education system’ for much of the period under review. There is scope to build stronger interchange and active dialogue around curriculum development specifically, between the expertise and experience of university-based teacher-educators in different universities and regions, the HEQC with its oversight of quality issues, and the national and provincial education departments with their educational priorities. Building such dialogue may provide a stronger foundation for the IPET system, particularly in terms of strengthening the intellectual and financial resources required for curriculum development.

Third, it is abundantly clear that public financial resources for teacher education need to be increased significantly. Recent initiatives in the form of student bursaries have sought to attract new recruits to the profession, which has been a positive development for embattled faculties and schools. However, with the shift of all levels of teacher education and professional development into the university, the subsidisation of teacher education in the lowest higher education funding category has become deeply problematic. It has disadvantaged education faculties and forced revenue-seeking activities that may militate against the quality of programmes, and certainly militates against the extensive time required for recurriculation that is academically coherent. Bureaucratic compliance has been strongly driven at the meso level by the need to recurriculate rapidly due to financial constraints.

Teacher-educators need a greater degree of stability within their institutions in order to establish their academic and professional project, and that can only result from a more significant faculty or school contribution to the institutional budget.

At the very least, the subsidy category for teacher education needs to be raised, commensurate with the demands of professional education. Ring-fenced funding to support the consolidation of the emerging IPET system with its constituent faculties or schools would be ideal, in order to support coherent and substantial recurriculation rather than bureaucratic compliance.

What are the implications for teacher-educators?

Strong state control and externally-mandated change at national level, and financial and managerial pressures at institutional level, are clearly powerful forces.

However, Singh (2001) has called for ‘a more active negotiation or renegotiation about the nature of higher education institutions and their special contribution to social and economic development’ (2001: 1). She argues that universities need actively to identify policy shifts and the conditions to negotiate new, more complex and nuanced roles. They must also identify with whom they have to engage and what arguments they can make to convince other social players to support higher education development.

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Likewise, we propose that teacher education academics and managers need to understand their own contexts and the conditions within which they are engaging in order to articulate their own strategic directions. Only then can they convince other social players of their potential contribution to education development in South Africa.

To do this, they need to reclaim the space and opportunity offered in the NSE (DoE 2000a) and the new national teacher education policy framework (DoE 2007b) to drive recurriculation based on developing academic expertise.

The presentation thus concludes by drawing on the experience of the cases to identify substantive directions and ongoing ‘controversies’ with which teacher-educators need to engage in future, in order to inform the development of the kinds of interventions possible and desirable at distinct levels.

1. The need for a more coherent focus on teaching practice

A critical feature of IPET requires attention across the board: the conceptualisation of teaching practice at the integrative heart of the programme.

The evidence from the cases is that teaching practice is a neglected and contested component. The cases illustrate the sheer scale of the administrative and logistical arrangements required for teaching-practice placements, as well as the costs in time and funding. Robust systems of administration for the management of teaching practice enabling academics to track the progress of students across the four years of the BEd are a positive development. Human resources and models for supervision and assessment of teaching practice are other areas that are highly contested. Until recently, many university-based academics resisted involvement in professional development, particularly in supervising teaching practice, seeing the teaching practice period as an opportunity rather to pursue their own research interests.

Gordon raises critically pertinent questions about teaching practice that inhere in the conditions of schooling. She notes that

teaching experience needs a new framework to deal with, inter alia, economic disadvantage, social fragmentation, the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, spatial considerations (particularly those concerning rural and urban schools) and migration patterns. Notions of ‘functional’ schools must be challenged to take account of teachers’ roles today, ensuring that professional training enables graduates to make a difference to their schools’ social fabric. (Gordon 2008: 143)

The cases thus highlight the need for further research and development around this critical integrative component of the IPET curriculum. There is scope for debate and engagement amongst university-based teacher-educators nationally to develop stronger conceptions of – and support systems and materials for – teaching practice.

2. The professional–academic tension

The cases highlight the tension between an academic and a professional orientation to education, in the perception on the part of some staff that teacher education is not a ‘proper’ discipline or that academic work is descending into technicist professional training. There are, of course, those who are committed to finding resolutions to this tension by developing a strong research base for teacher education. Such controversies come to the heart of debates around shifting forms of knowledge, and the nature of the university and its relationship to social and economic development.

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The relocation of teacher training into the university, to become teacher education, is not a simple one, nor is it automatic. Developing an academic foundation requires far more active intellectual and professional engagement than may hitherto have been assumed.

A related issue is that in some cases the professional is ‘academicised’ in problematic ways. What the Ministerial Committee on Teacher Education term an ‘applied scientist’ model (DoE 2005) of teacher education is prevalent in some cases, in which the university’s responsibility is to provide the ‘theory’ of teacher education and to encourage teacher-students to ‘apply’ it. This model does not attempt an integration of theory and practice as promoted by the NSE (DoE 2000a). In some cases, instead of teaching theory for academic rigour and depth, introducing students to a disciplinary base of knowledge with which they can engage in relation to practice, lecturers pass off as ‘theory’ what are, in effect, codifications of practice. This undermines both theory and practice and the potential resolution of the tension between the professional and the academic. The opposite problem is that students resist courses that attempt to promote ‘theory’ to inform practice.

Thus, the question that requires debate and research among education academics is: How can academics promote the value of professional teacher education as a theoretically informed discipline?

3. Social constructivism as a shared framework

The cases illustrate the formidable challenges of developing an integrated approach to teacher education in the face of disparate and contesting philosophical and ideological commitments of individual academics.

One emerging solution is a shared espoused commitment to a constructivist philosophy, in line with new educational policy. However, there are many meanings and interpretations of what ‘constructivism’ entails. For instance, in one of the case studies there was evidence of an espoused shift to ‘problem solving’ and constructivism across the campuses, articulated by the erstwhile supporters of child-centred philosophies – Fundamental Pedagogics or critical social relevance, amongst others.

The apparent growing consensus is an outcome of the teaching and learning principles informing the NCS (DoE 2001a), but it is clear that there are multiple meanings attributed to this potentially integrative philosophy. The case studies raise critical questions about the depth of understanding of the constructivist philosophy underpinning teacher-educators’ work. There is a danger of superficial compliance with ‘politically correct’ or ‘intellectually fashionable’ positions on the part of individual academics.

Constructivism may provide a shared framework for engagement and for new conversations between academics with contesting legacies. The challenge is to develop a theoretically rigorous understanding of the conceptual basis for constructivism, and to problematise how it can inform curricula more systematically and substantively.

4. Generalists and specialists

Some curriculum alignment and redevelopment processes stalled on the issue of whether to structure IPET programmes in terms of specialist subject disciplines or on the basis of generalised Learning Areas that combine a number of school ‘subjects’ (DoE 2001b). This issue is tightly entwined with debates around the coverage of school subjects required for professional development, as opposed to the depth and academic rigour required of teacher education at university level.

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The NSE (DoE 2000a) states that the role of the Learning Area/subject/discipline/phase specialist is a critical ‘over-arching role into which the others are integrated’ (2000a: 6). There is also consensus that in the first few years of implementing C2005, schools threw the proverbial baby out with the bathwater (Jansen & Christie 1999; Taylor & Vinjevold 1999). In the years since, there has been a stronger emphasis on the critical role of content knowledge, disciplines and subject specialisms.

These issues are compounded by the differences between Foundation Phase programmes, which require future teachers to be more generalist, and Further Education and Training programmes, which require specialist knowledge. Analysis of curriculum documents using Bernstein’s (2000) notions of horizontal and vertical knowledge structures, illustrates the significance of specialisms in relation to subjects such as mathematics. In relation to teaching practice, there was also lively debate as to whether a subject specialist should be the supervisor, or whether general competence could be observed by any lecturer.

A related controversy concerns the location of teaching of content subjects within the university. Is it best located in specialist departments to draw on academic expertise in other faculties, or taught by education academics who understand the requirements of school subjects? The debate was a source of tensions particularly, but not only, in merged universities that had different prior practices.

Here too academic identities come into play. The fact that contestation in defence of specialist disciplines has at times been in the interests of individual academics has led to the common feature of overloaded curricula. All cases displayed evidence of the accretion of multiple ‘pick and pay’ sets of modules with repetitious or overlapping content, the arbitrary delineation of modules to structures, and contestation around the weighting of compulsory and elective modules. The result is a lack of integration and coherence across the BEd programme.

The issue is thus to research and debate the place of disciplines and specialist knowledge in the new curriculum framework, and the extent to which BEd programmes are structured to produce generalists or focused specialists. Such decisions are critical to focus and coherence.

5. Engaging with students’ academic needs

The cases illustrate the need to engage more proactively and effectively with a shifting student profile. Some institutions were grappling with students’ low levels of academic literacy and the inability to work with theory and concepts, which have long been widespread in other education faculties and schools. The experience at others was one of acquiescence, where academics complained of having to ‘dumb down’ their courses and make them more ‘practical’ to meet student demand. Merged universities revealed another dimension: the differences between students on multiple campuses in terms of their learning needs and their past schooling experiences and the future contexts with which they would have to engage as teachers. Could a single formal curriculum meet the needs of both groups of students? How does that impact on the need for alignment across a merged institution?

Such pedagogical issues are receiving attention across fields and disciplines in higher education, and are not peculiar to education. They have particular resonance in education, however, given the critical role of future teachers.

At the same time, students have to demonstrate competence at the appropriate levels. The debate on forms of assessment was vigorous, reflecting contrasting models of teacher education. There were queries about what the various NQF levels actually mean, with academics struggling to interpret policy texts in their practice. How are teacher-educators to assess competence at distinct levels of qualification, and what are the most appropriate forms of assessment for teacher-educators to use?

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Identifying ways to engage with the changing nature of teacher education students, with their academic development needs and with the contexts within which they are likely to teach, is critical to forming better teachers.

6. The role of leadership

Taken together, the case studies illustrate the critical role of both academic and intellectual leadership as well as managers with the political sensitivity to negotiate in the interests of their organisations and the system of teacher education nationally.

Growing the next generation of leadership that possesses a combination of these roles – of strong intellectual leadership, of sensitive ‘political’ leadership (in the sense of organisational or institutional politics) and of effective management (particularly in multiple campus contexts) – is critical to the health of the system.

Endnotes1. A full elaboration of the research may be found in Kruss (2008a), a monograph published by the

HSRC Press: Opportunities and Challenges for Teacher Education Curriculum in South Africa. It is a companion piece to Kruss (2008b), which focuses on institutional restructuring: Teacher Education and Institutional Change in South Africa (also published by the HSRC Press).

2. By ‘university’ is meant also comprehensive universities and universities of technology.3. As already mentioned, the full case studies are available in Kruss (2008a). 4. This summary outline is drawn from Hoadley U (2008) A Distant Reality: Aligning the BEd Curriculum at

North West University. In G Kruss (Ed.) Opportunities and Challenges for Teacher Education Curriculum in South Africa. Cape Town: HSRC Press.

5. This summary outline is drawn from Gordon A (2008) (Re)configuring the (con)text: IPET at the Wits School of Education. In G Kruss (Ed.) Opportunities and Challenges for Teacher Education Curriculum in South Africa. Cape Town: HSRC Press

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Gordon A (2008) (Re)configuring the (con)text: IPET at the Wits School of Education. In G Kruss (Ed.) Opportunities and challenges for teacher education curriculum in South Africa. Cape Town: HSRC Press

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Education. Cape Town: Ministry of EducationParker B, Cross M, Rees S & Gultig J (1997a) A systemic model for teacher education in South Africa.

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Supporting praxis: Investigating the complexities of teaching reading instruction to Foundation Phase teacher-studentsSheila DrewSouth African Institute for Distance Education

This document is not a typical academic conference paper, but rather records a conference poster presentation, on ‘Project 16’ – a collaborative project undertaken between the South African Institute for Distance Education, the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, the University of South Africa and the University of the Witwatersrand. The document briefly outlines the research process, and reports on a selection of only the eight key research questions, as researched and reflected on by the three participating higher education institutions. Finally, the document reflects on how a community of practice was developed over time, and the value that community held for the participating institutions.

Keywords

action–reflectionreading instructionlocated in the curriculumtexts for children/Children’s Literature (CL)theories of teaching readingSouth African school contextstime given to the teaching of readingnewly-qualified teachers in schools

Introduction

The research goals

The goal of Project 16 is to provide a collaborative research environment and resources to enable participant higher education institutions to reflect on, understand, and improve/change institutional practice in relation to teaching reading instruction to students (i.e. teacher-students) in the Foundation Phase (FP). In this way the project explores a model for the engagement of teacher-educators (i.e. lecturers) in inter-institutional communities of practice for deeper understanding of what constitutes effective teaching of reading instruction.


The research process

The project was conceived of as a participatory, developmental, action–reflection research process involving a group of lecturers (of FP teacher-students), an external language expert, and a facilitator, who would:

1. Set up action–reflection workshops consisting of:• a South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE) facilitator of the research

process;• FP lecturers responsible for teaching in the literacy component of the Bachelor of Education

(BEd) from the University of the Witwatersrand (colloquially known as Wits), the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), and the University of South Africa (UNISA); and

• an external academic and expert on teaching reading.

2. Participate in action–reflection workshops to:• develop questions for reflection on institutional practices; and• reflect on answers to the questions gained through empirical research.

3. Participate in collegial forums to extend understandings of dynamic assessment and of developing children’s literacies in bilingual and multilingual contexts.

4. Use the questions and the learning from the collegial forums to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of current practices, with a view to improving/changing some of those practices.

5. Make inter- and intra-institutional recommendations towards best practice.

The nine key research/reflection questions

There were initially eight key research questions that would form the basis of the action–reflection workshops; a ninth question was added during reflection by the participants during the course of the project:1. How is the teaching of reading located in the curriculum?1 2. What are teacher-students taught about texts for children?3. What theories of teaching reading (e.g. behaviourist, psycholinguistic) are covered in the

programme?4. How are applied theories of teaching reading and the approaches that arise from them taught

(e.g. language experience, phonics, balanced approach)?5. Does the programme develop theories of teaching reading for all South African school

contexts? If so, how?6. How do lecturers understand the approaches (see Question 4 above) to the teaching of reading

in relation to theories of learning and development, choice of texts, and learning contexts?7. How much time is given to the teaching of reading in the curriculum?8. What other aspects of the programme support or fail to support the teaching of reading?9. Are the approaches to teaching reading that are introduced by the programme taken up by

newly-qualified teachers in schools, and if so in what ways?

Research/reflection questions chosen by the research participants

For this poster, research participants from each of the three higher education institutions selected questions to which they offered responses. The questions that form the basis of each institution’s analysis are presented in Table 9.1.

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Table 9.1: Research questions as the basis for institutional analysis, by institution

CPUTinstitutional analysis

UNISAinstitutional analysis

Witsinstitutional analysis

Question 1: How is the teaching of reading located in the curriculum?

Question 1: How is the teaching of reading located in the curriculum?

Question 2: What are teacher-students taught about texts for children?

Question 2: What are teacher-students taught about texts for children?

Question 2: What are teacher-students taught in the modules?

Question 5: Does the programme develop theories of teaching reading for all South African school contexts?

Question 5: Does the programme develop theories of teaching reading for all South African contexts? If so, how?

Question 5: Does the programme develop theories of teaching reading for all South African contexts?

Question 9: Are the approaches to teaching reading introduced by the programme taken up by newly- qualified teachers in schools, and if so in what ways?

Question 7: How much time is given to the teaching of reading in the curriculum?

Cape Peninsula University of Technology institutional analysis

Key question 1: How is the teaching of reading located in the curriculum?

Existing situationThe teaching of reading occurs in the literacy first additional language and English major courses. Literacy, drama, music, human movement, and education lecturers try to integrate reading teaching and course content. The literacy lecturer makes relevant connections across the whole curriculum.

In the fourth year an emergent literacy approach is foregrounded in the Early Childhood Development (ECD) elective specialisation. FP teacher-students who choose the English major elective can relate FP approaches to Intermediate Phase (IP) practices.

A grade-consecutive teaching practice model is used. This means that all first-year teacher-students teach Grade R and proceed to teach in higher grades each year across the four years. The content of the reading teaching course is, consequently, largely associated with grade-specific classroom contextual issues.

Assignments require progressively more student pedagogic innovation and reflective skill in each subsequent year.


Identified gapsThere are weak links between the FP and the Intermediate and Senior Phase (ISP) curricula.There is little exposure to teaching reading in ECD unless students choose it as an elective in fourth year.

Recommendations• We have undertaken a combined FP and ISP school-based project to help both phases to

understand literacy teaching and learning practices holistically and not just as phase-specific.

• Investigate the option of a combined FP and ISP course on approaches to teaching reading.

Key question 2: What are teacher-students taught about texts for children?

Existing situationEnglishThe Children’s Literature (CL) component of the English home language (L1) programme focuses on the nature and role of CL, and introduces teacher-students to literary elements, the appropriate selection of texts, and texts representing different literary and developmentally appropriate genres. Classroom connections with texts continue in literacy studies throughout the four years. First additional language (L2) students study a children’s novel in the first year.

AfrikaansIn the home language (L1) course, third-year students read fables and fairytales, and research themes in CL. In fourth year they read youth literature and critique school set books. The Afrikaans additional language (L2) course introduces CL in the second year. CL in L2 is seen as an important source of language input and didactic resources; for example, storytelling combined with puppetry. In the third year students are required to create, write and illustrate original stories for children.

isiXhosaIn the first and second years students are introduced to a range of stories and poetry for children.

Identified gapsThere is a lack of alignment of CL in different L1 and L2 courses and there is no formal link between the CL course content and teaching practice. There is limited availability of CL in African languages. Inadequate time is given for students to develop and refine their knowledge of texts, critical theory and socio-cultural relevance for learners in diverse classrooms. English L2 teacher-students need knowledge of English CL to facilitate the development of English as a Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) in the higher grades.

Recommendations• Align CL course content in the three home language courses as far as possible.• Design a CL teaching practice assignment to enable students to understand text-based

approaches to literacy.• Enhance the library collection of CL in isiXhosa and in culturally representative and

intercultural texts in English.• Allow more time for CL in successive years of the BEd programme.• Include a well-developed CL element in the English L2 course.

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Key question 5: Does the programme develop theories of teaching reading for all South African contexts? If so, how?

Existing situationTheories of teaching reading as a first language are limited to the English language. South African contextual issues concerning English as a LoLT are addressed in a variety of socio-political-economic and multilingual contexts.

The programme tries to facilitate a consciousness about diverse reading contexts, such as Grade R settings, multilingual classrooms and the diverse language backgrounds of learners, school readiness debates, and respecting and sustaining multiple languages in the classroom with the creative use of resources. Family literacy and socio-cultural issues are engaged with in the context of social diversity. Across the four years, teacher-students teach reading in a range of schools from the various quintiles. This situation is stringently monitored.

Additive multilingualism is addressed in the literacy coursework from the first to the fourth year. The literacy and drama lecturers support teacher-students who require assistance with English reading teaching. The language proficiency of the students is developed in three languages (English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa) that are compulsory over the first three years. By the end of the third year students are able to code switch in all three languages in their teaching.

Identified gapsThe teaching of reading in African languages is not addressed. This represents a pedagogic deficit for students who will teach reading in any language other than English.

Recommendations• We need to explore multilingualism more deeply and participate in this area of research,

especially the English as Lingua Franca (ELF) phenomenon.• We need to have closer collaboration with the isiXhosa language lecturers.

Key question 7: How much time is given to the teaching of reading in the curriculum?

Existing situationTeaching of readingAt CPUT, the FP students spend a total of 63 notional hours on the theories of teaching reading over a period of 4 years. Over this period a total of 140 notional hours is spent on applied theories and approaches to the teaching of reading. From the first to the fourth year there is a total of approximately 33 hours of learning to implement approaches to the teaching of reading.

Studying CLThe students in the FP programme spend up to 65.5 notional hours studying CL across L1 and L2 Afrikaans/English/isiXhosa.

Identified gapsInsufficient time is given for the teaching of literary theories and CL in a way that encourages real development of critical thinking and a sound knowledge of texts. Considerably less time is spent on the teaching of reading in the ISP programmes than in the FP programme.

Recommendations• Expand the L1 literacy course to focus also on isiXhosa and Afrikaans.• Investigate the links between FP and IP more carefully; for example, IP should bring in

emergent literacy and FP students should be exposed to IP literature.• Introduce a common general education and training course so that FP students are exposed

to reading in the IP, and IP students learn about initial reading approaches in the FP.


UNISA institutional analysis

Key question 1: How is the teaching of reading located in the curriculum?

Existing situationTraining for the teaching of reading is offered in six separate modules, of which three are theory-based and three are practical modules. The teaching of reading is offered in three of the UNISA BEd ECD modules and also in four teaching practice modules.

Although languages are not taught in the Department of Teacher Education, a pass in at least two official languages is a prerequisite for registration as a teacher or an ECD educator. BEd students from South Africa are thus compelled to take two official languages. These language modules are offered by the Department of Languages at UNISA. The acquired language knowledge serves as good background for the teaching of reading.

Identified gapsThere are no clear links between the modules offered in the ECD phase and the IP. Thus the teaching of reading in the IP does not link with the ECD phase.

Recommendations• The teaching of literacy (and especially of reading) should be seen as a continuous process

and this should be reflected in the new curricula of the UNISA BEd.

Key question 2: What are teacher-students taught in the modules?

Existing situationIn the First Language module students are introduced to reading strategies and skills, behaviourist and psycholinguistic theories of teaching reading, applied theories of teaching reading and various approaches to the teaching of reading such as look-and-say, language experience, phonics, the bilingual approach, breakthrough to literacy, and the eclectic approach.

The Second Language module includes various theories of second language learning acquisition and approaches to the teaching of a second language, such as the communicative approach and the total physical approach. Children’s Literature is a module that cuts across all ages in the FP. The purpose of the module is to help teacher-students to inculcate a love of reading in young learners. CL is covered fairly comprehensively in the UNISA modules, and includes criteria for selection, genres, illustrations, presentation, theories and purpose.

Theories and advice on how to teach reading in the FP are applied in four practical modules.

Identified gapsFrom the interviews with teacher-students it became clear that they know and understand the theories underlying the teaching of reading, but that the choice and application of theories is often restricted by what is practised in the schools where they do their teaching practice.

Recommendations• Provision should be made for the teaching practice to provide teacher-students with more

opportunity to apply reading theories in the actual classroom situation.

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Key question 5: Does the programme develop theories of teaching reading for allSouth African school contexts?

Existing situationThe research revealed that not all South African contexts are covered. Although applied theories are taught, these become difficult to apply where there is uncertainty of a strong foundation in the home language. A major challenge for teachers in previously white schools is to decide, in the case of black learners, which language to regard as the learner’s home language and thus what approaches to use.

Students in first and second language modules reported that dealing with learners’ different reading levels within the same class is a challenge. There was a general feeling that students are not well equipped to deal with the challenges even in monolingual situations. Although the bilingual approach to reading is taught, it does not accommodate all learners. Teacher-students are encouraged to use the home language of the learners and are introduced to South African readers in discussion classes.

Identified gapsThere is a strong tendency to be text-based in English or Afrikaans. There is not enough emphasis on teaching in disadvantaged situations, which are often different from the situation discussed in teacher education literature. The LoLT of the school often results in poor achievement by learners when it differs from their home language, and teacher-students should be prepared for this situation. Working with learners who are at different levels of reading competence in one class also needs to be addressed.

Recommendations• Home language reading and reading in the LoLT should be included in the new BEd

curriculum. Teacher-students will be encouraged to provide examples of reading materials and their own ‘Big Books’ in African languages. Working with various reading groups in one classroom needs to be included in the learning materials of BEd teacher-students. Primary school teachers will be approached to provide their input about these issues.

University of the Witwatersrand institutional analysis

Key question 2: What are teacher-students taught about texts for children?

Existing situationThe first-year module includes an introduction to CL, taught by the academic English Department. It lays the foundation for more specific phase-related study of learning to read and reading for pleasure. This is picked up in the second and third years of study by the FP courses. Students who choose an academic course in Afrikaans are exposed to a range of literature suitable for use in schools.

Identified gapsStudents need to spend more time engaging with a range of texts suitable for FP learners. This should include more explicit work with non-fiction texts. More needs to be done in sourcing and promoting texts in languages other than English. A formal link between these courses and practical school experience needs to be established.

Recommendations• Increase the number of courses addressing literacy and include a unit on the use of non-

fiction texts in FP classrooms.• Integrate literacy learning opportunities to increase the range of texts used in all learning

areas in schools.


• Set assignments on school experience and include a range of texts for teacher-students to use in teaching reading.

• Forge stronger links for consultation between the Foundation Studies team and other academic language departments.

• Encourage teacher-students fluent in African languages to produce teaching apparatus in the language of their choice.

Key question 5: Does the programme develop theories of teaching reading for allSouth African school contexts?

Existing situationFoundation Studies B in the existing BEd course is devoted to teaching and learning in an additional language in the FP. The course covers both learning an additional language and teaching through the medium of an additional language. Theoretical underpinning informs the methodologies explored in the course. In subsequent years the courses build on the foundation provided by this course and elected courses that cover the study of isiZulu as a third language.

Identified gapsInsufficient attention is paid to the challenges of multilingual teaching in specifically Gauteng classrooms. The study of home language contexts and family literacy could be further developed in the existing FP courses.

Recommendations• The majority of the current African home language speaking students choose to teach in

English. However, in order to meet the needs of first language teaching in African languages there will need to be the appropriate staff, and a curriculum change – especially when it comes to phonics in the various languages. At present teacher-students have the option of doing Sesotho or isiZulu at a first, second or third language level as part of their academic courses. The possibility needs to be explored of these language departments assisting teacher-students with the phonics in these two languages.

• Investigate the possibility of students translating learner support materials into African languages.

• Increase the number of African students pursuing a course in FP teaching.

Key question 9: Are the approaches to teaching reading introduced by the programme takenup by newly-qualified teachers in schools, and if so in what ways?

Existing situationMany graduates in their first year of teaching succumb to the pressures of coping with a new job and end up reverting to teaching the way they themselves were taught at school, or taking on the existing practices of the school at which they are teaching. These practices are most often in direct conflict with what they have been taught in their pre-service training.

Identified gapsNovice teachers are not sufficiently confident to defend the practices to which they have been introduced in their pre-service training. Opportunities do not exist for all teacher-students to apply their learning in supported situations.

Recommendations• Change assessment practices to include assessment for learning.• Involve teacher-students in practical teaching sessions that are carefully planned to provide

opportunities for ‘risk taking’ in a safe environment.• Use formative assessment opportunities to encourage student growth in skill and

confidence.

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• Involve the teacher-students in reflective practice and encourage the development of communities of practice amongst practising teachers, teacher-students and lecturers.

• Encourage novice teachers to attend in-service courses after qualifying.

Recommendations for the field

• Develop and extend the community of practice built up during the research process.• Continue inter-collegial collaboration within and between institutions (exchanges, papers,

readings, seminars and so on).• Engage with the idea of mentor teachers/teachers in senior educator posts playing a more

active role in teaching practice; liaise with the Department of Education (DoE), unions and so on, on the newly-passed Occupation Specific Dispensation (OSD).

• Benchmarking: Although we can never say absolutely what best practice is, or necessarily agree on it, we have agreed that these research questions serve as criteria against which we can evaluate our own practice. The more we talk about our own practice the more we might have to say about identifying and addressing gaps. We can encourage other institutions to engage with the criteria and tell us whether or not they are useful for them.

• Invite other institutions to join the collegial forum or community of practice to talk about, inter alia, how useful the criteria are.

• Talk to publishers, and engage with the DoE, about the publishing of more South African and African language CL.

Comments on a community of practice

This project has resulted in the establishment of communities of practice involving three higher education institutions in a process of action–reflection on their training of teachers to teach reading against best practice curriculum guidelines. This has resulted in significant changes to the curricula of the participating institutions. The following diagram (Figure 9.1), adapted from Wenger (2007), outlines the relationships between the partners.

Figure 9.1: The partners in this community of practice

Source: Adapted from Wenger E (2007) Communities of practice as an approach to NQF development. Workshop for the Third Annual National Qualifications Framework Colloquium, Velmore Conference Estate, Pretoria (5 June).

Teaching teacher-students to teach reading

Foundation Phase lecturers teaching in

the literacy component of the BEd from Wits,

CPUT and UNISA

ResearchRefl ect and Evaluate

Make inter- and intra- institutional recommendations

towards best practice

PracticeCommunity

Domain

Learning Together in a Community of

Practice

Sponsorship

Support

... in this casefrom the Embassy of the Kingdom of the

Netherlands

SAIDE as a facilitator of the research

process

Participation Nurturing

External academic

and expert on readingCPUT

UNISA

Wits


Institutional participant feedback on the value ofparticipating in this research

The project participants provided the following feedback regarding the value of participating in this collaborative research process:

We appreciated the opportunity to investigate and reflect on our own practice in depth and share insights with colleagues in other contexts. This process has helped us to identify and implement justifiable changes to the delivery of our curriculum. (CPUT)

The project supplied us with the opportunity to reflect on our own teaching practices and to recognise our strengths and weaknesses, and look for solutions. In particular our participation in the project helped us to see the links in reading/literacy between phases that should form part of the new BEd curricula. We also realised that issues around reading in the home language and the language of learning and teaching (LoLT), and multicultural aspects of teaching reading should be more prominent. (UNISA)

Meeting people from different provinces and institutions in the same field has been incredibly enriching and exciting. Our thinking has been challenged. We have been required to revisit our courses and identify that which is good and that which needs adjusting, changing or adding. Opportunities have been created to work collaboratively on new projects outside of the research domain. We have grown in our understanding of our teacher provisioning in our country and have been privileged in sharing our successes and our concerns with each other. A job that used to be ‘an island’ has now opened up to include new colleagues and friends. (Wits)

Participation in this project has deepened my understanding of how much more complex is this responsibility [for establishing print literacy] in the linguistically, socio-culturally and socio-economically diverse South African classrooms in which Foundation Phase teachers work. They need on-going support within their institutions (e.g. appropriate numbers of lecturers, appropriate allocation of time in the curriculum, a substantial budget for texts) and opportunities, such as those provided by Project 16, for dialogue with colleagues at other institutions and for research: the bottom line is that I think Foundation Phase teacher-educators have been somewhat marginalised and this needs to change. (External language expert)

Endnotes1. The curriculum being referred to here and in Question 7 is the teacher-education curriculum at

the higher education institutions (not the school curriculum).

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Developing and using quality learning resources in an open educational resources environment: The SAIDE ACEMaths projectTessa Welch and Ingrid SapireSouth African Institute for Distance Education

This paper is a reflective report on the South African Institute for Distance Education’s (SAIDE) ACEMaths project, which piloted a collaborative approach to the sourcing, adaptation and publication as Open Educational Resources (OERs) of existing suitable materials for use in a variety of teacher education programmes. In the first part of the paper, Tessa Welch describes the origin and purpose of the ACEMaths project – a collaboration of teacher-educators from eight higher education institutions to produce a primary mathematics module entitled Teaching and Learning Mathematics in Diverse Classrooms based on a module from the University of South Africa. The principles underpinning the process as an OER initiative as well as lessons of experience are discussed. In the second part, Ingrid Sapire presents the findings and conclusions of the research on the take-up of the material. Take-up data are then used to reflect on the quality of the materials from the perspective of the users. Based on these views (and the critical reader’s report) the collaborative team discussed the revision of the materials at the final collaborative materials development workshop in February 2008. The report concludes with several potential models for the use of OERs such as the SAIDE ACEMaths materials. The scale, variety and quality of the take-up indicate that the potential of OERs in teacher education can be realised in practice in ways that save time and money and build capacity across the system.

Keywords

Open Educational Resources (OERs)mathematics teachingmaterials developmentcourse designcommunities of practice

Part 1: Reflections on the SAIDE ACEMaths pilot process

Origin and purpose of the project

Since its inception, the South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE) has been concerned to widen access to education of good quality through the use of distance education methods, key to which is the provision of high-quality course materials. The teacher education project described in this paper was designed to support South African higher education


institutions in responding in a quality way to the large-scale teacher upgrading and development needs in the country.

The project gives expression to a proposed strategy for developing quality learning resources described in the distance education policy research undertaken by SAIDE on behalf of the Council on Higher Education (CHE) in 2003/04, Enhancing the Contribution of Distance Higher Education in South Africa. The proposed strategy builds on the notion of ‘a national network of centres of innovation in course design and development’ advocated in Education White Paper 3: A Programme for Higher Education Transformation (Department of Education [DoE] 1997: 27). The proposed strategy describes this network as follows:

A network of virtual centres of innovation in course design and development, consisting of contributing providers organized into teams for the development and sharing of learning resources in response to specific needs and loosely coordinated as a network. (CHE 2004: 161)

In the ACEMaths project, SAIDE set up and coordinated the work of a ‘virtual centre for innovation in teacher education course design and development’. A team of mathematics teacher-educators based at different institutions engaged in a collaborative process for the selection, adaptation and use of materials.

The various titles of the project indicate how it evolved from when it was first considered in 2006: • Proposal to support the national initiative for the upgrading of teachers through the Advanced

Certificate in Education [ACE] (May 2006).• Proposal for a collective open educational resources initiative in the design and delivery of

Advanced Certificate in Education programmes (July 2006).• A collective open educational resources initiative in the design and delivery of modules for

Advanced Certificate Programmes (October 2006).• One to many: a collective approach to adapting a maths teaching and learning module for a

variety of programmes – the ACEMaths project (May 2007).• Developing and using open educational resources – the SAIDE ACEMaths project and OER

Africa (title of the workshop presented in September 2008).

As is apparent from the phrases in these titles, the project did not aim to develop materials from scratch but instead encouraged institutions to share existing materials and collaborate in adapting them. In the beginning, the intention was to develop a whole programme (a teacher upgrading programme leading to an Advanced Certificate in Education), but as the project evolved, it was clear that it would be better to spend limited time and resources developing a single module in a key curriculum area that could be adapted for different programmes.

In addition, when the project was being developed, there were changes in the global environment that could not be ignored – in particular, the increasing prominence of Open Educational Resources (OERs). SAIDE conceptualised the project in the OER environment not because it was fashionable, but because of the clear resonance between our project aims and the purpose and advantages of OERs.

Our understanding of OERs is that they are educational resources that are freely available on the web for use by any number of people. The resources can be end products; that is, freely available content, teaching material or research. However, they can also be the means to an end; that is, the software that facilitates materials development and/or the actual process of collaborative development of material though interaction in an environment that has been set up to allow for the development of materials. The ‘free’ availability does not necessarily mean ‘free of cost’. The freedom may simply be in the ease of access, made possible both by the Internet and the freer licences under which materials are released.

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There is not one definition of OERs, though many writers use the one adopted by UNESCO: ‘the open provision of educational resources, enabled by information and communication technologies, for consultation, use and adaptation by a community of users for non-commercial purposes’ (Albright 2005). Another definition given by Jan Hylén (of OECD/CERI)1 as ‘the most commonly used definition of OER’ is: ‘Open Educational Resources are digitised materials offered freely and openly for educators, students and self-learners to use and re-use for teaching, learning and research’ (Hylén 2006: 2).

‘Re-use’ and adaptation are key in both these definitions. Yet Jan Hylén also points out that although OERs are primarily materials, they can also be tools (such as licences, or instructional design templates). In addition, the digital environment of OERs can be used to facilitate communication and collaboration in the broader educational enterprise. The notion of ‘communities of practice’ as developed by Etienne Wenger (2007a) assumes prominence in OER environments.

In a field such as teacher education in South Africa, SAIDE is interested in the potential of OER practices to energise not only individual academics or single institutions, but also the provision of teacher education across the system.

Figure 10.1: The OER ‘hand’

From the first workshop held to form the team of teacher-educators for our ‘virtual centre’, we used the metaphor of the hand (Figure 10.1) both to locate the project in the OER environment and to structure our continuing research of that environment. In our view, an OER project has to be concerned not only with the materials/resources, but also with the courses in which these materials are used. Materials need to be as freely available as possible – and hence copyright/licensing issues need to be explored and attended to. However, while materials may be released under licences that make them more easily available to more people than under conventional copyright, this does not necessarily mean that they will be used in an open and creative way. To deserve the title of an OER initiative, a project should deliberately set out to create and sustain a community of practice amongst people who will contribute to, use and adapt the resources that are developed. In a digital environment, this will involve considerations of how technology can be used not only as a repository for the resources but also to support ongoing resource adaptation and development through the community of practice.

With this broad framework as a basis, we called for volunteers from the 23 higher education institutions in South Africa to decide on a focus area for materials selection and adaptation and form the first community of practice. Amongst the 13 institutions that came to the first meeting, we found that primary school mathematics was a common upgrading specialisation. In addition, however, two institutions were involved in upgrading qualifications in the area of


inclusive education/education of Learners with Special Education Needs (LSEN)/Special Needs Education (SNE). The decision was therefore to focus our work on a combination of these two interests.

Figure 10.2: Cover page for Unit One

The six-unit module produced through the process is entitled Teaching and Learning Mathematics in Diverse Classrooms (SAIDE 2008). It is intended as a guide to teaching mathematics for in-service teachers in primary schools, is informed by the South African inclusive education policy, Education White Paper 6: Special Needs Education (DoE 2001), and supports teachers in dealing with the diversity of learners in South African classrooms. In a variety of ways, it addresses the challenge expressed by teachers – as depicted in Figure 10.2.

The module team consisted of 12 teacher-educators involved in mathematics teacher education from eight institutions. Seven institutions stayed the course of the two-year project, and six participated in the pilot of the first draft of the adapted materials in 2007. All six institutions continued to use the revised materials the following year, as well as in 2009 after the close of the project.

Testing the principles that guided the pilot

The project was underpinned by a number of principles derived from previous SAIDE experience in programme and materials development projects. This section describes briefly the rationale for each principle, what happened in the pilot, and lessons of experience.

1. Find existing ‘good enough’ materials and adapt these for immediate use.

Rationale: Development of materials from scratch requires a lead time of 12 to 24 months, but very few materials development initiatives have the luxury of such a timeframe. However, there are a number of institutions/organisations that have ‘good enough’ existing materials, and the time involved in adapting/customising them for the context and programme purpose will be less than that involved in developing them from scratch. In addition, the focus should be on use, rather than on preparation of an ‘ideal’ set of materials, as it is through use that the strengths and weaknesses of materials are discovered, rather than from de-contextualised reflection on instructional design, although judicious use of expert review is helpful.

What happened in the pilot: After reviewing available materials in South Africa, workshopping a curriculum document to guide the adaptation (and, in particular, the inclusive education focus), the team selected a University of South Africa (UNISA) module called Learning and Teaching

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of Intermediate and Senior Mathematics to work with. The main reasons for selecting this module were theoretical alignment with the prevailing view of mathematics teacher education in the group, as well as comprehensiveness of coverage. The fact that this module was already designed for self-instruction was also a factor in the selection. In addition, team members could easily see how activities and supplementary material from their institutions could be integrated into the UNISA material.

Lessons of experience: The materials are being used for a third time by participating institutions, so the final product is clearly useful. However, they were less easy and more time consuming to adapt than at first assumed. The reasons for this include: size of resource (the final adapted units plus additional readings amount to 350 pages); and unevenness in quality of writing in the UNISA text; but mainly over-reliance of the original text on a single (albeit good) textbook from the US with insufficient adaptation for the South African context.

What was not fully understood at the outset was that the combination of two content areas – maths teaching and learning, and inclusive education – made the module, and particularly the final unit, unique. This has contributed to its continued usefulness. In other words, it is helpful to plan the adaptation with at least in part a new angle on the subject matter, so that it is not simply re-doing what is already there. This innovation was facilitated by collaboration of the two content area groups.

2. Identify a single module that can be adapted and used in a variety of programmes,rather than setting out to develop a whole programme.

Rationale: Such an approach is advisable for three reasons. One is that it is more cost-effective, but the second is that institutions are responsible for the development of their own programmes and there is – correctly – resistance to a pre-packaged, received curriculum, even if that curriculum is determined by and with respected peers. A single module, on the other hand, is perceived as a resource, rather than a blueprint for delivery. Finally, institutional processes for the approval of new programmes take a minimum of a year, whereas academics can easily insert new material into a single, existing module, or in place of a module with the same/similar outcomes. This is a major consideration in an environment that requires responsiveness.

What happened in the pilot: Take-up in the pilot was extremely varied, as Part 2 of this paper demonstrates.

Lessons of experience: The single-module approach worked for most participating institutions. However, for one institution, a single module was not enough because there was no upgrading programme into which to slot the module. They needed support in the development of a whole programme, which the project did not have the time or the funds to provide.

3. Keep costs/time down but maintain quality.

Rationale: A key aim of this project was to make it possible for institutions to respond quickly to departmental needs for large-scale teacher upgrading without having to resort either to recirculation of existing (often poor-quality) material, or to commissioning of new material in timeframes that make it impossible to achieve quality.

What happened in the pilot process: The writing time needed for the adaptation process was longer than originally planned, particularly as it became clear that the final unit, which tied together the inclusive education and mathematics focus of the module, would have to be written from scratch. The original estimates were that the adaptation would require a light touch and we set aside 9 days for the SAIDE project leader, and 7 days for the contracted content expert to prepare the adapted materials for the pilot version. In practice, 18 days and 16 days were needed


respectively. Even though the adaptation work required was more extensive than originally envisaged, a pilot version of the adapted version was ready 6 months after the inception of the project, with a variety of quality checks built into the process. Figure 10.3 shows the process followed.

Figure 10.3: Six-month process to produce the pilot version

In the second phase of the project – preparing the revised version in the light of the pilot experience – we were able to reduce substantially the cost and time spent on design by using an OER tool, the instructional design template developed by the Commonwealth of Learning (COL). This template is available free of charge for downloading and adapting on an Attribution ShareAlike Creative Commons licence on the COL website. It took a day to learn how to use this template and customise it for the ACEMaths units. And it took five days to place the revised version of the 350 pages into the template, ready for posting on the OER Africa website. The final units, set in the COL template and enhanced by a continuous case study locating the units in the experience of a group of teachers, as well as six commissioned illustrations of conversations between these teachers, are both accessible and attractive.

Lessons of experience: Even though adapting existing materials is less time consuming than working from scratch, the time required must not be underestimated, particularly for the project leader and key content expert. Adaptation is a process of re-creation rather than merely of revision.

4. Use a team approach in planning the adaptation process, but contract a content expertfrom the group to do the writing and content-specific coordination.

Rationale: If institutions work together and agree to share materials and approaches, not only will the time involved in adaptation be reduced, but the opportunity for learning from sharing of resources will be maximised. The goal in a project of this kind is not only to get a good product, but to engage teacher-educators in discussions about what is good. The investment cannot only be in materials; it must be in the people actually teaching teachers on a daily basis. The ‘community of practice’ needs a champion, however, who can direct the process from a position of disciplinary strength. The time investment for such a person is too great to expect that it be done in a voluntary capacity – particularly if there is an urgency to get materials produced.

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2nd workshop – 30 Oct 20061. Select core materials to be used2. Plan adaptation of selected material

3rd workshop – 5/6 March 20071. Develop approach and activities for

fi nal unit2. Obtain commitment to use3. Discuss plans for take-up research

1st workshop – 11/12 Sept 20061. Launch the project2. Establish project team and

curriculum for pilot module

Materials review1. Review existing materials – whole team2. Explore technology options – SAIDE

Draft and licensing1. Prepare draft adapted module2. Comment on draft3. Revise draft4. Negotiate licensing of materials

By mid-April 2007 – Pilot version1. Write fi nal version2. Comment on fi nal unit3. Lay out and proofread to create pilot version4. Participating academics adapt and print

materials from website


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What happened in the pilot: SAIDE contracted one of the team (Ingrid Sapire, from the RADMASTE Centre at the University of the Witwatersrand),2 as content leader of the process. The team was inter-institutional – with 12 participants drawn from 8 different institutions. The team was brought together at the SAIDE offices for 3 workshops to develop the curriculum, select the core materials, and workshop an approach to the development of the final unit. After the completion of the pilot, the team came together for a final workshop to make decisions about how to revise the materials in the light of the pilot experiences as well as input from a critical reader.

Lessons of experience: Not only did the content leader’s maths teaching and materials development experience give professional credibility to the project, but her maths teacher education network also facilitated the selection of the UNISA materials for adaptation, the incorporation of additional materials from other sources, and the appointment of editors with maths experience to review the work.

At the end of the process, team members commented that a team of between 10 and 14 members, drawn from different institutions, and held together through funded face-to-face workshops, made the work not only possible but also enriching. They were appreciative of the ‘time-out’ provided in the workshops for focused professional conversations about maths teaching.

A further lesson of experience was that it was asserted from the first workshop that participation in the team (and hence funding of attendance at workshops) required that participants use the adapted materials in a programme they were currently offering. This created the motivation for engaged participation and sharing of professional expertise.

5. Appoint a coordinating agency to manage the process, and ensure that the team is built into a community of practice, and that its work culminates in a usable product.

Rationale: It takes time, money and a solid organisational base to coordinate a process – to identify and select materials, to build a team, to manage the process efficiently, and to assume leadership in respect of the strategic direction the project should take. It is advantageous for this to be done by an agency that is not in competition with the implementing institutions for revenue from student fees.

What happened in the pilot: SAIDE led and managed the process with funds from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, who were flexible enough to stay with the project as it moved through different phases.

Lessons of experience: What was learned in this process endorsed the insights from Etienne Wenger (2007b) into how a community of practice works. The participating institutions supported/sponsored the involvement of maths teacher-educators from their institution in the team; there was funding for the project from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; the community was nurtured both by dedicated content expert time and by a project leader from SAIDE; and it was supported by the SAIDE infrastructure and later, the technical expertise of the OER Africa team. In other words, a community of practice needs a clear domain with relevant participation from active practitioners in the field/domain. Yet this is not all that is necessary. It needs nurturing from within, as well as sponsorship and support from without.


Figure 10.4: How a community of practice works

Source: Wenger (2007b)

6. Encourage institutions and authors to make their materials available under a Creative Commons BY-SA licence, but do not make this a pre-condition for contribution.

Rationale: Intellectual property is a complex terrain, and the OER movement is challenging conventional notions in ways that many academics and institutions find threatening. There are some hardline OER proponents who argue for no compromise on the use of open source software and non-proprietary operating systems as well as particular licences. However, the approach taken in this project is that the major goal is to increase openness and accessibility of educational resources, and any move towards greater openness should be supported. Hence, although our research indicates that the best licence for OERs is one of the Creative Commons BY-SA licences3 (which require only attribution/acknowledgement of the author and sharing of the materials in the same way as they have been made available), this is not insisted upon.

What happened in the pilot: The two main institutions involved were UNISA and Wits. The process of obtaining permission from UNISA involved a meeting with senior people, a telephone discussion with the UNISA legal officer, and two versions of a letter of permission – in total a day’s work over a period of six weeks. It was important to hold to the principle of respecting the limitations that UNISA wished to place and finding a Creative Commons licence to accommodate this. The achievement in the negotiations with UNISA was significant – although UNISA retained copyright on the original version of the module, SAIDE was granted the right to re-license the adapted version in whatever way was felt best. The process of obtaining permission from Wits extended over 18 months, but the total time spent on negotiating it was less than half a day.

Lesson of experience: The pilot demonstrated that while it is possible with a little effort to negotiate with institutions for the release of existing materials for adaptation under more open licences, the release of the original version of the materials would have been more problematic.

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NurturingParticipation

Domain

Community Practice

Learningtogether

Sponsorship

Support


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7. Don’t foreground technology or make it a sine qua non for participation – but stay in touch with new processes and tools that can enhance collaboration and increase efficiency.

Rationale: The concept of OERs is currently associated almost exclusively with electronic educational resources. However, the ‘openness’ or free accessibility of educational resources is not logically associated with their being available in electronic format, or developed using digital tools. The goal is not technological literacy, the goal is increased openness and the development of an educational commons through collective effort. Sometimes so much energy is spent on understanding and using the technology that there is little energy and time left for developing high-quality materials and courses. A collective effort may therefore not in the first instance be digitally facilitated, although to realise its full potential for access, digital formats and processes are necessary.

What happened in the pilot: When the project started, SAIDE was still exploring an appropriate technological platform for the materials. When the pilot version of the materials was ready, they were posted unit by unit on a dedicated web page associated with the SAIDE website. Team members were given usernames and passwords to access the materials to download for printing and adaptation for the pilot in 2007. However, there was relatively little use of the website – team members preferred working with the paper versions distributed at the workshops.

When the revised version was ready in mid-2008, the OER Africa initiative had just been launched, and was under SAIDE management.

Figure 10.5: OER Africa

www.oerafrica.org

OER Africa aims to create and sustain human networks of collaboration, face to face and online, in order to enable African academics to harness the power of OERs, develop their capacity, and become integrated into the emerging global OER networks as active participants rather than passive consumers.

The underpinning principles and resources available from the SAIDE ACEMaths project were clearly aligned with these aims, and so the ACEMaths community became one of the first communities featured on OER Africa. SAIDE worked with the OER Africa team to design the site not only as a repository for the six-unit module, but also as a place in which conversations can happen around the materials and the various adaptation of the materials. Case studies of adaptation were posted on the site, with a blog facility to allow for comment and engagement by interested parties. A Forum page was also created – and the conversation started with input from the Maths teacher education expert, Jill Adler, the critical reader for the pilot version of the materials. We also thought it important to make the site a repository for project documents – reports and presentations, but also key research papers that inform the project as an OER initiative: papers on the OER movement, on course design in an OER environment, on copyright and licensing, on materials development, and on communities of practice.4

However, although people might be looking at the website, there is at this stage no evidence of ongoing engagement. To stimulate knowledge of the site and materials, SAIDE is now visiting institutions and holding workshops with teacher-educators. To facilitate use of the materials for people with low bandwidth or irregular Internet connectivity a CD-ROM has been created containing the module materials as well as the project documents.


Lessons of experience: The position that is emerging as SAIDE staff engage with projects such as ACEMaths can be found in an article on the ACEMaths website: On OERs: Five Ideas to Guide Engagement with the Open Educational Resources ‘Movement’. One sentence from this article will suffice to encapsulate the lesson of experience from the SAIDE ACEMaths project:

Exclusion not only from but through technology is very easy. The role of educators is to ensure that this exclusion is minimised. We need to understand enough about the technology to be aware of how it is being used to serve the purposes of educational exclusion, and insist that it be used to serve the interests of inclusion. (Welch 2008: 3)

Part 2: Take-up of the SAIDE ACEMaths materials

This part of the report provides a summary of the take-up of the SAIDE ACEMaths materials at the various higher education institutions. It compares actual use with proposed use of the materials at each site; and considers the process of selection, presentation and mediation of the materials. Take-up data are then used to reflect on the quality of the materials from the perspective of the users – both students and teacher-educators. The section concludes with several potential models for the use of OERs such as these ACEMaths materials.

Proposed and actual take-up of the materials

Information on proposed use was given by all participants at one of the project workshops (March 2007). The participants completed a questionnaire in which their proposed use of the SAIDE ACEMaths materials was recorded. Participants also gave an indication of when they would be using the materials so that plans for the proposed site visits could be scheduled. Take-up information was provided by lecturers at the institutions that did use the ACEMaths materials, when site visits were carried out. Expanded views of this take-up information, which follow, have been drawn up from further questionnaires and interviews with the lecturers who used the materials.

Table 10.1 compares proposed take-up with actual take-up at the various sites. The table also presents an overview of the adaptations to the SAIDE ACEMaths materials used at the various institutions. Together with this is an indication of other materials used in conjunction with the SAIDE ACEMaths materials for the full programme. These different combinations show that there are many possible ways in which the materials can be used. An overview of the assessment programmes for the courses shows the potential for variety in assessment in fairly similar courses.

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Site

and

per

iod

Indi

catio

n of

pro

pose

d us

eAc

tual

take

-up:

pro

gram

me

and

units

/sec

tions

use

dAd

apta

tion

Addi

tiona

l mat

eria

lsAs

sess

men

t

Cape

Pen

insu

la U

nive

rsity

of

Tech

nolo

gy (C

PUT)

Durin

g 20

07

PGCE

for

GET

(con

tact

):1

• Un

its T

wo,

Thr

ee, a

nd F

our

BEd

for G

ET (c

onta

ct):

• BE

d 3r

d ye

ar –

Uni

ts O

ne,

Thre

e, F

our

• BE

d 4t

h ye

ar –

Uni

t Six

BEd

for G

ET 3

rd y

ear a

nd 4

th

year

(con

tact

):•

Units

One

, Tw

o an

d Si

x (w

ith

appe

ndic

es)

No a

dapt

atio

n. S

AIDE

ACE

Mat

hs

mat

eria

ls u

sed

as re

sour

ces

for

two

PGCE

for G

ET p

rogr

amm

e m

odul

es:

• 3r

d ye

ar –

Uni

ts O

ne a

nd

Two

used

in fu

ll, e

xact

ly a

s pr

esen

ted

by S

AIDE

• 4t

h ye

ar –

Uni

t Six

use

d in

full,

ex

actly

as

pres

ente

d by

SAI

DE

3rd

year

and

4th

yea

r:

addi

tiona

l rea

ding

s as

sep

arat

e ha

ndou

ts

3rd

year

and

4th

yea

r:co

ntin

uous

ass

essm

ent,

a fo

rmal

as

sign

men

t and

an

exam

inat

ion

equi

vale

nt

Nels

on M

ande

la M

etro

polit

an

Univ

ersi

ty (N

MM

U)20

07/0

8

1st a

nd 2

nd y

ear B

Ed

Foun

datio

n Ph

ase

(con

tact

):•

Who

le m

odul

e

ACE

Spec

ial N

eeds

/Rem

edia

l Ed

ucat

ion

(par

t-tim

e):

• W

hole

mod

ule

ACE

Spec

ial N

eeds

/Rem

edia

l Ed

ucat

ion

(par

t-tim

e):

• W

hole

mod

ule

(Uni

ts O

ne–S

ix,

with

all

appe

ndic

es)

All u

nits

use

d in

full

with

out

adap

tatio

n in

200

7. U

nits

ha

nded

out

sep

arat

ely

one

at a

tim

e as

pro

duce

d by

SAI

DE.

Othe

r mat

eria

ls p

rodu

ced

by

lect

urer

s w

ere

used

dur

ing

the

first

hal

f of t

he y

ear s

ince

the

ACEM

aths

mat

eria

ls w

ere

not

yet r

eady

for p

rintin

g.

Two

assi

gnm

ents

and

an

exam

inat

ion

(yea

r end

). AC

EMat

hs m

ater

ials

wer

e pa

rtial

ly c

over

ed in

the

final

ex

am

RADM

ASTE

Cen

tre,

Wits

Un

iver

sity

M

arch

, Jul

y &

Sept

embe

r 200

7

ACE

GET

and

FET

Mat

hs (m

ixed

m

ode)

:2

• W

hole

mod

ule

ACE

GET

and

FET

Mat

hs 2

nd

year

(mix

ed m

ode)

:•

Who

le m

odul

e (U

nits

One

–Six

, w

ith a

ll ap

pend

ices

).

All u

nits

use

d in

full

with

out

adap

tatio

n in

200

7. U

nits

pr

esen

ted

in a

sin

gle

guid

e w

ith

cons

ecut

ive

page

num

berin

g.

• Co

urse

out

line.

• Se

para

te h

ando

uts

with

co

nten

t sum

mar

ies.

• Ad

ditio

nal m

aths

act

iviti

es.

Two

assi

gnm

ents

, a p

ortfo

lio

assi

gnm

ent a

nd a

n ex

amin

atio

n eq

uiva

lent

Rhod

es U

nive

rsity

Mat

hs

Educ

atio

n Pr

ojec

t (RU

MEP

)Ja

nuar

y &

July

200

7

ACE

GET

Mat

hs 1

st y

ear b

ut

poss

ibly

2nd

yea

r (m

ixed

mod

e):

• Se

lect

ed a

ctiv

ities

from

Uni

ts

Two,

Thr

ee, F

our,

Five

and

Six

ACE

GET

Mat

hs 1

st y

ear (

mix

ed

mod

e):

• Un

it Th

ree

and

parts

of U

nit

Two

No a

dapt

atio

n. S

AIDE

ACE

Mat

hs

mat

eria

ls u

sed

as a

n ad

ditio

nal

reso

urce

to c

ompl

emen

t exi

stin

g AC

E GE

T pr

ogra

mm

e m

ater

ials

. Us

ed a

s re

fere

nce

mat

eria

l.

Mat

hem

atic

s ac

tivity

boo

klet

s on

va

rious

topi

csCo

ntin

uous

ass

essm

ent m

ade

up o

f ass

ignm

ents

, an

exte

nsiv

e po

rtfol

io a

nd a

n ex

amin

atio

n eq

uiva

lent

Tab

le 1

0.1:

Pro

po

sed

and

act

ual t

ake-

up o

f th

e S

AID

E A

CE

Mat

hs p

ilot

mat

eria

ls


Site

and

per

iod

Indi

catio

n of

pro

pose

d us

eAc

tual

take

-up:

pro

gram

me

and

units

/sec

tions

use

dAd

apta

tion

Addi

tiona

l mat

eria

lsAs

sess

men

t

Univ

ersi

ty o

f Kw

aZul

u-Na

tal

(UKZ

N)Ju

ly &

Sep

tem

ber 2

007

ACE

FET

Mat

hs L

itera

cy (m

ixed

m

ode)

:•

Units

Six

, Thr

ee a

nd F

our

ACE

FET

Mat

hs L

itera

cy 2

nd

year

(mix

ed m

ode)

:•

Unit

Six

(with

app

endi

ces)

• Un

it Fo

ur w

ith a

sec

tion

take

n fro

m U

nit T

hree

SAID

E AC

EMat

hs m

ater

ials

co

mbi

ned

into

two

sepa

rate

st

and-

alon

e gu

ides

for t

wo

diffe

rent

mod

ules

in th

e AC

E FE

T M

aths

Lite

racy

pro

gram

me:

• M

odul

e 1

Guid

e –

Unit

Four

us

ed in

full

with

an

extra

ct

from

Uni

t Thr

ee c

ombi

ned

with

oth

er m

ater

ials

• M

odul

e 2

Guid

e –

Unit

Six

used

in fu

ll co

mbi

ned

with

ot

her m

ater

ials

Guid

es (a

s in

dica

ted

in

Adap

tatio

n co

lum

n) in

clud

ed

addi

tiona

l the

ory

and

activ

ities

, co

urse

info

rmat

ion

and

asse

ssm

ent t

asks

.

Mod

ule

1•

Asse

ssm

ent t

asks

(tw

o) a

nd

an e

xam

inat

ion.

Mod

ule

2•

Cont

inuo

us a

sses

smen

t and

an

exa

min

atio

n eq

uiva

lent

: re

sear

ch p

roje

ct

Univ

ersi

ty o

f Ven

da (U

nive

n)PG

CE G

ET a

nd F

ET (c

onta

ct)/B

Ed

(Sci

ence

Edu

catio

n) (c

onta

ct):

• Va

rious

act

iviti

es, p

artic

ular

ly

from

Uni

ts O

ne, T

hree

and

Six

With

drew

from

impl

emen

tatio

n ph

ase

Wits

Uni

vers

ityJu

ly &

Sep

tem

ber 2

007

ACE

LSEN

(mix

ed m

ode)

:•

Who

le m

odul

eAC

E LS

EN 2

nd y

ear (

mix

ed

mod

e):

• W

hole

mod

ule

(Uni

ts O

ne–S

ix,

with

all

appe

ndic

es)

All u

nits

use

d in

full

with

out

adap

tatio

n in

200

7. U

nits

pr

esen

ted

in a

sin

gle

guid

e w

ith

cons

ecut

ive

page

num

berin

g. A

ll un

its h

ave

now

bee

n ad

apte

d to

al

ign

pres

enta

tion

with

that

of

the

othe

r cou

rses

in th

e LS

EN

ACE

prog

ram

me,

and

hav

e be

en

used

in th

is fo

rm s

ince

200

8.

• Re

side

ntia

l pro

gram

me

book

let w

ith a

dditi

onal

ac

tiviti

es•

Assi

gnm

ent b

ookl

et

Jour

nal a

ctiv

ities

, por

tfolio

ac

tiviti

es, t

hree

ass

ignm

ents

, an

d an

exa

min

atio

n eq

uiva

lent

Note

s:1

‘Con

tact

’ ind

icat

es fu

ll-tim

e pr

ogra

mm

es w

ith re

gula

r lec

ture

tim

es.

2 ‘M

ixed

mod

e’ in

dica

tes

part

-tim

e pr

ogra

mm

es th

at h

ave

lect

ures

dur

ing

holid

ay p

erio

ds a

nd/o

r on

wee

kend

s.

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DiscussionThere was excellent follow-up of materials selected and proposed for programmes to be involved in the pilot implementation study. Six of the original seven institutions followed through their plans to use the materials. Three of the seven institutions used the materials selected in the programme exactly as they had proposed for the pilot study. Another three used some of the materials selected in one out of two programmes they had earmarked for the pilot study. In most cases, the reasons given for not using the materials related to the time constraints resulting from the readiness of the materials; the time between the materials being completed and courses being run in the institutions was short, and in some cases too short to allow for implementation. At some of the institutions lecturers indicated that they had had difficulty getting others in their departments to use the materials, especially given time constraints.

There was one institution, Univen, that was not able to pilot the materials. This was because the programmes in which they had intended using the materials (PGCE Maths GET and FET [contact] and BEd [Science Education] [contact]) were not yet operational.

All of the six institutions that piloted the materials in 2007 used the materials again in 2008, and continue to use the materials in 2009. Some of them have used the materials in exactly the same way, in the same courses; while others have found a place for the use of additional materials that they were not able to use in 2007. All of the institutions that did not use the whole module in 2007 indicated the intention to use more of the materials in 2008 and 2009. Use of the materials in 2009 is provided in Table 10.4. One lecturer commented that she thought that as many people as possible should be told about, and encouraged to use, the materials, ‘especially now that they have been trialled, tested and reviewed’.

Presentation and mediation of the SAIDE ACEMaths materials in classes

This information has been drawn up using lecturer questionnaires and the observation notes made by the researcher. One session at each of the participating institutions was observed at all of the sites except for UKZN, where the contact session was shortened due to teacher-students being called back to the school classrooms during the holiday period following the teacher strike action in 2007. Comments about the presentation at UKZN have been made using the lecturer’s notes and PowerPoint presentation, which she made available.

There are two tables in which the information is presented. Table 10.2 summarises and gives a site-by-site comparison of some information relating to the programmes for which the pilot materials were selected in 2007. Table 10.3 details which of the SAIDE ACEMaths materials were selected in each case, and the teacher-educators’ reasons for such selecting, and compares the presentation and mediation of the SAIDE ACEMaths materials at the six sites in 2007.


Table 10.2: Programme information, by site (2007)

Site, programme and materials selected

Number of students enrolled

Language of learning/student home languages

Time allocated

CPUT BEd for GET 3rd year and 4th year (contact):• Units One, Two and Six (with

appendices)

BEd 3rd year: 20BEd 4th year: 6

English/English, Afrikaans, isiXhosa, other

45-minute lectures24 lectures

NMMUACE Special Needs/Remedial Education (part-time):• Whole module (Units One–

Six, with all appendices)

40 English/English, Afrikaans, isiXhosa, other

75-minute lectures2 lectures per week during term time

RADMASTEACE GET and FET Maths 2nd year (mixed mode):• Whole module (Units One–


GET: 30FET: 60

English/Sesotho, Setswana, isiZulu, English, other

2-hour lecturesLectures during set periods (contact sessions) – 9 lectures allocated to ACEMaths material

RUMEPACE GET Maths 1st year (mixed mode):• Unit Three and parts of Unit

Two

40 English/isiXhosa, English, other

90-minute lecturesLectures during set periods (contact sessions) – 7 lectures allocated to ACEMaths material

UKZNACE FET Maths Literacy 2nd year (mixed mode):• Unit Six (with appendices)• Unit Four with a section

taken from Unit Three and small parts from Unit One

15 English/isiZulu, English, other

54 hours’ contact time, spread over 2 4-day blocks in school holidays, and about 5 Saturdays during the term

Wits ACE LSEN 2nd year (mixed mode):• Whole module (Units One–


30 English/Sesotho, Setswana, isiZulu, English, other

2-hour lecturesLectures during set periods (contact sessions) – 11 lectures allocated to ACEMaths material

THEM

E: T

EAC

HER

DEV

ELO

PM

ENT


THEM

E: TEAC

HER

DEV

ELOP

MEN

T

Tab

le 1

0.3:

Sel

ecti

on,

pre

sent

atio

n an

d m

edia

tio

n o

f p

ilot

mat

eria

ls, b

y si

te (2

007)

Sit

eM

ater

ials

sel

ecte

d –

wit

h re

aso

ns f

or

sele

ctio

nP

rese

ntat

ion

and

med

iati

on

CP

UT

BE

d 3

rd y

ear:

Uni

t O

ne (E

xplo

ring

Wha

t It

Mea

ns t

o ‘D

o’ M

athe

mat

ics)

an

d U

nit

Two

(Dev

elop

ing

Und

erst

and

ing

in M

athe

mat

ics)

of t

he S

AID

E

AC

EM

aths

mat

eria

ls a

s re

adin

gs. T

he le

ctur

er c

hose

the

se u

nits

bec

ause

sh

e th

ough

t th

ey g

ive

inte

rest

ing

and

tho

ught

-pro

voki

ng in

put

on

the

dev

elop

men

t of

mat

hs t

each

ing

in S

outh

Afr

ica,

as

wel

l as

a go

od

theo

retic

al b

asis

for

teac

hing

mat

hem

atic

s.

BE

d 4

th y

ear:

Uni

t S

ix (T

each

ing

All

Chi

ldre

n M

athe

mat

ics)

. Thi

s un

it w

as

chos

en b

ecau

se t

he le

ctur

er t

houg

ht t

hat

it p

rovi

des

a s

olid

bac

kgro

und

re

adin

g fo

r th

e co

urse

on

rem

edia

l mat

hs, l

ooki

ng a

t co

pin

g w

ith d

iffer

ent

kind

s of

lear

ners

.

• S

elec

ted

uni

ts w

ere

prin

ted

for

the

stud

ents

exa

ctly

as

the

SA

IDE

tea

m h

ad

dev

elop

ed t

hem

.•

The

mat

eria

ls w

ere

used

as

read

ings

(in

add

ition

to

othe

r re

adin

gs) f

or t

he

cour

ses.

• Th

e re

adin

g p

rogr

amm

e w

as s

truc

ture

d o

n a

wee

kly

bas

is.

• A

ctiv

ities

or

que

stio

ns w

ere

set,

to

focu

s st

uden

ts o

n th

e co

nten

t of

the

rea

din

gs

for

the

wee

k.•

Lect

ure

time

was

use

d fo

r fu

rthe

r d

iscu

ssio

n of

the

set

que

stio

ns o

r ot

her

que

stio

ns r

aise

d b

y th

e st

uden

ts in

rel

atio

n to

the

rea

din

g fo

r th

e w

eek.

• Th

e ob

serv

ed le

ctur

e se

ssio

n to

ok t

he fo

rm o

f a le

ctur

er-g

uid

ed g

roup

dis

cuss

ion

The

stud

ents

par

ticip

ated

act

ivel

y, d

raw

ing

on t

heir

und

erst

and

ing

of t

he

read

ings

as

wel

l as

thei

r ex

per

ienc

e in

sch

ools

.

NM

MU

The

lect

urer

cho

se t

o us

e th

e w

hole

mod

ule

– al

l six

uni

ts a

nd a

ll ap

pen

dic

es. S

he fe

lt th

at a

ll of

the

uni

ts w

orke

d v

ery

wel

l tog

ethe

r an

d

that

it w

ould

be

a p

ity t

o le

ave

any

one

of t

hem

out

and

dep

rive

the

stud

ents

of t

he o

pp

ortu

nity

to

lear

n fr

om t

hem

.

She

like

d t

he a

pp

roac

h in

the

mat

eria

ls a

nd t

he a

ctiv

ities

tha

t ch

alle

nged

th

e st

uden

ts t

o ap

ply

wha

t th

ey h

ad le

arnt

and

com

par

e an

d c

onne

ct it

to

prio

r kn

owle

dge

and

exp

erie

nce.

• In

div

idua

l uni

ts o

f the

AC

EM

aths

mat

eria

ls w

ere

hand

ed o

ut o

ne b

y on

e as

the

y p

rogr

esse

d t

hrou

gh t

he m

ater

ial.

The

lect

urer

did

not

wan

t to

put

pre

ssur

e on

her

st

uden

ts, b

ut t

hey

amaz

ed h

er w

ith t

heir

eage

rnes

s to

com

ple

te u

nits

and

rec

eive

th

e ne

xt r

ead

ing.

• Th

e m

ater

ials

form

ed t

he c

ore

read

ing

mat

eria

l for

the

cou

rse.

• A

ctiv

ities

from

the

mat

eria

ls w

ere

set

for

the

stud

ents

to

wor

k th

roug

h in

p

rep

arat

ion

for

lect

ures

, so

that

the

y w

ould

hav

e gi

ven

them

som

e th

ough

t b

efor

e co

min

g to

the

gro

up d

iscu

ssio

ns.

• Th

e ob

serv

ed s

essi

on s

tart

ed w

ith t

he le

ctur

er r

ecap

pin

g ke

y id

eas

from

Uni

ts

One

and

Tw

o. T

he s

tud

ents

wer

e th

en h

and

ed a

she

et t

hat

set

a sc

enar

io c

allin

g fo

r re

med

iatio

n of

the

con

cep

t of

frac

tions

. The

y w

orke

d in

gro

ups

des

igni

ng

the

rem

edia

tion

pro

gram

mes

, whi

ch t

hey

wer

e to

sha

re w

ith t

he w

hole

cla

ss o

n co

mp

letio

n. T

he s

tud

ents

ap

plie

d t

he t

heor

y th

ey h

ad le

arnt

from

the

AC

EM

aths

m

ater

ials

in t

his

activ

ity.


THEM

E: T

EAC

HER

DEV

ELO

PM

ENT

Sit

eM

ater

ials

sel

ecte

d –

wit

h re

aso

ns f

or

sele

ctio

nP

rese

ntat

ion

and

med

iati

on

RA

DM

AS

TE

The

lect

urer

s us

ed t

he w

hole

gui

de,

all

six

units

, tog

ethe

r w

ith t

heir

app

end

ices

, as

pro

duc

ed b

y th

e co

llab

orat

ive

team

. The

y ha

d b

een

usin

g th

e S

AID

E/O

xfor

d G

ettin

g P

ract

ical

ab

out

Out

com

es-b

ased

Ed

ucat

ion

(pub

lishe

d b

ook)

as

thei

r co

urse

mat

eria

ls fo

r th

eir

cour

se o

n Le

arni

ng

and

Tea

chin

g M

athe

mat

ics.

At

exac

tly t

he t

ime

that

SA

IDE

initi

ated

the

A

CE

Mat

hs O

ER

pro

ject

, the

lect

urer

s ha

d m

ade

a d

ecis

ion

that

the

p

ublis

hed

boo

k th

ey w

ere

usin

g w

as b

ecom

ing

too

exp

ensi

ve, a

nd t

hat

they

wou

ld t

hus

have

to

dev

elop

a c

ours

e gu

ide

of t

heir

own.

The

tim

ing

was

per

fect

for

them

, and

the

y w

ere

able

to

use

the

AC

EM

aths

mat

eria

ls

inst

ead

of h

avin

g to

dev

elop

a w

hole

gui

de

them

selv

es.

The

mat

eria

ls T

each

ing

and

Lea

rnin

g M

athe

mat

ics

in D

iver

se C

lass

room

s (S

AID

E 2

008)

cov

ered

all

of t

he a

spec

ts t

hat

they

con

sid

ered

imp

orta

nt

to in

clud

e in

the

ir co

urse

, with

the

ad

ded

focu

s on

the

nee

ds

of d

iver

se

lear

ner

grou

ps

and

how

to

cop

e w

ith d

iver

sity

, whi

ch a

ctua

lly a

dd

ed t

o th

e sc

ope

and

ric

hnes

s of

the

cou

rse.

• S

tud

ents

wer

e gi

ven

a b

ound

cop

y of

the

full

set

of t

he A

CE

Mat

hs m

ater

ials

d

urin

g th

eir

first

lect

ure

for

this

cou

rse.

• In

the

ir p

rogr

amm

e le

ctur

ers

intr

oduc

e an

d c

omp

lete

a m

odul

e ov

er t

wo

cont

act

sess

ions

/res

iden

tials

.5 Th

ey in

trod

uced

the

AC

EM

aths

gui

de

to t

heir

stud

ents

in

the

first

res

iden

tial b

y go

ing

over

the

firs

t th

ree

units

of t

he g

uid

e. A

t th

e se

cond

re

sid

entia

l, le

ctur

ers

then

cov

ered

the

rem

aind

er o

f the

mat

eria

ls.

• A

fter

eac

h re

sid

entia

l, st

uden

ts g

o aw

ay t

o w

ork

on t

heir

por

tfol

io a

ctiv

ities

, as

wel

l as

thei

r as

sign

men

ts. B

etw

een

the

first

and

sec

ond

res

iden

tials

, stu

den

ts

wer

e se

t re

adin

gs t

o p

rep

are

them

for

the

sess

ions

at

the

seco

nd r

esid

entia

l. Th

is m

eant

tha

t th

ey w

ere

bet

ter

pre

par

ed t

o d

iscu

ss t

he m

ater

ials

at

the

seco

nd

resi

den

tial.

• U

nit

Six

and

its

app

end

ices

wer

e th

e fo

cus

of a

less

on o

n d

ealin

g w

ith d

iver

sity

in

a m

athe

mat

ics

clas

sroo

m; t

his

less

on w

as o

bse

rved

dur

ing

the

site

vis

it.

Stu

den

ts w

ere

aske

d t

o w

rite

up d

escr

iptio

ns o

f the

diff

eren

t ty

pes

of l

earn

ers,

b

ased

on

the

read

ing

on U

nder

stan

din

g In

trap

erso

nal C

hara

cter

istic

s fo

r U

nit

Six

. The

y ha

d t

heir

mat

eria

ls w

ith t

hem

and

ref

erre

d t

o th

em w

hen

nece

ssar

y.

They

wor

ked

in g

roup

s of

four

or

five.

Aft

er d

iscu

ssin

g th

e th

eory

, the

gro

ups

had

to

pro

duc

e an

d p

rese

nt a

ctiv

ities

tha

t th

ey h

ad a

dap

ted

to

suit

a d

iver

se

lear

ner

grou

p. T

here

was

not

eno

ugh

time

for

stud

ents

to

com

ple

te t

heir

less

on

adap

tatio

ns, s

o th

e le

ctur

er t

ook

idea

s fr

om w

ork

don

e, t

o hi

ghlig

ht t

he k

ind

s of

th

ings

tha

t on

e ne

eds

to d

o to

mak

e su

re a

less

on is

acc

essi

ble

to

all l

earn

ers.

Th

is m

ade

the

stud

ents

aw

are

of t

he a

mou

nt o

f wor

k in

volv

ed in

pre

par

ing

activ

ities

in s

uch

a w

ay t

hat

they

are

acc

essi

ble

to

all l

earn

ers.

Whi

le t

he s

tud

ents

co

mm

ente

d o

n th

is, m

any

of t

hem

non

ethe

less

see

med

mot

ivat

ed t

o tr

y it

out.


THEM

E: TEAC

HER

DEV

ELOP

MEN

T

RU

ME

PTh

e le

ctur

er id

entif

ied

Uni

ts O

ne, T

wo,

Thr

ee, F

ive

and

Six

as

the

mos

t re

leva

nt fo

r th

e R

UM

EP

AC

E, b

ut in

the

end

use

d o

nly

Uni

t Th

ree

and

p

arts

of U

nit

Two.

He

said

tha

t th

ere

was

sim

ply

not

eno

ugh

time

to d

o m

ore.

The

lect

urer

par

ticul

arly

like

d U

nit

Thre

e on

pro

ble

m s

olvi

ng in

m

athe

mat

ics.

The

cas

e st

udie

s of

the

tw

o le

arne

rs s

et t

he t

one

for

the

activ

ities

tha

t fo

llow

ed. T

he u

nit

show

s te

ache

rs h

ow t

o ap

pro

ach

a p

rob

lem

from

a n

umb

er o

f ent

ry p

oint

s, a

nd h

ow t

o us

e a

thre

e-p

art

less

on fo

rmat

in p

rob

lem

-cen

tred

tea

chin

g.

• Th

e p

rinte

d m

ater

ials

(as

pro

duc

ed b

y th

e S

AID

E t

eam

) wer

e gi

ven

out

in c

lass

at

the

tim

e th

at t

hey

wer

e ne

eded

. The

lect

urer

tho

ught

tha

t it

wou

ld b

e b

est

to

keep

the

uni

t in

tact

, and

ref

er t

o it

in c

lass

. •

Aft

er t

he le

ctur

e, s

tud

ents

wer

e to

rea

d t

hrou

gh t

he m

ater

ials

at

hom

e, a

nd

inte

grat

e id

eas

from

the

m in

to t

heir

teac

hing

. The

ass

ignm

ent

that

the

lect

urer

set

re

qui

red

stu

den

ts t

o d

o th

is.

• Th

e le

ctur

er c

omm

ente

d t

hat

in fu

ture

he

wou

ld s

et t

he r

ead

ing

to b

e d

one

bef

ore

the

clas

s, s

o th

at s

tud

ents

wou

ld b

e fa

mili

ar w

ith it

and

bet

ter

able

to

use

it as

a

refe

renc

e in

the

cla

ss d

iscu

ssio

ns.

• In

the

less

on o

bse

rved

dur

ing

the

site

vis

it, U

nit

Thre

e w

as u

sed

not

for

its

activ

ities

but

for

theo

retic

al c

omm

ent

on a

ctiv

ities

tha

t th

e cl

ass

had

pre

viou

sly

dev

elop

ed. T

he le

ctur

er a

sked

the

cla

ss h

ow t

hey

wou

ld a

pp

roac

h th

e te

achi

ng

of fr

actio

ns. A

fter

hea

ring

the

resp

onse

s of

the

cla

ss, t

he le

ctur

er a

sked

the

m t

o ha

ve a

look

at

diff

eren

t ap

pro

ache

s of

the

tea

cher

s in

the

tw

o ca

se s

tud

ies

at

the

beg

inni

ng o

f Uni

t Th

ree.

Thi

s w

as fo

llow

ed b

y a

dis

cuss

ion

abou

t p

rob

lem

so

lvin

g as

a t

each

ing

stra

tegy

. The

cla

ss w

as t

hen

set

a d

iffer

ent

pro

ble

m-s

olvi

ng

activ

ity r

elat

ing

to t

he t

each

ing

of a

rea.

Stu

den

ts r

epor

ted

bac

k on

the

ir d

iffer

ing

solu

tions

to

the

pro

ble

ms.

The

pro

ble

m-s

olvi

ng m

etho

ds

wer

e re

flect

ed o

n w

ith

refe

renc

e to

Uni

t Th

ree.

UK

ZN

The

lect

urer

s us

ed t

he m

ater

ials

in t

wo

of t

he m

odul

es in

the

ir A

CE

(M

athe

mat

ical

Lite

racy

) pro

gram

me.

The

y lik

ed U

nit

Six

ver

y m

uch

and

fo

und

tha

t it

fitte

d in

per

fect

ly w

ith t

heir

mod

ule

Pro

fess

iona

l Pra

ctic

e in

M

athe

mat

ics

Ed

ucat

ion.

The

y us

ed t

he e

ntire

mod

ule

as t

he fo

urth

par

t of

the

mod

ule

guid

e, a

nd a

s su

ch it

form

ed t

he b

ulk

of t

he r

ead

ing

and

re

fere

nce

mat

eria

l for

tha

t m

odul

e, a

nd a

bac

kdro

p fo

r th

e p

rimar

y m

odul

e ac

tivity

, whi

ch w

as a

n ac

tion

rese

arch

pro

ject

.

They

dec

ided

tha

t U

nit

Four

fitt

ed in

wel

l with

the

ir m

odul

e Te

achi

ng

and

Lea

rnin

g M

athe

mat

ics

in t

he F

ET

(wrt

Mat

hem

atic

al L

itera

cy).

They

th

eref

ore

used

the

who

le o

f Uni

t Fo

ur, b

ut a

lso

took

par

ts o

f Uni

t Th

ree

(the

thre

e-p

art

less

on p

lan)

and

par

ts o

f Uni

t O

ne (c

onst

ruct

ivis

m a

nd

verb

s fo

r d

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lect

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-se

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EM

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lect

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n d

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nnin

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urp

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the

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trod

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pro

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m-s

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task

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stud

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to

use

in t

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lann

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of a

less

on, f

ollo

win

g th

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d

dis

cuss

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the

ses

sion

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eM

ater

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sel

ecte

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wit

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or

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ntat

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and

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sTh

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hole

gui

de,

all

six

units

, tog

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r w

ith t

heir

app

end

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pro

duc

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y th

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llab

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team

, was

use

d in

the

cou

rse.

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Wits

AC

E (L

SE

N) p

rogr

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as fu

lly a

ccre

dite

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in 2

006.

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ir m

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ard

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AD

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co

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(in

2006

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duc

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lso

in 2

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elop

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t p

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ut t

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still

felt

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ir m

athe

mat

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mod

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need

ed im

pro

ving

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y w

ere

very

exc

ited

to

be

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in t

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roje

ct b

ecau

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hrou

gh it

the

y re

ceiv

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at t

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coul

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se a

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ll m

ater

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for

thei

r M

odul

e 5,

whi

ch h

as a

fo

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old

form

was

ent

itled

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g N

umer

acy

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earn

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ms

in t

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lass

room

an

d W

ays

in W

hich

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p L

earn

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rcom

e Th

em. B

ut it

was

re

nam

ed T

each

ing

and

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rnin

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athe

mat

ics

in D

iver

se C

lass

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lin

e w

ith t

he n

ame

of t

he S

AID

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CE

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hs m

odul

e.

• S

tud

ents

wer

e gi

ven

the

full

set

of A

CE

Mat

hs m

ater

ials

prin

ted

and

bou

nd a

t th

eir

first

lect

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of t

he c

ours

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ealin

g w

ith t

he m

ater

ials

.•

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he A

CE

LS

EN

pro

gram

me,

lect

urer

s in

trod

uce

and

com

ple

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mod

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over

tw

o co

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t se

ssio

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tud

ents

wer

e in

trod

uced

to

Teac

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and

Lea

rnin

g M

athe

mat

ics

in D

iver

se C

lass

room

s (S

AID

E 2

008)

in t

he A

pril

res

iden

tial (

whe

n th

ey h

ad s

ix t

wo-

hour

ses

sion

s), a

nd t

hey

then

had

to

go a

way

to

wor

k on

the

p

ortf

olio

and

jour

nal a

ctiv

ities

, as

wel

l as

thei

r as

sign

men

ts a

nd e

xam

inat

ion

equi

vale

nt fo

r th

is c

ours

e, a

ll of

whi

ch w

ere

due

for

sub

mis

sion

at

the

next

re

sid

entia

l in

July

. At

the

July

res

iden

tial t

hey

had

five

tw

o-ho

ur s

essi

ons

whe

re

they

cou

ld g

o ov

er t

he m

ater

ials

in a

str

uctu

red

way

gui

ded

by

the

lect

urer

. In

this

se

ssio

n, s

tud

ents

cou

ld r

aise

que

stio

ns a

bou

t th

e co

nten

t an

d d

iscu

ss t

hese

with

th

e w

hole

gro

up.

• Th

e le

ctur

er r

efer

red

to

all o

f the

uni

ts, b

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rimar

ily t

o U

nit

Thre

e in

the

ob

serv

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less

on o

n d

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ing,

whi

ch fo

cuse

d o

n p

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lem

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in t

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athe

mat

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sroo

m. T

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ted

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ities

from

the

res

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tial

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e p

rep

ared

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who

le c

lass

the

n se

t ab

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ing

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ass

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fini

shed

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in t

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grou

ps,

the

y m

oved

into

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ss d

iscu

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the

act

iviti

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tud

ents

sp

oke

abou

t th

e ne

ed fo

r su

pp

ort

spec

ialis

ts in

all

scho

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as

par

t of

sch

ool-

/site

-bas

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upp

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team

s an

d a

s p

art

of d

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bas

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upp

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team

s fo

r th

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rom

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incl

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ucat

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and

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tha

t w

ould

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omm

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l lea

rner

s. T

hey

spok

e ab

out

the

imp

orta

nce

of fa

ir as

sess

men

t b

ased

on

que

stio

ns s

et a

t th

e co

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t le

vel a

nd p

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affo

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, to

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rs t

o ac

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the

que

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o th

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bes

t ab

ility

.

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DiscussionTable 10.2 presents data relating to the pilot research. It can be seen that student numbers at the different institutions vary a fair deal. The language of instruction at all of the institutions is English (the materials themselves are English language medium) but the first languages of the students using the materials vary, and include all 11 of the South African official languages. The materials were written in such a way that they should be accessible to second language English speakers, and comments from students confirm that they do find the materials readable and user-friendly. Times allocated to mediation of the materials in lecture sessions also vary – this is mostly in relation to the volume of the material selected, though it can be seen that at some institutions students benefit from greater contact time allocation.

Table 10.3 gives reasons for lecturers’ selection of the SAIDE ACEMaths pilot materials and compares presentation and mediation of materials at the six sites. Selection of materials varied from the use of the full set of pilot materials to a few or just one of the units. The reasons for selection relate to the purpose for which they were selected as well as the way in which lecturers integrated the materials into their existing course material. Where lecturers used the full set of materials, these materials replaced existing course material. At one institution the lecturer had felt that her existing materials were inadequate and had wanted to re-write these materials, but chose rather to use the SAIDE ACEMaths materials. At another institution the cost of the book they had been using had become exorbitant, and the lecturers were able to use the SAIDE ACEMaths materials to replace their set book. Where a selection of units were chosen, these were used in combination with existing material in a way that complemented the existing material to the satisfaction of the lecturers. A more detailed discussion on what students and lecturers found particularly useful about the SAIDE ACEMaths materials follows in the next section of this report.

The SAIDE ACEMaths materials were used by lecturers in predominantly mixed-mode programmes, but one contact-mode programme was also observed. Lecturers used a variety of presentation and mediation methods, all of which allowed for high levels of student participation, in small- and large-group discussions, small-group and pair activities with report-back by students to the whole group, and question and answer sessions led by the lecturer. The SAIDE ACEMaths materials were used in different ways in the different lessons, but all of the lessons did relate to and refer to the SAIDE ACEMaths materials to a greater or lesser extent.

In some lessons, activities from the SAIDE ACEMaths materials were used for small-group activities and to guide general whole-group discussions; in other lessons additional activities were brought to the classes. The alternative activities were brought in for a variety of reasons. In one case it was because those particular students were being trained to teach in the Further Education and Training (FET) band, and an activity more appropriate to this level was used; in other groups at the discretion of the lecturers alternative activities were used since they were part of the full set of materials for the course being presented. This indicates both the flexibility of the lecturers and the potential of the SAIDE ACEMaths materials.

In some lessons time was given to students to allow them to read relevant parts of the SAIDE ACEMaths materials needed for discussion or group-work, but in other lessons readings from the ACEMaths materials had evidently been given prior to the lesson. Handouts to summarise theoretical content in the SAIDE ACEMaths materials were given in some cases, providing a possible indication of the need to assist students to cope with the amount of theory presented on certain topics in the SAIDE ACEMaths materials.


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Use of the SAIDE ACEMaths materials in 2008/09

Of significance to a study of take-up is the fact that there has been an increase in the number of programmes in which the SAIDE ACEMaths materials are being used in 2009. There has also been an increase in the number of students exposed to the materials in 2009, though precise figures were not available at the time of writing this paper.

Table 10.4: SAIDE ACEMaths use (2009)

Site Programme Materials selected for use

CPUT 3rd and 4th year BEd for GET 3rd year – Unit One, Unit Two4th year – Unit Six

NMMU 2nd and 3rd year BEd Foundation PhaseACE SNE (Special Needs Education)

Selected units (not yet finalised)Whole module

RADMASTE ACE GET (Maths)ACE FET (Maths)

Whole module Whole module

RUMEP ACE GET (Maths)ACE GET (Science)BEd

Unit ThreeUnit SixUnit One

UKZN ACE FET (Maths literacy)ACE GET (Maths, Science, Technology)

Unit One, Unit Three (selected parts) and Unit Four, Unit Six (whole units)Selected units (not yet finalised)

UNISA BEd Selected units (not yet finalised)

Wits ACE LSEN (Special Needs)ACE Foundation Phase (Numeracy)PGCE (Maths and Mathematical Literacy)

Whole module Whole moduleUnit Six

What do users of the materials most want to find?

In this section of the report, take-up data are used to reflect on the quality of the materials from the perspective of the users.

Comments from the students and lecturers who used the materials vary according to their perspective as users. Students tend understandably to be more self-centred and pragmatic in their feedback, but their comments are nonetheless useful as they give an indication of what students value most in the materials, as well as what they have found difficult to understand or apply. Lecturers are more critical of the content from their professional perspective. Their comments give an indication of their assessment of the quality of the materials for use in teacher education. All of the significant comments (both positive and negative) from the users guided the revision of the materials. What follows is a discussion of what was learnt from the user comments, in answer to the question What do lecturers and students want to find in course materials on the teaching and learning of mathematics in schools? These desired features could be used to guide the production of similar materials for other audiences.

Student perspective

Comments from the students who used the ACEMaths materials indicated that the materials were relevant and useful to students and that the content was accessible to them. Many students commented that the materials should be made available to all teachers in all schools, since the materials were useful and relevant to all schools. The message that ‘maths is for everyone’ had been communicated clearly by the guide and was seen as useful. Students commented that this


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belief would help them to deal better with diverse classes of learners, since the beginning of any successful activity is the belief that it can be achieved.

The comments also give an indication that the students valued the practical information in the guide, particularly on lesson planning and related issues. Related to that, some more specific mathematical content areas (space and shape, and fractions) were mentioned by many of the students. Teaching on the use of manipulatives also came out strongly as a useful aspect of the materials. The key theoretical aspect – constructivism and, linked to that, relational understanding – was seen as most useful. Other theory considered useful was the history of maths. A student comment that gives some indication of the impact of the materials was: ‘The SAIDE OER material really showed me a whole new way of teaching’.

Lecturer perspective

Unit Six (Teaching All Children Mathematics) was used at five of the six institutions participating in the pilot phase. The emphasis of this unit is how to teach in a diverse classroom – the reality of most South African classrooms today. (The institution that did not use Unit Six had intended to do so, but was unable to in the first year. These lecturers did, however, use Unit Six in 2008 and in 2009.) The idea of multiple entry points was particularly useful here. Lecturers felt that not only had the student group benefited from the content of Unit Six, but that they themselves had gained insight into their own diverse student groups when working though this unit. The emphasis throughout the text that ‘all children can learn maths’ was seen as positive – the lecturers had found the students receptive to this idea.

The information about the history of the mathematics curriculum in Unit One sparked interesting discussion. One lecturer in particular noted that she had thought that she had covered this aspect in her earlier teaching on the subject, but that her class had lively debates after reading Unit One; according to her feedback, her students had said things like ‘they had never realised that the development of a maths curriculum had a political element’.

Lecturers felt that an understanding of constructivism was essential in a basic ‘learning and teaching’ course – and that it was useful that this was discussed in Unit Two of the guide. The lecturers said that they had found many practical ideas and examples in this unit. The materials gave many practical, new ideas for teachers, to help them deal with the classroom situation. Lecturers could build on and develop these ideas with their classes. In particular Unit Three on problem solving was seen to have many good, practical ideas and good prompts for student reflection.

The information on planning and assessment in Unit Four (planning) and Unit Five (assessment) was seen as useful. It was presented in a practical way which, according to the lecturers, students liked and which facilitated further discussion. The mathematics examples here were also adapted by some of the lecturers, who had used the material with students training to teach in the FET band (both mathematics and mathematical literacy); this adaptation had not presented problems. The mathematics lecturer in that case had brought additional handouts to the class, while the mathematical literacy lecturer had adapted the actual text before handing it out to her class.

Lecturers commented that their students had found the materials challenging, and that this challenge had led to growth in their students. The fact that the materials focused on mathematics and not on general teaching and learning made the materials a powerful medium to begin debate and discussion at the level and interest of the students. Most of the lecturers also commented that their students had found the materials reader-friendly. The case studies in Unit Three were seen as particularly effective in making their point about different teaching styles.


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ENT All of the lecturers who were involved in the collaborative development of the materials

expressed their thanks to SAIDE for organising the platform and making available the product (the ACEMaths materials), which they felt had enriched their courses, whether they had used the whole guide or parts of the guide.

The key ideas that emerge from an overview of the comments indicate that people like to find materials that are:• relevant;• up to date; and• useful in the sense that they contain:

• practical ideas;• hands-on activities;• theories of education illustrated in practice; and • explanations of the historical development of mathematics teaching linking theory to

present curriculum issues.

Criticisms, obstacles to use, and suggestions

Most lecturers pointed out that they had time constraints, and that the length of the materials made it difficult for them to mediate all of the key ideas presented in the materials let alone work through very many of the activities in the text. They were aware of the burden the materials placed on their students in terms of time commitment but they pointed out that generally students who made the effort to work through the guide and the set activities had benefited enormously from this work.

In relation to the amount of reading required of the students, some lecturers wondered if the students would indeed do the reading they had been set in preparation for lectures. There were mixed views on this, ranging from doubting that students would (or even could) do the reading, to a belief that the readings were possible, if students put in sufficient effort. (This was also said to be the experience of lecturers – some students did and some did not prepare for lectures as requested.)

Lecturers themselves felt confident enough to facilitate the materials with their student groups, but they worried about the ability of tutors, who lacked experience, if they were tasked with facilitating the materials with several groups. (The examples of UKZN and Wits LSEN can be noted here. In 2007 the two lecturers at UKZN used the materials in two different courses with a group of about 15 students, but in 2008 they were expecting 700 students. The Wits LSEN ACE had a group of 30 students in 2007 and a group of 143 students in 2008. Reports of these uses have not yet been heard.)

The amount of mathematical content in the guide was seen as a potential problem. Some lecturers felt that a great deal of prior teaching was needed for students to complete certain activities, and they wondered if the mathematics coverage in the guide might create problems for students with an inadequate mathematical background.

The additional readings for Unit Six were seen as very useful and interesting but also very long. This issue was not resolved in the discussions.

Some of the activities in the materials call for active classroom reflection, which assumes that students using the materials are practising teachers. The materials are thus not suitable for pre-service teacher education programmes where full-time students only have brief periods of teaching experience at set times in the year. This was seen as something that individual lecturers could adapt where necessary according to their student group. The majority of users


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of the materials were from in-service teacher education programmes with students who are practising teachers.

An evaluation of the negative comments and suggestions indicates that individual users have differing perspectives on the use of materials. The findings indicate that users were able to adapt the materials to suit their purposes – making obstacles less enduring than they may be in the case of published materials. The accessibility and adaptablity of the OERs mean that users can overcome the problems they encounter with the materials according to their particular needs and circumstances.

Models for reuse, reworking, remixing and redistribution

The goal of the project was to pilot a collaborative process for sharing, adapting, and reusing learning materials for teacher education in an OER environment. The collaborative process was discussed in Part 1 of this paper. The data (summarised in Part 2) that were collected at the various implementation sites give insight into the potential for reuse of the materials based on adaptation and reuse in the pilot phase. This reuse of the materials is discussed below, where each different form of reuse is put forward as a potential model for reuse.

What is it about OERs that facilitates reuse?

As a result of the licensing arrangements and electronic formats, OERs are freely available for adaptation and reuse:• without the cumbersome and often expensive process of permission seeking;• without limitation on how much of the material is used; and• with relative ease, because they are presented in electronic formats that facilitate reuse.

Does the existence of freely available and freely adaptable material help?

Through this project it was possible to test the variety of ways in which these particular OERs were taken up, and whether or not they were perceived to be of value to those who used them. The positive feedback from both the student and the lecturer user groups indicate that the materials have a lot to offer. All lecturers, whether they used the full guide or only part thereof, indicated that the materials had been used in an area of need. The materials proved distinctly helpful.

How does adaptation/reuse vary?

Adaptation/reuse varies according to the needs of users and the constraints under which they are operating. The experience of the user also plays a role in the extent to which s/he uses and adapts the materials, though this is also subject to operating constraints.

This section describes six different models of take-up of the SAIDE ACEMaths materials. One way of categorising these models is in terms of the four main types of activity enabled by OERs (see Wiley 2008):

Reuse – Use the work verbatim, just exactly as you found it Rework – Alter or transform the work so that it better meets your needs Remix – Combine the (verbatim or altered) work with other works to better meet your needsRedistribute – Share the verbatim work, the reworked work, or the remixed work with others (Wiley 2008)


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ENT The take-up of the SAIDE ACEMaths materials represents six different possible models, which

can be classified according to Wiley’s (2008) categories.

Reuse: simply using the SAIDE ACEMaths materials in the form in which they have been produced by the collaborative team from SAIDE without any adaptation.• In the first model of reuse of the OER materials, the lecturer who used the materials was able

to maintain his existing programmes without change, but could bring in the SAIDE ACEMaths materials to consolidate and elucidate concepts being taught in his courses. The lecturer used one unit as an additional reading. No existing material was dropped to accommodate the new material – it was simply added to the existing body of material given to the students.

• A second model of reuse of the materials was seen where the lecturer replaced the existing course materials for a part of one of her courses. This lecturer used two units after she had decided that the quality of the materials was good enough and that they were applicable for that particular aspect of her course.

• A third example of reuse, in this case of the full set of SAIDE ACEMaths materials, was seen at three of the sites. The full set of materials was used exactly as produced by the collaborative team. Lecturers using the SAIDE ACEMaths materials in this way made full use of the availability of the materials, and used them to replace or create materials for an entire module within a course programme.

Rework: using the SAIDE ACEMaths materials but revising them as needed to make them better suited to their application in the given programme.• At one of the sites, after the lecturer had used the full set of materials for one of her modules,

she decided to rework the materials, to bring them more in line with the presentation of her other course material. In this model the lecturer made excellent use of the SAIDE ACEMaths materials, while at the same time ensuring greater uniformity of the materials. This was seen as an improvement since it created less potential for stress in the student group in relation to differences in the material for the different modules for which they register.

Remix: using the SAIDE ACEMaths materials – either unadapted or in a revised form – and including them together with other material to produce a substantially different final set of materials ready for application in a programme.• In the first model of remixing of the materials, lecturers at two of the institutions in the pilot

study produced new course materials, including one full ACEMaths unit as part of the new materials. They used the unit fully and without any adaptation. Lecturers who have existing material are able to add material from the SAIDE ACEMaths materials in this way in order to create new study materials that incorporate the OER material together with other material.

• In the second model of remixing of the materials, the lecturer rewrote her existing course material, adding to them substantial excerpts from the ACEMaths materials. In this model, lecturers who have existing material are able to revise material from the SAIDE ACEMaths materials and combine them with other material in order to create new study materials, which incorporate the new material and the existing material. This constitutes revision of the SAIDE ACEMaths materials, implying the need not only to supplement the material chosen from the SAIDE ACEMaths materials but also to customise it in some way or another. This customisation is possible because of the nature of the OERs.

There was no example of redistribution in the pilot study. Only at the end of the pilot were the materials redistributed through the OER Africa website. In addition to this, the two revisions produced by users during the pilot period will be uploaded for redistribution.


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Conclusion

The scale, variety and quality of the take-up indicates that the potential of OERs in teacher education can be realised in practice in ways that save time and money and build capacity across the system.• The free availability of the SAIDE ACEMaths materials meant that where they were seen to

meet a need they could be used, with a reduction in the cost and time entailed in developing new materials.

• The availability of the materials as OERs assisted by eliminating the need for purchase of published materials. This was particularly important for the institutions that used the full set of units.

• Adaptability of the SAIDE ACEMaths materials (made possible through licensing and availability in electronic format) gave users the freedom to customise the materials to meet their own particular needs. This is a distinguishing feature of OER materials licensed to allow derivatives, since conventionally licensed published materials cannot be customised and can only be supplemented where they do not meet a particular need.

• The fact that the ACEMaths materials were OERs meant that they could be absorbed into other materials, enriching these materials, without distracting from the general flow. This was also made possible by the electronic format of the materials, from which and into which cutting and pasting follow naturally.

• As OERs, the ACEMaths materials could be reused in whatever form suited the user, without limitation on the amount of material reused. This allowed for a better fit of the materials into existing programmes according to users’ needs.

• As OERs, the ACEMaths materials could (can) be used for successive groups of students on the same programme, or further groups of students on different programmes, without the need to request special permission.

In conclusion, the SAIDE ACEMaths project has given practical expression to the strategy articulated in the policy research on distance education undertaken for the CHE. It has shown a way to set up and manage a ‘virtual centre of innovation for course design and development’ for the development and use of quality learning resources in an OER environment.

Endnotes1. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Centre for Educational Research and

Innovation2. This institution is colloquially known as Wits.3. For more, see Creative Commons. License your work. http://creativecommons.org/license/4. The site can be viewed at: www.oerafrica.org/Communities/ACEMathematics_Home.aspx5. At Wits the contact sessions are known as ‘residentials’, since they are periods when the students are in

residence at the university.

ReferencesAlbright P (2005) Internet discussion forum: Open Educational Resources: Open content for higher education.

Final forum report. International Institute for Educational Planning. Accessed February 2008, www.unesco.org/iiep/virtualuniversity/forums.php

Council on Higher Education (CHE) (2004) Enhancing the contribution of distance higher education in South Africa. Report of an investigation led by the South African Institute for Distance Education. Pretoria: CHE


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ENT Department of Education (DoE) (1997) Education White Paper 3. A programme for higher education

transformation. Government Gazette No. 18207, 15 August. Pretoria: DoEDoE (2001) Education White Paper 6: Special needs education, building an inclusive education and training

system. Pretoria: DoEHylén J (2006) Open educational resources: Opportunities and challenges. Accessed May 2007,

www.oecd.org/dataoecd/5/47/37351085.pdfSAIDE (South African Institute for Distance Education) (2008) Teaching and learning mathematics in

diverse classrooms. Johannesburg: SAIDEAvailable at www.oerafrica.org/ACEMathematics/0_unit.aspx

Welch T (2008) On OERs: Five ideas to guide engagement with the open educational resources ‘movement’. Accessed February 2009, www.oerafrica.org/content/current/AboutCOP_Home.aspx

Wenger E (2007a) Communities of practice as an approach to NQF development. Workshop for the Third Annual National Qualifications Framework Colloquium, Velmore Conference Estate, Pretoria (5 June)

Wenger E (2007b) Social discipline of learning – key dimensions. Presentation at the Third Annual NQF Colloquium, Velmore Conference Estate, Pretoria (5 June)

Wiley D (2008) Open Education License Draft. Blog. Iterating toward openness. Accessed February 2008, http://opencontent.org/blog/archives/355

THEME: SCHOOL MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT


Managing to learn – instructional leadership in South African secondary schoolsUrsula Hoadley, Pam Christie and Cathy WardHuman Sciences Research Council

This paper reports on an empirical study of the management of curriculum and instruction in South African secondary schools. Drawing on data collected from 200 schools in 2007, a series of regression analyses tested the relationship between various dimensions of leadership and student achievement gains over time. While the research confirms what we do know about school management in South Africa, and aligns with much of the international research base, the strong emphasis that emerges on school–community relations offers important insights for school management development.

Keywords

school leadership and managementStudent Achievement Gains Over Time (SAGOT)South Africaschool–community relationshome–school relations

Introduction

This paper reports on a research study of curriculum management conducted in South African secondary schools in 2007. The study aimed to gain greater understanding of an issue of growing prominence in policy and research discussions – how school management might contribute to improved student1 achievement outcomes.

The terrain of school management in South Africa has experienced seismic shifts in the post-apartheid period since 1994. A raft of new education policies, some directed towards dismantling apartheid practices and others towards building a new system, effectively reconfigured the work of school leadership and management. While, under apartheid, most school principals had very limited authority over finance, staffing and curriculum (see Fleisch and Christie 2004), the new dispensation gave considerable responsibility to schools for all of these. In terms of finance and governance, the South African Schools Act (No. 84 of 1996) introduced a system of School Governing Bodies (SGBs) for all schools, as well as forms of school-based management. New funding arrangements allowed for fees to be levied, introducing a quasi-market into schooling, and at the same time provision was made for a measure of funding redistribution in favour of poor schools. In terms of staffing, a new labour relations dispensation regulated teachers’ conditions of work and appraisal, but in many schools conflictual labour relations prevailed


as part of the legacy of apartheid. In terms of curriculum, the post-apartheid government introduced a complex new outcomes-based curriculum, which was largely empty of content and which required considerable development work to be done at school level.

The new policies, designed to change the system from top to bottom, met with mixed success. They set out an ideal-type vision for a new system of equal quality for all, but they did not speak to the conditions of the majority of schools, nor adequately address the deep historical inequalities and the uneven quality that existed within and across the country’s schools. The best functioning schools in the system were able to use the new management dispensation to raise fees, employ ‘governing body’ teachers, provide salary supplements, and offer a broad curriculum with specialist support; not so, however, the majority of schools in the system, often in communities too poor to pay fees, without capable governing bodies, without libraries, laboratories and computer networks to support the new curriculum, and often with demotivated teachers.

The management of curriculum change, under these general conditions of system change, has proven to be a continuing challenge. A matter of growing concern is the persistent poor performance of South African students, not only on international tests such as TIMSS (where South Africa has twice come last) but also on national tests (see Christie 2008; Reddy 2006). So dire is the situation that educationists such as Taylor (2006) have estimated that 80% of schools are not functioning adequately, particularly in terms of performance in mathematics. Equally disconcerting are the patterns of continuing inequality throughout the system, with former white schools generally achieving the best results in the system, and former African ‘homeland’ schools the worst (see Christie et al. 2007).

The present study – the first of its kind in South Africa in terms of scale and focus – set out to investigate the management of curriculum in South African secondary schools in the context outlined above. More specifically, it aimed to gather information on how curriculum is managed across different types of secondary schools in different social contexts, and to identify the key dimensions of the management of curriculum and instruction that affect student achievement outcomes.

The paper begins with a brief overview of South African research on school leadership and management. It then considers international literature on leadership and, in particular, instructional leadership, and shows how it was used to develop a framework for the present study. The research processes of the study are discussed, followed by an analysis of results. While the research confirms what we do know about school management in South Africa, and aligns with much of the international research base, the strong emphasis that emerges on school–community relations offers important insights for school management development in South Africa.

South African studies on leadership

The South African leadership research base is very limited. Studies on the availability of training and development and the needs of school managers dominate the field (Krause & Powell 2002; Mestry & Grobler 2002; Sayed 2000; Tsukudu & Taylor 1995; Van der Westhuizen et al. 2004). What these studies show is that most principals have not received adequate specialist training, especially in financial management and instructional leadership. Much research on the foregoing issues focuses on policy rather than actual practice. Bush et al. (2006), in their review of research on leadership and management, argue that most of the research into leadership is ‘not conceptually rich’, and assert the need for a theory of leadership relevant to the South African context.

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Knowledge of how principals manage curriculum in schools in South Africa is therefore limited. Although there are detailed normative frameworks (often from elsewhere) on what principals should do, there is little consideration of the reality of the work of principals in particular contexts, and what they actually do. Some clues are offered in relation to school management by the early school-effectiveness studies in South Africa, however. These studies show empirically a number of school-level management practices that are associated with better-than-expected student performance in South Africa. What has been shown to be significant in terms of management variables in relation to improved student outcomes include the following:• The regulation of time (Fleisch & Christie 2004; Gustafsson 2005; Van der Berg et al. 2005).• Monitoring and support for planning and delivery in relation to curriculum coverage

(Gustafsson 2005; Kanjee & Prinsloo 2005; Taylor & Prinsloo 2005; Van der Berg et al. 2005).• Procurement and management of books and stationery (Gustafsson 2005; Kanjee & Prinsloo

2005; Taylor & Prinsloo 2005; Van der Berg et al. 2005).• Quality assurance of tests and the monitoring of results (Kanjee & Prinsloo 2005; Taylor &

Prinsloo 2005).

One of the key findings of this small group of studies is that resources are important, but it is ‘not only the presence of school resources but how these are used which contribute to learning differentials’ (Taylor 2007: 536). In Taylor’s view, efficient use of resources ‘is a central problem in South African schooling and one which we know least about’ (2007: 536).

These South African studies lend greater specificity to what we might look for in terms of what effective principals do in schools. The first factor is time regulation, which has been pinpointed in a number of studies over a period of time (Gustafsson 2005; Taylor et al. 2003). In particular, a recent study by Chisholm et al. (2005) shows how principals’ time is largely consumed by administrative activities. The second factor is curriculum leadership and management, where management oversight – including of teachers constructing their plans, and the monitoring of curriculum coverage and management of textbooks and stationery – has been associated with positive effects on student performance (Kanjee & Prinsloo 2005; Taylor & Prinsloo 2005; Van der Berg et al. 2005). These issues were included in the design of the study presented in this paper.

The relationship between school management and student outcomes

There is consensus in the US and European literature, and increasingly also in South African research, that school managers play a crucial role in creating the conditions for improved instruction (Marsh 2002; Spillane 2004; Taylor 2007). What is less understood is how the principal contributes.

Empirical studies of the effect of leadership on student achievement show that effects are small and indirect (Barker 2007). There is some consensus in the literature that leadership has an indirect effect on student outcomes through its direct effect on instructional organisation and culture (Kruger et al. 2007). Hallinger and Heck (1998) argue that researchers’ questions have shifted from whether principals make a difference, to ‘more particularly the paths through which such effects are achieved’ (1998: 187). They contend that the principals’ primary influence on schooling outcomes is in shaping the school’s direction – the setting of visions, missions and goals. Another way of putting this is that it is about principals creating the conditions of possibility for teaching and learning, or the establishment of a form of organisational containment that enables teaching and learning and that sets a climate of expectations. Hallinger’s (2000) model proposes three sets of leadership dimensions: defining the school’s mission; managing the instructional programme; and promoting a positive learning climate. In similar vein, Leithwood et al. (2004) and Leithwood and Rhiehl (2005) identify four core sets of practices for successful leadership: setting directions; developing people; redesigning the organisation; and managing the instructional programme.

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There is in fact remarkable consistency across this literature with regard to what constitutes effective leadership of curriculum and instruction. Leithwood et al. (2004), however, caution against the ‘leadership by adjective literature’ (2004: 6). They argue that we need more robust understandings of leadership practices, and of responses to external policy initiatives and to local needs and priorities. That said, the lists of characteristics of effective instructional leadership are useful in drawing attention to the possibilities of instructional leadership, and in guiding further research.

In designing the present study, we drew five themes from literature on leadership and, in particular, leadership of teaching and learning. These refer to the issues of principals’ pedagogical expertise; distributed leadership; linkages between management and instruction; context; and organisational features.

Pedagogical expertise

Stein and Nelson (2003) raise the question of whether generic studies of leadership suffice in deepening our understanding of what it means to lead a school. They argue that ‘[w]ithout knowledge that connects subject matter, learning and teaching to acts of leadership, leadership floats disconnected from the very processes it is designed to govern’ (2003: 446).

Both Southworth (2002) and Hill (2001) stress the importance of leaders’ understanding of learning. Hill (2001) argues that principals’ knowledge is often dated, based on ‘increasingly distant memories of a former life in the classroom’ (2001: 1). In the South African context, a study by Roberts and Roach (2006) on five effective schools found that principals in these schools maintained what they termed a ‘connection to the classroom’. In these schools all principals carried a significant load with respect to teaching.

Thus, a concern in our study was to consider the levels of principals’ own pedagogic expertise – how and whether it was deployed, and what effect it had on student outcomes.

Distributed leadership

Starting with Gronn’s (2000) preliminary taxonomy, the notion of distributed leadership has become prominent in the instructional leadership literature, as well as in management studies, development and training bodies. Spillane et al. (2004) provide perhaps one of the most theoretically developed accounts of this notion of distributed leadership, which is at the core of instructional leadership. They assert that leadership is a property of a number of actors at the school level, and is not invested solely in the principal. In their terms, leadership is ‘stretched over’ a number of roles, including ‘followers’, and also over situations, which include artefacts and organisational structures within the school. The concept of distributed leadership has been criticised for being poorly defined, with little consensus around its precise meaning. Hartley (2007) argues that its ‘conceptual elasticity is considerable. And this lack of conceptual clarity does not allow for a clear operationalisation of the concept in empirical research’ (2007: 202). Other criticisms include the fact that it ignores the micropolitics of the school, and does not take account of the socio-economic context of the school, and its impact.

What is useful, however, is the notion of ‘dispersal’ of leadership, not just across different actors, but also structures and artefacts. The approach taken in this study was that, in looking for evidence of leadership of learning we should not expect it to inhere exclusively, or even primarily, in the principal.

Linkages between management and instruction

Lee and Dimmock (1999), in a somewhat different approach, identify three key themes related to the leadership of the curriculum. The first is the extent to which the curriculum is actually

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managed, or whether it ‘just happens’ through teachers working interdependently. The second is the degree to which principals are involved in the management of curriculum, or whether it is left to Heads of Department (HoDs) and teachers. The third is how, when principals are involved, they bring their influence to bear (Lee & Dimmock 1999). These questions are interesting in that they do not assume that principals do or should undertake instructional leadership.

The approach in this study was to allow for influence over the curriculum to be exercised in different ways, and to consider how school visions translate into practice.

Context

A number of authors call attention to the importance of considering context (see Lingard et al. 2002). Those aspects relevant to context are: geographic location of the school (urban/suburban/ rural); level of schooling (secondary/primary); small and large schools; the student population, including socio-economic level and support agencies; the historical context; and the policy context.

Influence of context was considered to be particularly significant in South Africa, where historical inequalities remain profound in schooling, and was thus a key concern in designing our study. One of the key relationships we identified was between the school and its community – which did indeed emerge as a significant variable in this study.

Organisational features

Lingard et al. (2002) and Christie and Lingard (2001) offer an approach to leadership that straddles the individual, organisational and structural aspects of principals’ work. They support the notion that what principals might do that is of most importance and effect is to create the conditions for effective teaching and learning in the complex field of schools. Organisational aspects, such as the management of time, and structuring the day for learning, are of crucial importance in creating organisational containment and establishing expectations around good quality teaching and learning within the school. The social relations within the school as an organisation are also important to consider, especially in terms of professional exchanges between staff about curriculum and instruction. Given the nature of the South African curriculum, such exchanges are particularly important in terms of designing and delivering learning programmes.

What this meant for our research design was that organisational-level factors were important to consider, above individual-level strategies or traits. These organisational aspects were privileged in the research design and data collection. The nature of social relations within the school was also included in the design.

Research procedures

Sample and methodology

Two provinces – the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape – were selected for study. These two provinces vary significantly in terms of performance in the Grade 12 school-leaving2 examination, and also vary economically, politically and socially – differences that impact on the schooling system in particular ways (see Fiske and Ladd 2005).

A stratified sample of 142 secondary schools was drawn from the two provinces: 66 in the Eastern Cape and 76 in the Western Cape. The sampling strategy aimed for a spread of urban and rural schools. Rural schools constituted 53% of the total sample and urban schools 47%. The sample was also stratified in terms of former education department (apartheid designations), which

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remain an index of level of dis/advantage.3 Schools in the sample had a range of school fees. Using fees as a measure of wealth, 42% of the schools in the sample could be classified as poor (with fees of R200 per year or less), while 18% of the schools (which charge fees of R2 001 and above per year) could be classified as wealthy. The remaining 40% of schools charged between R201 and R2 000 per year. Finally, for reasons we describe below, schools were also selected in terms of the change in their performance between 2004 and 2006 on the senior certificate (‘matric’) exam. An even number of schools that had experienced gains and decreases in their senior certificate results were selected. In total there were 66 improving schools, 12 consistently high-achieving schools, and 64 declining schools.

Drawing loosely on the typology provided by Lingard et al. (2002), as well as the South African and international literature reviewed above, we identified six components in a typology of leadership. These were: the instructional focus of the school; vision and expectations; dispersal of leadership; social relations within the school; management of resources; and external relations. These 6 components were developed into 29 items, which formed the basis of questionnaires for administration in the schools. In each school 3 questionnaires were distributed – to the principal, a senior manager (deputy principal or HoD), and a teacher. This facilitated triangulation of responses to questions regarding the management of teaching and learning, and also allowed for a consideration of the distribution of leadership across the organisation. Collection of data from 3 sources was also intended to reduce bias, and to widen the ‘angle of observation’ (Schatzman & Strauss 1973). This was particularly important given that the study relied solely on the self-report of actors in the school. Student achievement data were obtained from the provincial departments of education.

Student achievement gains over time

It is well known that schools in South Africa vary radically in terms of their levels of resourcing (both human and physical), the kinds of communities that they serve, and the student results that they produce. Many of these differences are the legacy of an extremely unequal education system established under apartheid. The inequalities in schooling have been further entrenched in the post-apartheid era through the establishment of a quasi-market in education, where schools are able to set their own fees. In trying to establish a relationship between management practices and student achievement, then, we felt that it would be unproductive to examine schools in terms of their absolute scores on the senior certificate examination, since these follow known patterns of inequality (see Christie et al. 2007). Rather, we were interested in whether schools were improving or declining on this measure.

We therefore used, as our dependent variable in the analyses, the difference between 2004 and 2006 scores, or Student Achievement Gains Over Time (SAGOT). The final, Grade 12 school-leaving exam results are a restricted measure of student outcomes. However, since this is the one measure that is available for all schools for all years, it was chosen as the best possible representation of changes in student outcomes over the years. In the study, we refer to those schools whose SAGOT had improved over the three-year period as ‘improving schools’, and those whose SAGOT had declined as ‘declining schools’. Improving schools would include those schools that had maintained a high and steady pass rate over a three-year period.

Analytic procedures

Frequency counts and cross-tabulations were used to provide descriptive detail of the sample. Associations between SAGOT and other variables were investigated using linear regression. In each analysis, we used SAGOT as a continuous variable, and, because the sample size was relatively small, a criterion of p<0.1 to establish significance. Although a number of regression models were run, each was hypothesis-driven and we therefore did not make any corrections to the p-value. SAGOT (being an indication of gains over time) measures the difference between two scores, and therefore does not account for schools’ absolute senior certificate pass rates

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(i.e. a SAGOT score of 0 – no change – could equally apply to schools with senior certificate pass rates of 95% and 20% respectively). In order to control for this, the 2004 senior certificate pass rate was included in each analysis as a control variable. We also explored whether any of the following were significant and should therefore be included in the analyses as control variables: province, the urban/rural distinction, and former education department. Both province and urban/rural, when entered into separate analyses, were found to be significant, as were some of the former departments. We retained former department as a second control variable in all models. In addition, because Socio-economic Status (SES) is known to be strongly associated with educational outcomes, and because the fees charged by the school are a good indicator of the SES of parents, we explored whether school fees might also be an appropriate control variable. Since the variable was highly skewed, we used the log of the school fees per year as the control variable. The variable of school fee category was found to be significantly associated with SAGOT, and we therefore retained it as a control variable in all models.

Limitations

Three limitations were identified in the study. The first was that senior certificate results are a limited measure of school quality. They do not differentiate between low average pass rates and high rates (which the mean aggregate mark of candidates within a particular school might tell us, for example), and may not be strictly comparable due to issues of standardisation of question papers from one year to the next (Umalusi 2004).

The second limitation of the study is that although it focused on change in achievement scores over time, it did not measure changes in leadership practices over time. Thus, it is not possible to make a direct link between improved scores and particular management styles. Rather than establishing causal relationships between management styles and strategies and improved senior certificate results, the study established what management practices in schools are associated with improvement in student learning. As such, the study has been able to suggest which practices would bear further research in a longitudinal study (the design that would be necessary to establish causality in this instance).

Thirdly, as in most studies of this nature, the results of the study are based on self-report data. Thus responses could have reflected subjective perceptions, or socially acceptable answers rather than being actual reflections of reality. Attempts were made in the development of the survey to capture facts rather than opinions, in an attempt to minimise the subjective bias. In addition, in several cases responses were triangulated between a principal, a deputy or HoD respondent, and a teacher. The fact remains, nevertheless, that the responses were not independently verified.

Although these limitations curtail the claims that can be made in this study, and we are not in a position to make any strong causal links between management practices and student achievement, the research nonetheless provides a more comprehensive picture of school management in South Africa than has hitherto existed.

Findings

The vast majority of principals were male, and most had at least an honours degree. Most of the principals had more than five years’ experience as a principal (and most of this experience was at their current school). Two interesting aspects emerged from principals’ responses. The first was that principals reported spending most of their time on administrative functions and disciplining learners. ‘Instructional leadership’ – as read through ‘overseeing teaching and curriculum’ and ‘supervising teachers’ – was not a function that took up the majority of many principals’ time.

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Relatedly, the second aspect was that the management of curriculum and instruction was dispersed across the school. This was an explicit finding – only 17% of principals identified overseeing curriculum and instruction as their main task. About a third of principals claimed that they were primarily responsible for ensuring curriculum coverage, whereas the majority stated that this was the responsibility of the senior managers. This was confirmed by the teacher responses – 62% reported that overseeing curriculum coverage was primarily the task of HoDs and subject heads.

Variables associated with SAGOT

Unsurprisingly, we found that the poverty level of the school, which we derived from the school fees charged, makes the biggest difference to a school’s SAGOT. This confirms the broader research base on the strong relationship between SES and student achievement (see, for example, Lam 1999; Louw et al. 2007). Poorer schools were more likely to experience a decline or a small improvement in their senior certificate results over time. Controlling for SES, our concern then was whether we could see any significant effects of school management on SAGOT.

As mentioned earlier, for each of the 6 dimensions derived from the literature described above, hypotheses were generated to guide the analysis. Of the 29 hypotheses that were developed for the 6 dimensions of leadership, regression analyses resulted in 8 variables showing significance in relation to SAGOT. Table 11.I shows the significant variables together with the dimensions of which they formed part. For 2 of the dimensions, there were no significant variables.

Table 11.1: Leadership dimensions and significant variables

Dimension Construct

Instructional focus of the school School curriculum is covered.School has a well-worked out plan to improve student results.School day is structured for maximum student learning.

Social relations within the school Positive relations between staff members at the school.Collaboration between teachers at the school.

Management of resources Effective management of LTSM4 in the school.

External relations of the school Parental valuing of and support for education.SGB’s willingness to help in the school.

Vision and expectations5 No significant variables.

Dispersal of leadership No significant variables.

A learning-centred school

The findings show the central importance of the instructional focus of the school. This is manifested in curriculum coverage, the day being structured for maximum student learning, and the school having a well-worked out plan to improve student results. Curriculum coverage showed a particularly strong relationship to SAGOT. Arguably, covering the curriculum is one of the most important functions of the school. Without curriculum coverage, students’ chances of learning and achievement are greatly diminished. Relatedly, the importance of the day being structured for maximum learning is particularly important in the South African context, where existing research suggests that school time is not always well used for maximum learning (see Chisholm et al. 2005; Hoadley 2003).

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Taken together, these three variables suggest key aspects of instruction upon which an improving school might focus.

What is interesting is that none of the individual-level factors, especially those concerned with the principal’s pedagogical expertise and ‘connection to the classroom’, emerged as significant. What the study suggests rather is the importance of a broader, institutional view of instructional leadership alluded to in the literature, which emphasises teacher cultures and school organisation rather than focusing only on individual teacher and manager behaviours that influence student learning (Southworth 2002).

Positive school culture

Within-school relations also emerged as having a significant effect on SAGOT. Specifically, positive relations between teachers and managers, and collaborative relations between teachers, were positively associated with better student achievement outcomes. The latter suggests the importance of collaborative teacher cultures, as identified, for example, by Hargreaves (2001) and Darling-Hammond and Sykes (1999). The link between a positive school culture and management practices is indirect. However, good social relations between staff are unlikely to be established and maintained if they are not supported by the principal and senior management. This finding is also congruent with research on the effects of ‘professional learning communities’ in schools (see Bryk and Driscoll 1988; Newmann and Associates 1996). What these might entail in the South African context, and what the primary focus of such groupings might be, requires further research.

Positive home–school relations

What was perhaps more surprising in the analysis, and the issue that emerged as most significant in the final analysis, was the importance of the relationship between parents and the school. Parental valuing of and support for education, and the willingness of the SGB to assist in the school, were both found to have significant effects on SAGOT.

That said, good relations between the parent community and the school are not necessarily attributable directly to principals’ practices. In the analysis, principals reported spending little time on liaising with parents and the SGB, or dealing with issues in the community. We have no way of telling from these data whether these relations were directly affected by the principals or whether a particular management strategy fostered good relations.

The interpretation of this finding is further complicated. Based on perceptions of the school, the finding could reflect a culture of blame in schools that are faring poorly, and that place the responsibility for student achievement solely on the homes of students rather than the school. The finding, rather than being the outcome of any management practice, could also be a reflection of the types of practices and values in the home that are contributing to better student achievement outcomes. Thus the finding, although showing significance in the regression, is suggestive rather than conclusive.

Nonetheless, the development of ‘social trust’ (Sebring & Bryk 2000) between the school and community emerges as key, as does the importance of the SGB in achieving SAGOT. It is also worth bearing in mind that these items are significant after controlling for SES. In other words, in all schools, regardless of the poverty level of the community, supportive parents and an SGB willing to assist the school were found to make a difference to the improvement or decline of student results at that school.

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Good resource management

Finally, confirming a number of South African studies, the management of LTSM also emerged as a significant variable in the analyses. The management of staff, and the management of other financial resources, did not emerge as significant. However, in relation to instruction in particular, making sure that textbooks and learning materials are available and well controlled has been a stable finding in local research for some time (see Taylor et al. 2003). In short, this study supports the argument that the central issue is not the sufficiency of resources, but their effective management.

Leadership dispersal

In the analysis, items related to the dispersal of leadership and to a culture of expectation did not emerge as significant to SAGOT. However, considering the typology of leadership that we designed, various aspects of the six dimensions we identified emerged as significant. This suggests that the importance of leadership lies across various dimensions, rather than inhering strongly in a particular dimension. A tentative claim can be made that successful leadership of curriculum and instruction involves the ability to oversee a wide range of functions, most of which do not relate directly to teaching and learning.

Moreover, as mentioned earlier, the majority of principals saw curriculum coverage as the responsibility of senior managers, rather than themselves. Given that curriculum coverage did emerge as significant for SAGOT, this suggests that leadership of curriculum and instruction is likely to have been dispersed – a point that has a number of implications. These refer in part to training, and who is trained in what functions to ensure the good leadership of teaching and learning. However, this finding also points to the importance of developing positive and collaborative teacher relations within the school, in order for dispersed curriculum leadership to operate effectively. In other words, we tentatively suggest that, to be effective, dispersed leadership requires strong teacher cultures. Again, this bears further research.

The final model

Our next step was to enter the eight significant variables into a model, to see which remained significant. We used the criterion of p<0.05 to determine significance.6 The results are shown in Table 11.2.

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Table 11.2: The final model

Variables Unstandardised coefficients

Standardised coefficients

B-weights SE of B-weights

Beta weights t-score Significance

(Constant) -19.806 16.974 -1.167 0.246

Senior certificate pass rate 2004

-0.796 0.068 -1.045 -11.687 0.000

HoA 6.644 5.550 0.137 1.197 0.234

HoR 4.797 4.495 0.101 1.067 0.288

New education department -0.937 5.622 -0.012 -0.167 0.868

Ciskei -17.475 5.182 -0.253 -3.372 0.001

Transkei -5.681 4.671 -0.099 -1.216 0.226

Log of school fees per year 0.577 1.175 0.035 0.491 0.625

Average of curriculum completed

7.100 3.028 0.161 2.344 0.021

Effective management of LTSM 2.477 3.745 0.057 0.661 0.510

SGB’s willingness to help 12.323 5.775 0.130 2.134 0.035

School has plan to improve student results

-0.826 1.337 -0.048 -0.618 0.538

Positive relations between staff members

0.142 0.605 0.023 0.235 0.815

School day structured for maximum student learning

0.784 1.259 0.049 0.623 0.535

Parental valuing of and support for education

1.592 0.526 0.274 3.027 0.003

Collaboration between staff 0.642 1.527 0.036 0.420 0.675

This model suggests that, after controlling for all other variables, what remains significant is the following: curriculum coverage, parental valuing of and support for education, and the willingness of the SGB to help. This does not mean that the other variables are not important, but that when all other variables are held stable, these three variables emerge as making the greatest positive difference to SAGOT.

Conclusion

As mentioned at the start of this paper, the terrain of school management and leadership in South Africa has undergone significant changes in the post-apartheid era. Not least among these changes are the introduction of SGBs and school-based management, and the implementation of an outcomes-based curriculum that devolves a considerable degree of decision-making to schools and teachers.

In this context, the findings of this research point to the importance of parental support and engagement as well as the instructional focus of the school in achieving SAGOT. These issues, we suggest, may be important points for school management development towards improved student learning outcomes.

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Endnotes1. ‘Student’ in this paper means a school-going learner.2. Previously, this final, school-leaving exam was the senior certificate, widely referred to as ‘matric;

however in 2008, for the first time, Grade 12 school leavers wrote a new school-leaving exam, the National Senior Certificate, based on a new curriculum. At the time of the present study research, the school-leaving exam was still the senior certificate (‘matric’).

3. The categories of former education department were: House of Assembly (HoA), House of Representatives (HoR), Ciskei, Transkei, Department of Education and Training (DET), and new education department (the latter covering schools built under the new government).

4. Learning and Teaching Support Material5. Initially the question of purposes, vision and goals of the school was the object of interest. We were

interested in how these were related to curriculum and instruction, and the extent to which they were shared in the school. One of the problems in addressing this question was that the survey followed a major nation-wide teacher strike that had lasted a month; it was the biggest public sector strike since 1994. As a result, all of the schools surveyed were focused on recovery from the strike, and their missions and programmes were focused on preparation for the end-of-year exams. Consequently, little variation was found in the vision, mission or programmes of the schools. What we were interested in, however, was linked to the vision of the school, and concerned the expectations that school staff had for student performance. In the analysis this was found to be non-significant in relation to SAGOT. The level of curriculum offered was also considered and found to be non-significant. These issues were grouped under the heading ‘vision and expectations’.

6. Using the stricter criterion of p<0.01 to determine significance, only parental valuing of education remained significant.

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Developing school information systems for identifying, supporting and monitoring orphans and vulnerable childrenLiora HellmannSouth African Institute for Distance Education

The term Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) is used to identify a wide range of learners who are in need due to various socio-economic factors, including HIV and AIDS. The impact of these factors can be mitigated, and the lives of these learners enhanced, if school managers are aware of the number and type of learners in need and what kinds of support are required. This can be done by developing a data management system from existing school records. Currently, most schools keep a list of the number of OVC in the school. However, few schools in the research study were able to provide the exact criteria that they use to identify vulnerable learners – and tended to rely on teacher observations (informal); with the result that schools lack a comprehensive list of the learners who are OVC. Additionally, none of the schools in the sample were found to keep records of the specific types of support required for every learner, or what support, if any, had been given. The purpose of the research study was to develop a toolkit to assist schools in developing an information system for identifying, supporting and monitoring OVC. The toolkit consists of a series of guides to assist participants in this process, to develop templates for identifying and monitoring OVC; the templates can be used as a reference source for developing strategies for supporting learners.

Keywords

Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC)Management Information System/s (MIS)data managementHIV and AIDS

Introduction

The HIV and AIDS pandemic has had far reaching impact in the education sector. At an individual school level, school management face a difficult task in developing appropriate measures to mitigate the impact of HIV and AIDS in their schools. This project has as its aim to research and assist schools in identifying and monitoring Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) (as a proxy measure for HIV and AIDS) by developing appropriate Management Information Systems (MIS) from existing data sources. In this way, school managers can identify the number of vulnerable learners in a simple and more systematic manner, even if the school is large and


under-resourced. Details regarding the types of support required can also be extracted from the data and this can assist in the planning, implementation and monitoring of interventions.

Project purpose

The purpose of this research project is to inform the development of a toolkit that will assist school managers in developing an MIS for the OVC in their schools. The data sources for the information system will be school records (including learner absenteeism and learner performance) and staff observations and reports. As such, the focus of the MIS toolkit is on adapting these records, and then developing a system to summarise and analyse the data so that they can be used in a meaningful way to identify OVC and their support needs. In the long term, the system will be able to assist school managers in better planning and managing a range of support interventions for learners deemed vulnerable due to a range of socio-economic factors, including HIV and AIDS.

Although the MIS can be either a manual system or an electronic one, the toolkit focuses on the manual version to ensure greater take-up and so as not to exclude schools that do not have access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).

Methodology

A review of relevant documents relating to education MIS, HIV and AIDS, and in particular the impact of the pandemic on learners and educators, was undertaken.

Following several project focus revisions, due to the difficulties encountered with introducing new MIS in education and in obtaining direct data (i.e. the number) with regard to learners infected and/or affected by HIV and AIDS, a framework was developed in which to understand the OVC MIS that would be designed. A draft toolkit was then compiled.

Site visits to two primary schools in Gauteng and four primary schools in the North West Province were conducted (see Appendix 12A, page 176). These schools were purposively selected as they reflect a range of schools in varied contexts: some best-practice schools, some average schools, and some schools struggling to cope with adequately supporting their vulnerable learners.

Findings on OVC data and school records, gathered in a related SAIDE research project – Managing Schools in an Environment of HIV and AIDS (SAIDE 2006–08) – were also used to inform the design of the toolkit.

The framework together with the findings of the site visits were used to refine the toolkit. This refined toolkit will be taken to school managers for a demonstration of use, and the resulting review and comments plus the feedback gained during trialling will be used to finalise the OVC MIS toolkit for distribution.

Structure of the paper

This paper begins with a discussion of the impact of contextual challenges on learners, and highlights the importance of addressing problems of OVC in education. This is followed by a brief overview of the Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) at national, provincial, district and individual school levels, and some of the challenges associated with each.

A variety of initiatives have been undertaken at national, provincial and district levels to obtain additional data that are not generated by the current system. One such initiative was the District

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Education Monitoring and Management Information System (DEMMIS), which was developed by the Mobile Task Team (MTT) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and was established to address some of the challenges of the impact of HIV and AIDS in education; this unit was operational from 2001 to 2006.

A brief description of the DEMMIS programme and an account of its piloting in South Africa and its subsequent take-up in some neighbouring African countries is provided.

The paper then shifts to the focus of this research project – namely, the development of a school information system that will assist school managers in identifying OVC, recording their individual support needs, and tracking the extent to which these needs are met.

Findings from the school-based research undertaken to gain an understanding of current school records and systems, as well as OVC data, are presented. A discussion of both best and poor practices in relation to data management highlights the issues that have informed the design and development of a set of simple tools for the collection of quality data.

An outline of the draft toolkit that has been developed follows, with the paper concluding with the way forward for the finalisation of this research project.

Impact of socio-economic challenges on learners

Socio-economic challenges such as poverty, conflict, crime, abuse, economic recession, integration of refugees, OVC, and HIV and AIDS, amongst others, have resulted in an increased number of ‘learners in need’ in education.

An increasingly large group of learners in South Africa who are in need (due to HIV and AIDS in particular) are OVC, which is the focus of this paper.

Over time, the definition of OVC has been adapted (UNICEF 2006) and has moved from children orphaned by HIV and AIDS where one or both parents are deceased, to a broader definition of children who are deemed vulnerable by virtue of the impact of HIV and AIDS and/or other socio-economic factors (Engle 2008).

In a publication developed by the World Bank, the Partnership for Child Development, UNICEF and UNAIDS in 2006 entitled Ensuring Education Access for Orphans and Vulnerable Children: A Planners’ Handbook, the following definition of ‘vulnerable’ is provided:

A vulnerable child = intrinsically vulnerable (e.g. a young child) + at risk + in need.At risk means that there is an increased likelihood that the child will be damaged.In need means that some intervention is required in order to prevent the child from being damaged. (World Bank et al. 2006)

Vulnerable children, then, are seen as those who are orphaned, hungry, living on their own or with sick grandparents or other family, or whose parents are sick, are not properly cared for at home, are abused, do not attend school, lack confidence or have emotional problems, amongst others (SAIDE 2006–08).

Such learners, who are striving to obtain the best education possible, now face significant barriers:

Economic hardship and reduced parental care and protection mean that orphans and vulnerable children may lose the opportunity to go to school…Many of these children drop out of school. They sometimes suffer from malnutrition and ill health

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and are at risk of exploitation and abuse, increasing the chances that they, too, will contract HIV/AIDS. (UNAIDS Inter-agency Task Team on Education and HIV/AIDS 2004)

As a result, these learners often struggle just to get into school or attend school regularly and/or achieve academically. For example:

• The opportunity cost of schooling may outweigh the advantages, where the learner will not go to school because he or she may need to take care of a sick person in the house or may need to earn income for the family (child labour);

• The parents may assess the learner as unable to cope with schooling and may not send the learner to school. For example, in the case of a learner suffering from health problems;

• The learner’s physical and emotional states will impact on his or her ability to concentrate and perform in class. (World Bank et al. 2006: 9)

It is difficult to establish causal links between school enrolment, attendance and academic achievement, on the one hand, and OVC, on the other, due to the complex nature of the problem of OVC (UNAIDS Inter-agency Task Team on Education and HIV/AIDS 2004). However, research conducted on enrolment trends and absenteeism can be used as a means of providing some understanding of the extent of the OVC problem in schools.

Two studies focusing on enrolment and learner absenteeism are described below:• A pilot study conducted by the MTT captured data on enrolment, absenteeism and dropouts

at school level for districts to collate and analyse (this study is discussed in further detail later in the paper). The results showed that learner absenteeism peaked in the winter months and towards the end of the school year, and that the most common reasons cited for absenteeism were ‘unknown’ and ‘ill health’. This suggests that absenteeism may be used as one of the identifiers of OVC (KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education [KZN DoE] et al. 2001).

• The Community Agency for Social Enquiry (CASE) and JET Education Services (JET) (2007) conducted a research study on learner absenteeism in 30 schools across the country. The most common reasons cited for absenteeism were reported to be poverty, transport, illness, lack of parental involvement and food insecurity (CASE & JET 2007), most of which are the socio-economic factors that contribute to the vulnerability status of learners.

This section has shown that data such as enrolment, absenteeism and learner performance can be used as a combination of identifiers to detect learners who are potentially OVC.

These data can then be used to plan, implement and monitor interventions and programmes aimed at supporting learners in need and mitigating the impact of socio-economic challenges (including HIV and AIDS) on learners.

Data management in education

For successful mitigation of the impact of socio-economic challenges on learners, interventions need to be implemented in a planned, organised and systematic manner. In order to plan interventions for learners in need such as OVC, it is important to know the number of OVC and the range and quantity of support required. Therefore, an information system on OVC where data are managed efficiently would assist greatly in planning and managing interventions for OVC.

In this section, data management at national, provincial and district levels is discussed, as these are all interdependent. This provides a context in which to understand the proposed OVC MIS, which would be at school level.

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National Education Management Information System (EMIS)

A National Education Information Policy (DoE 2004) has been established that provides guidelines for the MIS in education in South Africa. This policy includes guidelines on the maintenance of a quality data management system, the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders, and the accessibility of information (DoE 2004).

The DoE EMIS Directorate is responsible for the development and elaboration of a national EMIS, covering schools, colleges, higher education institutions, and other institutions such as further education and training colleges, and adult basic education and early childhood development providers. The directorate is responsible for ensuring that education data and information are collected, analysed and reported, technical assistance to provinces is provided, training and development are coordinated, and monitoring and evaluation systems are developed. Norms and standards have been developed for data collection and collation (DoE n.d.).

The EMIS is therefore functional at national, provincial and district levels in South Africa, with each system forming a component of the larger system, as illustrated in Figure 12.1.

Figure 12.1: Structure of EMIS

For the collection of education data for planning, the national and provincial units conduct two surveys during the year: the snap survey and the annual school survey. The snap survey is conducted on the 10th day of the school year, while the annual school survey occurs in March. The data collected in the snap survey include learner and staff enrolment, as at the 10th day of the school year. The annual survey is more comprehensive, and includes a wide range of detailed information on learners and staff, school infrastructure, and school management and financial systems, amongst others (Kloppers et al. 2006).

An electronic system called the School Administration and Management System (SAMS) has been developed by the education department to assist schools to manage these types of information on a daily basis, and with this in place the annual school survey becomes far easier to complete and less time consuming. Some schools use this system, and others submit the information on paper (Kloppers et al. 2006). (Some of the schools during the site visits for the present research reported that the SAMS is a somewhat difficult system to use as the interface is not sufficiently user-friendly.)

A section on mortality rates is included in the annual survey as well as a section on the number of orphans in the school.

School MIS

Distict MIS

Provincial MIS

National MIS

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Schools are required to submit the surveys to their districts, and the data are sent to provincial offices. The system tends to be centralised at the provincial office, where most of the data capture and data analysis take place. The data are collated and aggregated, and submitted to the national DoE. Although the National Education Information Policy (DoE 2004) requires provincial departments to provide feedback to schools on any survey conducted, this is not done in a systematic way.

As stated earlier, national and provincial EMIS departments face numerous challenges in achieving their objective of obtaining quality data, and while strides have been made in this area, risks to data quality continue. From research studies conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council (2007) and the site visits conducted at schools in this research, these risks appear to include the following:• Data capture and data collection methods followed by schools are not always consistent across

different schools. As a result, different types of responses are given by different schools; so, for certain questions, data provided by schools are difficult to compare. Some of the survey forms provided by the national or provincial departments contain instructions that may be seen as ambiguous to some schools.

• The sources of errors or bias are difficult to track, and grow exponentially as one moves from school level upwards.

• False data may be provided in certain instances by respondents for a variety of reasons, including the perceived use of the information (such as school managers believing the annual survey to be linked to post provisioning, for example), or due to work demands, where less care is taken to ensure that the data are accurate.

• There is a general lack of capacity, and insufficient resources with which to implement the system.

These challenges have an exponential effect as one moves between levels. So, at the school level, providing completely accurate and quality information becomes very difficult. Schools then also struggle to use the information for their own purposes.

Provincial EMIS

The provincial EMIS departments are required to implement the snap survey and annual survey in their provinces. As mentioned, the snap survey is a brief survey conducted on the 10th school day of the year, recording the number of learners and educators in the school; the annual survey, completed in March, is longer and includes more detailed information on learners (age, subject choice, languages and so on) and educators (REQV1 level, training attended and so on) as well as other types of data such as school infrastructure (Kloppers et al. 2006).

The national DoE provides the forms and instructions, and the DoE norms and standards provide guidelines for the data management process, including data capture, collection, collation, analysis and reporting (DoE n.d.), thus making the province central to the data management system.

Many provinces require information beyond the two surveys in order to manage the province, and so they adapt the national guidelines for their own requirements and/or conduct various additional surveys during the year. However, this tends to differ from province to province. For example:• The Free State DoE collects information on orphans. An ‘orphans survey’ was conducted in

2005 where data on the number of orphans in each district, by grade and by age, were collected, as well as the types of support that the school had received for the orphans (Free State DoE 2005). An analysis of learner attendance and pass rates, as well as educator attendance, is also included.

• The Eastern Cape DoE collects information on learner and educator absenteeism on a quarterly basis (SAIDE 2006–08).

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These initiatives are specific to the province, and are not implemented at a national systemic level, as the provinces operate independently.

The biggest challenge for the provincial department is capacity, as the greatest burden of data collection, capture and analysis falls to the provinces. An important step in the overall improvement of the EMIS will therefore be to capacitate the districts to play a more substantive role in the data management process.

District EMIS

The district offices liaise directly with the schools and are responsible for ensuring that survey forms are provided to schools, and that the forms are completed and then sent to the provincial department (in some provinces, the data capture takes place at provincial level).

However, as seen with the provincial EMIS, the district also reflects variation in the type of information required to support schools efficiently and effectively. Some districts request information that is additional to that asked for in the snap and annual surveys. However, there are few systematic MIS at district level. This is largely due to a lack of knowledge and skills in the area and a lack of human resources, which often leaves many district officials over-burdened with other responsibilities. Additionally, there tends to be significant variation in terms of capacity across districts and between provinces.

Some of this information (such as the annual survey) is passed onto the provincial department, while other data – e.g. learner performance data – are meant to be utilised by the district itself for management and monitoring of schools.

In summary

One of the main challenges that the EMIS departments are seeking to address is the production of quality data that can be used in an efficient manner. Another challenge is the production of data by various education stakeholders for their own planning and management purposes, such as reporting on OVC. As a result, additional data that are required are obtained through separate surveys and initiatives.

Some initiatives have been designed to collect data that can be used for greater efficacy in planning and management. One such initiative is the DEMMIS, discussed below.

Collection and use of data to enhance planning and management

The DEMMIS2 was developed with the intention that it would provide a framework within which districts could develop their own MIS.

The District Education Management and Monitoring Information System (DEMMIS)In 2001, the MTT, an HIV and AIDS research and development unit of the University of Kwazulu-Natal, developed the DEMMIS in response to a request from the Ladysmith education region in KwaZulu-Natal to develop more regular data-gathering systems that could capture and monitor key management indicators as well as introduce HIV- and AIDS-sensitive data, in order to provide some measure of the impact of the pandemic on education. Additionally, such systems needed to be closer to the actual system users (Badcock-Walters et al. 2002).

The requirements for the system were that the data needed to be routinely available and that the schools should not be expected to do any additional work; thus the system should be built into existing school data systems.

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The purpose of the DEMMIS was to collate routinely available data that could be used to improve district management of schools. The data collected in the pilot focused on learner absenteeism and dropout, OVC, and educator absenteeism and attrition.

The pilot avoided undue emphasis on the collection of HIV/AIDS indicators, but rather stressed the importance of the system as a school-district management and monitoring system, designed to inform and empower local decision-making (KZN DoE et al. 2001)

Forms were developed by the MTT to obtain the required data. These focused on providing data on numbers of learners and educators as well as any additional information that would provide HIV and AIDS proxy data – such as educator attrition, and the number of OVC.

To assist schools in producing summary data, summary forms were provided for individual teachers. The data collected were then summarised by the school heads of department, and the final forms were collated by the principals. The forms were directly linked to existing attendance registers. In fact, an addendum was created that could literally be attached directly to the registers, to assist the teachers in calculating the summary data required.

At school level, information was manually captured. The district office then captured the data onto an electronic system, a simple Microsoft Access database with front-end screens.

Simple reports could be generated from the database. The simplicity of the system meant that the district data capturer only needed to have basic computer skills to use it.

This system made use of printed booklets, which were provided to the schools to streamline submission of forms. There were two copies of each form, with carbon paper included – so that one copy could be submitted to the district and one copy could be kept by the school for their own use.

In order for the data to be useful, the schools were required to collect the data on a monthly basis (as this was connected to the school registers anyway).

Using the above guidelines, a resource kit for district managers (Health Economics & HIV/AIDS Research Division, University of Natal 2001) was developed, which consisted of the following:• Part 1: HIV and AIDS fact sheets 1–10, providing central themes designed to give the

district manager a factual information base so that s/he could be a reliable source of hard information;

• Part 2: The DEMMIS itself; and• Part 3: The district management checklist: the checklist provided a means of using, analysing

and reporting information. For example: if increase in X is noticed, then watch for…; or if increase in X is noticed, then contact person Y at department Z and so on (in other words, simple steps were provided).

The MTT trained the districts officials and the district officials in turn trained the schools.

The first pilot took place in two selected districts in KwaZulu-Natal: Dannhauser (rural) and Mnambithi (peri-urban). According to a lead researcher interviewed at the MTT, the pilot in Dannhauser was fairly successful, but the pilot in Mnambithi did not fare well, and did not even last a month. The respondent interviewed stated that some of the reasons for the success of the pilot in Dannhauser included the following:• The district manager was motivated and ensured that the programme would be

implemented.• The district manager’s administrative assistant was instructed to participate in the project

and to capture the data – i.e. this became a formal part of her job.

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• Three out of the five circuit managers had bought into the implementation of the DEMMIS. These circuit managers conducted monthly meetings with the principals, interacted with the schools and also regularly visited the schools. They were positive about the potential of the programme.

The failure at Mnambithi was attributed to the following:• At Mnambithi the circuit manager was appointed to perform the data capture, but this turned

out to be a problem as he did not have sufficient time to do this – the project was therefore neglected.

• Problems were experienced with the computer and the hard drives at the district office. • There appeared to be little management culture in the district office.

The main successes of the pilot in the Dannhauser schools were that schools were able to produce summary data on learner and educator absenteeism and attrition and were able to use these data in their planning and management. Additionally, the MTT felt that there had been improvement in record-keeping at the schools. Secondly, district and circuit managers felt empowered to use the information for management purposes.

According to the respondents at the MTT, the challenges to the implementation of DEMMIS included the following:• The continuation of poor record-keeping in some schools. Not all schools had the required

documents, such as admission registers – or if they did have them, not all schools were able to maintain them.

• Uneven administrative skills in the district office.• The lack of capacity at district level to interpret and use the data.

Another challenge arose from the fact that the system uses proxy data. The staff at the MTT, however, indicated that the reasons for using proxy data included the following: • The MTT believed that district management and monitoring needed to be improved for

addressing a complex set of issues and this would assist in mitigating the impact of HIV and AIDS.

• They could not ask questions relating to the distinction between ‘HIV and AIDS orphans’ and other type of orphans, fearing that this would raise problems.

• They did not see the value of asking HIV-specific questions – as the initiatives would be done in some form regardless, so the addition of OVC was sufficient.

• There are no precedents to assist in determining format.• Legal issues arise with regard to the disclosure and use of the information.

In some of the other African countries in which the DEMMIS has been implemented, more HIV and AIDS-specific data have been requested. For example, in Harare, Zimbabwe, there was a special programme for HIV and AIDS orphans, and the form required schools to state how many learners were part of this programme. In Mozambique, OVC were categorised as war orphans, HIV and AIDS orphans, and other.

Although in South Africa there was unfortunately no take-up of this system beyond the Ladysmith region in KwaZulu-Natal,3 presumably due to the difficulties in introducing a new information system in the existing EMIS, the DEMMIS has reportedly been implemented in several African countries – including Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe – with varied success.

The DEMMIS in other countriesSupport from international donor and development agencies, such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and UNESCO, has resulted in the roll out of the DEMMIS programme on a significant scale.

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1. Kenya: In Kenya, DEMMIS was piloted in 3 districts. However, there were problems with the funding. Funding for 2005 was obtained from USAID through the US President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), with provision for the Country Operational Plans in 2006 and 2007 in the OVC and strategic information categories. This is referred to as the resuscitation of the DEMMIS programme and the plan is to roll it out in 14 districts, over and above the initial 3 pilot districts. The current status of the project is unclear, however.

2. Uganda: The MTT were responsible for a country-wide support programme from 2000 to August 2005 supported by USAID. The AIDS Response Trust took over some of these projects. Included with this, they worked with Uganda to introduce the system and a workshop was conducted to design the tool. However, there was no national buy-in and so the initiative did not proceed any further.

3. Zimbabwe: UNESCO Harare worked with the MTT to implement the programme in Zimbabwe. The MTT advised on the lessons learnt from the KZN pilot – the key lesson was that it was imperative to obtain buy-in from the top levels in order to ensure the success of the programme. As a result, ministry buy-in and support were obtained at the first stage. Although this meant that the programme in Zimbabwe took much more time to get started, the approach that was adopted contributed greatly to the success of the programme.

4. UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP): Under the IIEP, a programme was established to assist selected countries in mitigating the impact of HIV and AIDS. The selected countries included Uganda and Tanzania, amongst other African countries. This was a five-part programme, and one of the parts was the establishment of the DEMMIS in the countries. There is now a move to establish the DEMMIS in other African countries such as Namibia, Mozambique and Malawi.

In conclusion

The DEMMIS programme was in fact intended as the original focus of this research project, but the focus moved away from this, for a variety of reasons.

Firstly, the DEMMIS would need to be implemented within the current EMIS in order to be successful. This is shown by the fact that the system has been most successful in countries that have implemented DEMMIS at a national, systemic level. However, as discussed earlier, numerous problems exist in the national data management systems, and while improvement plans are being carried out, concerns about the quality of the data remain. Given these challenges, it would be difficult to ascertain the potential efficacy of a district system, separate from the existing MIS problems.

Therefore, it was decided instead that this research and development project should focus on data collection and management at the school level for OVC:• While improvements in the overall EMIS are underway, it is important that individual schools

be capacitated to manage and use their own data systems.• A further rationale for strengthening school-level data collection and management is that the

school is the starting level (source) for data capture and collection, and so is a necessary first step in the establishment of quality data.

• As highlighted in the next section, direct data on HIV and AIDS is difficult to obtain, and so the decision was made to focus on OVC.

By strengthening school capacity, MIS at district, provincial and national levels improves and consequently this improves the quality and range of information systems, including the quality and range of information on OVC.

School EMIS: An overview of the school context

According to the South African Schools Act (No. 84 of 1996) schools are required to maintain and produce relevant education information, and this would include an admissions register

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of all new learners at the school, profiles for every learner in the school and class registers, amongst others.

The education department also requires schools to submit the following information:• Completion of the snap survey or 10th day headcount.• Completion of the annual school survey in March of every year, which includes the collection

and collation of detailed data on learners and educators.• Promotion schedules at the end of every year (reflecting learner pass and failure rates).• Various other types of information or surveys (such as the 2005 Free State OVC survey

mentioned earlier), as required by the particular provincial department.

Schools are required to manage their own data and records. In most instances, schools are provided with templates/forms with some instructions, and are required to complete (and submit, where applicable) these templates/forms. Schools are generally able to maintain and use the key school records such as class registers, learner profiles and promotion schedules.

However, schools may not have sufficient capacity and resources to utilise effectively all sources of data at their disposal. For example, some of the surveys are designed more for the use of districts or provincial officials, and in such cases the school completes the survey and files the document without a sufficient understanding of the purpose of the form, or the potential use of the information. As schools themselves begin to use the information, more care will be taken to ensure the quality of the information, which will contribute to the national and provincial objectives of improving EMIS.

While a range of policies pertaining to the prevention of HIV and AIDS and the mitigation of its impact on the education system exist, there are no system-level policies or guidelines on the maintenance of data relating to HIV and AIDS or OVC. Any attempts at data collection and management that are made are usually done on an ad hoc basis and tend to vary from province to province, and from school to school. Where data on OVC are kept, such record-keeping is often the result of assistance from NGOs or CBOs in the area.

The research conducted at schools in this study focused on understanding school records as well as any data maintained on OVC, and the manner in which these are maintained and used. Findings are presented in the next section.

Research findings

All six schools in the sample maintain the compulsory school records – including admissions registers, class registers and records of learner performance. Some degree of monitoring and maintenance of records takes place.

Identifying OVC

All schools in the sample were able to produce a list of the OVC in their school. However, few of the schools could provide direct information on the number of learners infected and/or affected by HIV and AIDS.

This was one of the main challenges that arose in the study, as the silence around HIV and AIDS meant that any information system would need to focus on data gathered in a proxy format, rather than direct data on HIV and AIDS. This has a wider impact on the education system as a whole, as it implies that direct quality statistics on the exact size of the HIV and AIDS problem in education would be very difficult to obtain. This also makes it very difficult to identify affected individuals and to quantify numbers of those infected and/or affected by HIV and AIDS, and consequently it is difficult to plan and manage the impact of this pandemic.

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Schools in the sample were requested to provide the number of learners in the school, the number of educators in the school, and the number of OVC in the school. Data are presented in Table 12.1 (including data taken from SAIDE 2006–08). These schools were purposively sampled, and have been used for data quality instructional purposes only. This means that the data are indicative of the sampled schools only, and therefore these figures are not representative of the wider population.

Table 12.1: Percentage of OVC in sample schools, by quintile

Quintile Province Type Location Learners Educators OVC L : E** ratio

OVC (%)

1* NW Primary Rural 357 13 89 27 24.9%

1* KZN Primary Rural 855 22 258 39 30.2%

1* FS Intermediate Township 1 223 34 192 36 15.7%

Average for quintile 1 811.7 23.0 179.7 34.1 23.6%

2 NW Primary Township 740 22 100 34 13.5%

2 NW Primary Township 834 27 42 31 5.0%

2* NW Primary Rural 293 10 96 29 32.8%

2* NW Combined Rural 402 14 45 29 11.2%

2* LP Primary Rural 718 23 12 31 1.7%

2* LP Primary Rural 962 28 107 34 11.1%

2* MP Secondary Rural 561 28 56 20 10.0%


3 NW Primary Township 997 86 8.6%

3 NW Primary Township 1 030 30 30 34 2.9%

3* GP Secondary Urban 1 762 56 528 31 30.0%

3* GP Primary Township 934 27 200 35 21.4%

3* LP Primary Rural 688 23 30 30 4.4%

3* MP Primary Township 1 196 40 90 30 7.5%

3* MP Secondary Rural 735 22 267 33 36.3%

Average for quintile 3 1 048.9 33.0 175.9 32.3 15.9%

4 GP Primary Urban 998 26 20 38 2.0%

4* EC Primary Rural 889 18 236 49 26.5%

4* EC Primary Township 219 9 14 24 6.4%

4* KZN Secondary Urban 932 29 36 32 3.9%


5 GP Primary Urban 504 16 450 32 89.3%

5* EC Primary Township 1 173 28 150 42 12.8%


Notes:* Data taken from SAIDE (2006–08).** Learner to Educator EC=Eastern Cape; FS=Free State; GP=Gauteng Province; KZN=KwaZulu-Natal; LP=Limpopo Province; MP=Mpumalanga Province; NW=North West

The percentages of OVC in the schools range from 3% to around 90%. The numbers are erratic – some of the larger schools in rural areas report only 30 to 40 OVC in the entire school, while some of the schools in higher quintiles have a much higher number of OVC.

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The erratic nature of these figures suggests that they may not be completely accurate in terms of the number of OVC in these schools – thus calling into question the validity and reliability of the data.

Some of the problems with these figures may relate to the appropriateness of the school’s designated quintile (one of the quintile 5 schools has mainly refugee children) or location. However, the main problem centres on the actual manner in which the OVC are identified – both the guidelines (criteria) and the processes used. In particular, there are no clear criteria or guidelines regarding the way in which ‘vulnerable’ learners can be classified. All six schools sampled in the study struggled to provide clear guidelines for identifying vulnerable children. The learners tended to be identified in an ad hoc manner, based on one or more of the following criteria:• Teacher observation of learner performance, behaviour; appearance and/or health.• Parents/guardians waiting for grants, receiving grants or ineligible for grants.• Neglect or abuse.• Unemployed or sickly parents/guardians.• Child-headed households.

The research found, however, that this list of criteria is not applied consistently, even within schools. Thus, some learners in need are not included on the school’s list of OVC, and may or may not receive the required support.

Further, again even within schools, the process that schools follow in identifying learners for their OVC list is not consistent. Class teachers are required to update basic learner information (such as parents, address and so on) on a term-by-term basis, which assists more in updating the number of actual orphans in the school than in identifying those who are vulnerable more generally.

The remainder of the learners are classified informally and on an as-needed basis – a teacher observes a change in a learner’s appearance and/or behaviour, or a drop in learner performance, and/or a teacher observes an irregular pattern of attendance and so on. These learners would then be referred to relevant school management, who would be required to follow up with the parents or guardians concerned to understand the learners’ situation, and act accordingly. This means that every case of a learner identified by staff to be in need must be followed up by school managers, thus adding to their workloads.

All schools in the sample indicated that regular monitoring of absenteeism, learner performance and learner behaviour takes place. However, the extent/degree to which this is done differs widely, and is impacted by contextual factors such as location, poverty levels, school size, learner : educator ratios, knowledge and skills, and school management capacity to perform these functions. Additionally, while schools indicated that ‘monitoring’ takes place (especially of absenteeism records), the study found that clearly-defined guidelines and procedures are not used.

These findings suggest that a set of clearly-defined criteria and procedures would assist school managers in efficiently identifying OVC in their school. These criteria and procedures would focus on gathering learner data and staff observations quickly and efficiently, analysing this information to isolate selected cases for follow-up, and then classifying the learners accordingly. It is posited that through this more systematic classification system, learners suffering from HIV and/or AIDS would certainly be included on the list, even if not formally identified in terms of their HIV status.

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Supporting, monitoring and tracking OVC

Once the learners have been classified, their individual support requirements need to be identified, so that school management can arrange for appropriate interventions. Determining the support needs of learners is closely linked to the identification process, as the details of each learner situation should dictate learner needs.

However, none of the schools sampled were found to maintain records of learner support needs (on a case by case basis) or which types of interventions had been implemented or not.

Schools are often uncertain of how to implement interventions in the school, and this is further compromised by the fact that there are no clear records of support needs. Thus, interventions tend to be applied on an ad hoc basis, only targeting certain learners and without records being kept. In such scenarios, obviously, supporting and monitoring the learners becomes very difficult. This is cause for concern, particularly with regard to difficult cases, such as learners infected and/or affected by HIV and AIDS.

If schools were able to organise such data in a logical and efficient way, this would assist school managers in accurately identifying and monitoring learner needs, and interventions for supporting learners in their schools could be more systematised and hopefully thus more effective.

In conclusion

The research study findings pertaining to current practices in data collection and management in schools have helped to inform the development of the kind of tools needed in schools, for the collection of quality data to assist school managers to better classify OVC and identify their individual support requirements.

OVC MIS toolkit

This section begins with a brief description of the conceptual framework for the OVC MIS toolkit as well as the aims and objectives in this regard, before discussing the development and structure of the toolkit.

The toolkit has been verified in three schools4 (one in the Eastern Cape, one in Gauteng and one in Limpopo) and revisions made accordingly. At the time of writing of this paper, the toolkit is still to be finalised, with comments from education stakeholders and then trialling.

Conceptual framework for the toolkit

The conceptual framework for the toolkit has been developed based on the literature reviewed, and on the research findings – of both the present research study and the SAIDE research project (2006–08). The conceptual framework consists of three main components: the use of the system, the system itself, and the impact of contextual realities.• OVC component (use): According to data management principles, it is best if the usage of the

data becomes the driver of the system. Therefore, the first component focuses on system usage: to identify OVC, to identify support needs, and to monitor and track progress in an efficient manner, especially when the school has a large number of learners and/or a high learner : educator ratio.

• MIS component (system): This becomes the OVC MIS itself – using existing school records, improving data management in schools, and analysing the data while ensuring the quality of the data.

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• Contextual factors: As this is a school-based system, the school’s contextual realities will influence the way in which the OVC MIS will be developed, where contextual realities (e.g. school size, location, resources) will need to be balanced with school requirements (i.e. minimum requirements of the system to meet its objectives).

Figure 12.2: OVC MIS toolkit: Framework

Aims and objectives

The toolkit has been designed as a resource to assist schools in developing information systems to identify, support and monitor the OVC in their schools. The toolkit focuses on processes and procedures, and all suggested templates are manual. This does not mean that the system cannot be an electronic system, but that it is not a requirement.

The objectives of the toolkit include the following:• Provide an understanding of data management, and data quality principles in an MIS.• Provide an understanding of how data management fits into the school’s existing processes

and records.• Provide guidelines for the ways in which schools can systematise the capture, collection and

collation of relevant, existing school records relating to learners and educators.• Provide guidelines for the analysis of the data to assist school management in identifying,

supporting and monitoring OVC (as a proxy measure for HIV and AIDS, where possible).

Data use is the DRIVER of the system

Capacity

What is ‘vulnerable’?

Knowledge and skills

Awareness

Types of interventions

Attitudes or stigma

Confi dentiality

Capacity


Existing dataRecords and record-keepingTracking and updating dataTemplates or forms

Data managementData capture, collection and collationDeveloping, adapting and using templatesEnsuring data quality

Data analysis and useBasic principlesAnalysing recordsDetailed identifi cation and tracking

Capacity

Community support


Resource and fi nancial constraints

School size


Community

Resources

Capacity

Location

OVC MIS TOOLKIT: FRAMEWORK

Use System

Contextual factors

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Toolkit contents

The toolkit consists of the following five guides:• Guide 1 provides an introduction to data management and data quality.• Guide 2 provides an understanding of MIS within the context of the school’s existing learner

data systems. • Guide 3 provides a framework for enhancing data management: data capture, collection and

collation processes for OVC.• Guide 4 provides a framework in which to analyse and use data.• Guide 5 provides suggestions regarding how the system can be monitored and updated.

The guides are discussed in the sections that follow, where exemplar tables and forms are included. (Exemplars are for schools to use but are not intended to be prescriptive.)5

Guide 1: Data management

The first guide in the toolkit introduces the notion of data and data management to participants. They are then taken through the information system – from design of the system to data collection, capture and collation, to analysis, use and feedback, as shown in Figure 12.3.

Figure 12.3: Data management process

• Data collection refers to the process of actually obtaining the data, preferably directly from the data source (e.g. asking the learner her/himself). Instructions and templates should be provided to ensure that the same procedures are followed by all to obtain the data.

• Data collation refers to the process in which the data collected are grouped and summarised. Again, instructions and templates should be provided to ensure that teachers are able to understand the procedures to be followed and execute these without error.

• Data capture refers to the process in which the data collated are transcribed into a predetermined template according to instructions provided.

• Data analysis refers to the process where the data captured are examined in a systematic manner in order to understand the trends in the data, and any other pertinent or interesting information. Analysis also allows for anomalies in the data (i.e. figures that are unusually high or low) to be identified.

InformationProcessing

Data collection Data collation

Data capture

Data analysisData use

Reporting

System feedback

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• Data use refers to the way in which the results from the data analysis are used.• Reporting refers to the process of transcribing information into reporting formats for

submitting information (usually to the education department).• System feedback refers to the process where feedback is gathered from stakeholders in order

to improve the overall process.

A concrete example of how the data management cycle applies to the school’s learner performance management system (where documents and records are kept) is included in the toolkit.

The importance of data quality is also discussed in the toolkit, as it assists in the data management process by ensuring that the best possible data are collected, captured and analysed. The aim of emphasising data quality is to develop a system where the data are valid, reliable and precise and where all data provided have integrity and are available in a timely manner. Brief definitions of these aspects of data quality are provided in Table 12.2

Table 12.2: Data quality

Validity

Validity is the assurance that we have actually measured what we intended to measure at the outset.For example, does the list of OVC actually represent all OVC?

Reliability

Reliability is being able consistently to collect data of the same quality over time. Reliability is a prerequisite for validity.For example, will the criteria used to identify OVC produce as accurate and valid a list when the list is compiled at a different time?

Timeliness

The whole point of having quality data is to ensure that decisions regarding programmes and projects can be made in a timely manner. If significant time lags exist between the collection, collation and eventual reporting of data then the relevance of the data to the decision-making process is lost.For example, can information on OVC be collected in a timely manner to ensure that appropriate support is provided when it is needed?

Precision

Precision is some form of guarantee that the data are as free from bias and error as possible. Data should be as accurate and precise as possible. As with reliability, therefore, data need to be precise in order to be valid.For example, are the school records accurate and precise (free from error), and what has been put in place to ensure this?

Integrity

Although we would always like to believe the best of everyone the reality is that even data management systems are open to manipulation with a subsequent lack of data integrity. Sometimes the loss of data integrity, or loss of truthfulness of the data, occurs from human error or actual human interference.For example, is the information provided/obtained by the school on particular OVC correct?

Source: The definitions are drawn from Richards (2004).

Data quality can be enhanced in several ways. In Guide 1, participants are provided with a set of example questions (Table 12.3) focusing on key criteria that can improve the data quality of their school data system.

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Table 12.3: Questions for improving data quality

Validity

Are the instructions for the collection of data precise and easy to understand?Are the questions in the instrument clear and easy to understand?Is the data collection instrument well designed?Do the people who are completing the instrument know what they are doing?Is there confidence that the raw data have not been manipulated?

Reliability

Are the data collection processes consistent over time?Are the data sources consistent?Are the data procedures error-free and bias-free?Are there periodic reviews of data management processes?

Timeliness

Are there frequently-available data that are current (to meet needs)?Has a schedule of data collection been developed?Is there operational planning for data sourcing, collection, collation and reporting?

Precision

Is there a system for tracking and correcting data errors?Have acceptable ‘margins of error’ been established?

Integrity

Is there an attempt to reduce the potential for data tampering?Does the system rely on credible data sources?

Guide 2: Data capture by adapting existing school records

As discussed earlier, all schools are required to capture data on learners – at minimum the following: admissions registers, class registers, learner profiles, and learner performance records. Schools tend to use templates and instructional procedures that are provided to them by the district or the provincial department. Schools that have the requisite knowledge, skills and capacity are also able to customise and/or design their own templates where this is deemed necessary by school management.

Guide 2 shows participants how to review their own learner data systems, and how to adapt these where necessary. The review focuses on whether the forms will produce quality data using the data quality questions, and whether sufficient instructions have been provided, which are clear to all staff.

The purpose of the adaptation of the school records is to improve the school’s collection, capture and collation procedures, so that the records can assist in the task of collecting usable data on OVC in an efficient manner.

These adapted school records are then used as information sources for the completion of the OVC guides and templates (discussed in Guides 3 to 5).

In Guide 2, participants are also guided on developing the framework for their OVC MIS:• Determining the objectives and use of the system – i.e. the main purpose of the system (such

as identifying and supporting OVC) and how the information will be used (such as tracking progress of interventions).

• Determining the main sources of data, based on the current ways in which schools identify OVC – such as teacher observations, patterns of absenteeism, and learner behaviour, physical appearance, performance, and so on.

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• Determining the systems and procedures for implementation – which would include identifying the relevant personnel involved, clarifying roles and responsibilities at all levels, developing strategies to train personnel to perform the required functions, establishing clear timeframes for deliverables, and determining how often system reviews should take place, amongst others.

Guides 3 to 5 assist the participants in actually developing the system. In Guide 3 teachers are assisted, using a template, to examine their class as a group and identify potential OVC. In Guide 4, data are collected for each individual learner identified, to assess whether they need to be included on the OVC list, and what types of support they may need. Guide 5 focuses on tracking and monitoring these learners.

Figure 12.4: Process of identifying, monitoring and tracking OVC

Guide 3: Data collection, capture and collation

The primary source of data for OVC is the class teacher. In terms of using the toolkit, s/he is required to collect and capture learner data as set out in Guide 2. Once data have been collected and captured, they need to be collated. The purpose of Guide 3 is to develop guidelines for class teachers to collate the data.

As class teachers may be dealing with a large number of learners, the aim is to obtain basic information on all learners in the class with regard to attendance, performance and teacher observations, without the time-consuming task of delving into details. An example template and associated reference guide from Guide 3 is provided in Table 12.4. The template is accompanied by detailed instructions for completion, and for making the necessary recommendations in terms of whether or not the learner should be considered for inclusion in a list of OVC.

Brief investigation of possible vulnerable learners

Full investigation of each learner

Repeat every quarter

Guide 3Identifi cation in groups

(Class teacher to complete)

Guide 4Identifi cation as individuals

(School-based Support Team to coordinate)

Guide 5Monitoring and tracking of all OVC

(School-based Support Team/class teacher)

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Table 12.4: Class teacher template – OVC identification (example)

Name Grade Attendance Performance Observations Recommendation

For each learner, the teacher is then required to specify the number of days absent, any change in academic performance, and any personal observations that might be of concern. Teachers need to include any specific performance-related problems (such as dyslexia), which may account for a decline in performance.

Table 12.5: Class teacher template – reference guide (example)

Attendance (6 months) Performance results Observation or information

Recommendation

0 days absent Improved Family situation has changed

Known OVC

1 to 4 days absent Remained stable Behaviour has changed

Potential OVC

5 to 10 days absent Declined slightly Attitude has changed Not considered to be an OVC

11 to 15 days absent Declined significantly School uniform not clean/torn etc.

More than 15 days absent

Poor concentration

Physical appearance has changed

Several days absent at same time

Specific problems cited

Health has changed

One to two days at regular intervals

Learner has become withdrawn

One to two days, with regular pattern

New information – e.g. abuse etc.

Present but continually late

Once this form has been completed, the class teacher is in a position to make recommendations regarding the learners who may need to be included on the OVC list.

Teachers then capture more detailed information on this shorter list of learners in the same three categories: attendance, performance and observation.

Guide 4: Data analysis and use

In terms of this OVC MIS, class teachers will submit their information on all learners who have been identified as possible OVC to school managers for further action to be taken.

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The purpose of Guide 4 is to assist school managers in analysing the data collected, in order to identify which learners are OVC and their basic support requirements.

Guide 4 provides participants with a basic understanding of data analysis; both the aims of data analysis, and the ways in which it can be done. This guide shows school managers the ways in which the data that they collect can assist them in performing their various job functions.

The focus in this guide is on assisting school managers to extract information from individual (and summary) records and forms in order to make informed decisions.

The first example of data analysis in Guide 4 focuses on establishing trends from absenteeism records; participants are provided with a sample attendance record (Table 12.6).

Table 12.6: Analysing attendance records (example)

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Participants are also provided with guidelines on the typical trends that can be observed in absenteeism records, and where in the example provided (Table 12.6) such trends can be observed: • At a glance, learners J Mphisa and G Graham have been absent for a large number of days,

suggesting that they both may have serious problems.• G Graham was absent for many days but one stretch of time – suggesting illness, or possibly

family illness, for example.• J Mphisa is absent at regular intervals for several days at a time – this could, for example,

mean that she is looking after a sick relative, or has to contend with some other family-related problem.

• A Andrew is always absent on the same day (a Monday) at regular intervals – about every two to three weeks. The reason for this is not easily extracted, but may be worth further investigation.

• Some generic reasons would need to be ruled out – such as transport problems (e.g. in the case of R Rakosa), illness during winter etc.

In Guide 4, participants are also guided through the analysis of learner performance, which is more straightforward. Performance in all subjects needs to be extracted, and any decline or change in performance should be noted. All the data collected would then be entered into individual identification forms (Table 12.7 provides an example).

Table 12.7: School management template – formal identification of OVC status (example)

Name

Gender

Grade

Date of analysis Date of analysis Date of analysis

Attendance

Performance

Observations

Home visit

Comments

OVC type

Identified needs

Status

This template is accompanied by a reference guide as well (Table 12.8 provides an example for some of the columns). The reference guide includes guidelines for all rows and columns in the template.

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Table 12.8: Reference guide for school management template (example)

OVC type Identified needs Status

One or both parents deceased Social services/intervention

Need not yet addressed

One or both parents missing Social services/grants Need addressed only somewhat

Physical abuse Identity documents Need currently being addressed, needs monitoring

Sexual abuse

Child neglect Clothing/school uniform Need addressed, completed

Child abuse Toiletries

Uncontrollable child Feeding scheme

Street child Food parcels

Abandoned child Medical care

Custody investigations Medication

Failure to maintain a child Psychological care

Family conflict After school care

Primary caregiver younger than 18

Primary caregiver older than 60

Grants received - child support

Grants received - foster child

Grants received - care dependency

Household without regular income

Household members sick

Child disabled/health problems

Child not getting sufficient care at home

Child eats 1 meal or less a day

Child living on own

Child has emotional problems

Child labour

It is at this point in the process, with a more accurate list of learners, that the toolkit guides school management on how to make decisions by reviewing the learner information gathered as well as the results of any individual follow-ups that may have been required. There should be a regular review of these forms every four to six months.

From this learner information, Guide 4 shows school managers how to make final decisions on OVC status, and how to identify the needs (in categories) of each of the learners on the list.

Guide 5: Monitoring and updating

Guide 5 introduces the notion of monitoring the OVC data, as well as discussing the potential value of the system and how its full potential can be achieved.

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As a start, Guide 5 shows participants how to capture the findings from the analysis into one summary form (Table 12.9 provides an example).

Table 12.9: School management template – OVC monitoring and updating (example)

Name Grade OVC type

Identified needs Targetted intervention

Status of intervention

Monitoring

Guide 5 assists participants with establishing and maintaining a monitoring system that will:• ensure that the list is current in terms of the number of OVC;• ensure that the list reflects the most up-to-date support requirements (categories) of each

OVC, based on support received to date; and• provide greater understanding of the support still required, which will assist school managers

in developing strategies for their learners in need.

The establishment of the monitoring component of the OVC MIS will be achieved by scheduling regular reviews and updates of the information; participants will also be provided with guidelines on how this can take place. Annual reviews of the system itself could also be scheduled as part of the monitoring and updating process.

The toolkit concludes with an overview of the process undertaken in developing the OVC MIS.

Way forward

The next step in the research study will be to gather comments and reviews from education stakeholders, particularly school management, on the toolkit design and context. Thereafter, the toolkit will be trialled with a representative sample of users, before being finalised for distribution.

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Appendix 12A: Schools participating in the research study

Table 12A.1: Sample of schools that participated

Province Area School Type Location Quintile Learners Educators

GP Johannesburg Malvern Primary Urban 4 998 26

GP Johannesburg Observatory

GirlsPrimary Urban 5 504 16

NW Jouberton Itirele Primary Township 3 997 Data not available

NW Jouberton Kakatlela Primary Township 2 740 22

NW Khuma Hatabutle Primary Township 2 834 27

NW Khuma Nozizwe Primary Township 3 1 030 30

Table 12A.2: Schools in the toolkit verification process

School name Province: Location

Hulwazi Secondary School GP: Daveyton

Vhulakanjani Lower Primary School LP: Ritavi

Zanoxolo Primary School EC: Motherwell

Endnotes1. Relative Education Qualification Value2. This information was obtained from an interview with Wendy Heard, Director of EduAction, in Durban,

KwaZulu-Natal (February 2007).3. The Eastern Cape Province also considered using the DEMMIS in that province.4. Verification was conducted by A Stiglic, director of Wazima Development Solutions (February 2009).5. As mentioned, these guides are still to be further reviewed by school managers, and trialled, before

distribution.

ReferencesBadcock-Walters P, Heard W & Wilson D (2002) Developing district-level early warning and decision

support systems to assist in managing and mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS on education. Paper presented at the XIV International AIDS Conference 2002, Barcelona (7–12 July)

Community Agency for Social Enquiry (CASE) & JET Education Services (2007) Learner absenteeism in the South African schooling system. Report prepared for the Department of Education. Johannesburg: JET Education Services

DoE (Department of Education) (n.d.) Education management information systems. Accessed June 2008, www.education.gov.za/emis/default.htm

DoE (2004) National education information policy. Government Gazette Vol. 471, No. 26766, Notice No. 150, 7 September. Pretoria: DoE

Engle P (2008) National plans of action for orphans and vulnerable children in sub-Saharan Africa: Where are the youngest children? Working Paper No. 50, Bernard van Leer Foundation, The Hague

Free State DoE (2005) Orphans 2005. Accessed May 2008, http://fsdoe.fs.gov.za/statisticalinfo/2005/Orphans.pdf

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Health Economics & HIV/AIDS Research Division, University of Natal (2001) DFiD district managers HIV/AIDS resource kit. Accessed July 2008, www.mttaids.com/site/files/5562/District_Manager_HIV_Resource_Kit.pdf

Human Sciences Research Council (2007) Research projects conducted on EMIS and HEMIS. Presentations at the 2007 Teacher Education Research and Development Programme Conference: Teacher Development and Institutional Change in an Evolving Education Context, Kopanong Conference Centre, Benoni (28–29 May)

Kloppers A, Hellmann L & Stiglic A (2006) Data quality assessment and recommendations for data quality control systems and learner performance recording systems. Report submitted to the EMIS Directorate of the Department of Education, February

KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education (KZN DoE), EduAction & HEARD (2001) DEMIS 2001 pilot: Dannhauser district. Accessed July 2008, www.mttaids.com/site/files/5562/DEMMIS_KZN_Pilot_Ladysmith2001_Report.zip

Richards PA (2004) An introduction to the management of data quality. Concept paper made available to the author

SAIDE (South African Institute for Distance Education) (2006–08) Managing schools in an environment of HIV and AIDS. SAIDE, Johannesburg

UNAIDS Inter-agency Task Team on Education and HIV/AIDS (2004) The role of education in the protection, care and support of orphans and vulnerable children living in a world with HIV and AIDS. Accessed August 2008, http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001355/135531e.pdf

UNICEF (2006) Africa’s orphaned and vulnerable generations: Children affected by AIDS. New York: UNICEF

World Bank, Partnership for Child Development, UNICEF & UNAIDS (2006) Ensuring education access for orphans and vulnerable children: A planners’ handbook. Accessed July 2008, http://hivaidsclearinghouse.unesco.org/file_download.php/OVC-hanbook-second-edition.pdf

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Enhancing school leadership: Meeting thechallenges of HIV and AIDSLorraine Marneweck, Maryla Bialobrzeska, Ephraim Mhlanga and Paul MphisaSouth African Institute for Distance Education

Over time the role of school leadership in South African schools has become increasingly complex. School leaders, often with very little support or training, are required to respond to and then implement a series of sophisticated education policies. While it has become impossible to ignore the impact of HIV and AIDS on the lives of teachers and learners, school leaders also have to respond to the socio-economic circumstances in their school communities. Research conducted by the South African Institute for Distance Education showed that many school leaders began intuitively to respond to these challenges by creating networks of support for learners around their schools. The research also showed that while the form these networks took unfolded in different ways, many of them resulted in schools implementing learner support programmes around nutrition, aftercare and counselling. While in some schools these initiatives were ad hoc, examples were also found of schools where the approach to implementation and management of these support programmes was more systematic and thus more sustainable. In contrast, this research also showed that while many school leaders were able to respond to learner needs, there was very little evidence to suggest that schools were equally able to respond to the needs of their teachers. Through presenting an analysis of the support strategies, this paper starts to provide an interesting and informative picture of how the landscape of school leadership1 has begun to evolve in some South African schools.

Keywords

educational leadership and managementschools as centres of care and supportHIV and AIDSOrphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC)

Introduction

A great deal of evidence exists to show that school leaders have a crucially important role to play in the successful development of their schools. This evidence comes from a range of research traditions, most notably school-effectiveness literature (see Mortimore 1993; Sammons et al. 1995; Scheerens 2000; Townsend 2001). Similar research has also been conducted in the developing world, where Heneveld and Craig (1996) identified leadership as one of the enabling conditions for school effectiveness. In addition, a range of school-improvement research projects have revealed the importance of school leadership (see Fullan 2007; Hargreaves 1994; Hopkins 2001). This paper acknowledges the importance of school leaders generally in


the overall success of the school, and more specifically in terms of the potential they have to mitigate the impact of HIV and AIDS on teachers and learners. It sets out to illustrate that in order to meet the particularly challenging demands of HIV and AIDS, school leaders need to enhance their existing skills.

School leadership is no longer as ‘simple’ as implementing national policies and managing pedagogical processes to maximise learning – tasks that many South African school leaders already found very difficult. Now schools also have to manage and mitigate the impact of HIV and AIDS by establishing care and support structures in their schools and by putting prevention strategies in place (Nkinyangi 2003). It has been argued that many South African school principals and managers are ill-equipped to meet these expectations; and that these expectations place unreasonable demands on people, particularly those in under-resourced schools (see Jansen 2007). Yet when one considers the dire situation and the scale of the HIV and AIDS challenge, it is necessary to think beyond the immediate and obvious functions of schools. It becomes crucial to explore the additional roles that schools are well placed to fulfil in terms of identifying and supporting vulnerable children and teachers infected and/or affected by HIV and AIDS. This paper argues that for schools to function as nodes of care and support for learners and teachers, a particular form of leadership is required to enable this new role. It also argues that there are reasonable actions that school leaders can take even in the face of the HIV and AIDS crisis. It is unrealistic though to expect schools and school leaders to fulfil this new role alone, without any external official support. It is well known that schools need a balance of pressure and support (McLaughlin 1986) in order to effect meaningful change; so while it is important to involve the micro-logic of individual schools, it is also important to involve the macro-logic of the system. Thus the Department of Education (DoE) has a very important role to play in offering meaningful support to schools as they deal with this extremely challenging reality.

The six pen sketches included in this paper (see Appendix 13A, page 202) are derived from actual case studies. They demonstrate the range of leadership competences demonstrated by leaders in a range of schools selected to be part of this research project.2 They reflect the richness and variety of the leadership styles observed during the research; and serve to illustrate that reasonable and ‘doable’ responses to this crisis are possible, even in the most poorly resourced schools.

Policy context

Three themes emerged from a review of relevant policies and guidelines dealing with education and issues pertaining to HIV and AIDS in the South African context. These themes relate to a human rights and inclusive approach to education and training, the roles of the School Governing Body (SGB) and the School Management Team (SMT) in mitigating the impact of HIV and AIDS, and the notion of schools as centres of community life. The essential aspects of these three themes are reflected below and the implications for school leadership in this research are highlighted.

Human rights and inclusivity

The human rights policy internationally accepted is reflected in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (entered into force 2 September 1990 in accordance with article 49), to which South Africa became a signatory in 1994. The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child3 and the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Act No. 108 of 1996) cover the spectrum of human rights in South Africa including, in broad terms, the right to education. Regulations pertaining to human rights in South Africa are provided by policy documents that include the South African Schools Act (No. 84 of 1996) and the Admission Policy for Ordinary Schools (DoE 1998), both of which provide for quality education for all learners of school-going age. The Act

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states that the rights of all learners must be upheld and that intolerance and discrimination must be combated. As well as setting out the rights of every child to basic education and equal access to educational institutions, the National Education Policy Act (No. 27 of 1996) endeavours to ensure that no person/child is denied the opportunity to receive an education to the maximum of their ability as a result of any physical disability. Essentially, in these policies a broad, non-discriminatory approach is taken to those infected and/or affected by HIV and AIDS.

With particular reference to HIV and AIDS, the national policy for learners, students and educators (DoE 1999) provides comprehensive regulatory guidelines pertaining to the rights and treatment of learners, students and teachers who are HIV-positive. While the policy acknowledges HIV and AIDS as one of the major challenges facing South Africa and clearly spells out its effects, it does not provide guidelines as to how districts or schools could put this policy into practice. For example it states, ‘the school…should take into account the needs and values of the specific school…and the specific community it serves’ (DoE 1999: 15), without monitoring or supporting schools to implement these policies.

More recently, this non-discriminatory principle is reflected in Education White Paper 6: Special Needs Education, Building an Inclusive Education and Training System (DoE 2001), where inclusivity is defined as an approach that maximises the ‘participation of all learners in the culture and the curriculum of educational institutions and uncovering and minimising barriers to learning’ (DoE 2001: 6–7). Related to this is the notion that barriers to learning and development are predominantly socio-economic in origin. The role required by the DoE is implicit in this White Paper, which refers to district-based support teams that need to be established to provide an integrated, community-based support service. The White Paper also states that it is necessary to:

…establish a system to identify orphans, coordinate support and care programmes for such learners, put into place referral procedures for educators, and develop teaching guidelines on how to support orphans and other children in distress. (DoE 2001: 34)

The focus of the White Paper is on the school’s role in addressing a range of special needs that learners may have, from broad socio-economic barriers to specific learning disabilities. HIV and AIDS is mentioned as just one of many infectious diseases that impact on children’s ability to learn. This inclusive approach, set within the context of human rights, has implications for all research conducted in the area of school leadership: schools should expect to have learners and teachers whose lives are negatively impacted by HIV and AIDS; schools need to make adjustments to the way they are managed and governed to meet these learners’ and teachers’ needs; and research needs to help school leaders understand how to make these adjustments in a reasonable manner that takes contextual differences into account.

A certain critique needs to be raised with regard to the policies mentioned here. The policies on HIV and AIDS are located in a ‘political domain rather than in the realm of practice’ (Jansen 2001: 272), where they have ‘symbolic value’ rather than enabling characteristics. This ‘over-investment’ in symbolism at the ‘expense of practical considerations’ (Jansen 2001: 286), raises a series of questions about the implementation of such policies. If policy and practice were strongly linked, Jansen argues, ‘we would expect a government bureaucracy to outline concrete steps that would be taken to implement such policies’ (2001: 274). However, this is not the case, as the DoE – national, provincial and district – gives little substance to HIV and AIDS. For example, the five-year broad plan of the department does not include HIV and AIDS as a direct priority area. And while there is a great deal of policy ‘busyness’ (Jansen 2007: 13) around HIV and AIDS, it lacks depth, direction and detail. Jansen also points out that schools are demanding places and that ‘what those in power want is for schools to respond to every conceivable social problem’ (2007: 11). Couple this with the pressure on schools from various lobbying groups, and the situation becomes increasingly untenable, as the HIV and AIDS agenda ends up competing with myriad other constituent interests.

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Official leadership structures

A number of educational policies detail the role that official leadership structures have to play to enable access to quality education for all children. For example, the South African Schools Act (No. 84 of 1996) stipulates that amongst the functions of the SGB – possibly the most important role – is its commitment to promoting the best interests of the school through the provision of quality education for all learners at the school. The national policy on HIV and AIDS for learners, students and educators (DoE 1999) further explains the role of the SGB:

It is envisaged that the governing body of a school…should give operational effect to the national policy by developing and advocating an HIV and AIDS implementation plan that would reflect the needs, ethos and values of a specific school or institution and its community within the framework of the national policy. (DoE 1999: 6)

The policy also states that working with the SMT, the SGB:

…should establish its own Health Advisory Committee as a committee of the governing body or council. Where it is not possible to establish such a committee, the school should draw on expertise available to it within the education and health systems. The Health Advisory Committee may as far as it is possible, use the assistance of community health workers led by a nurse, or local clinics. (DoE 1999: 16)

These leadership requirements have implications for the present research. School governors are expected to ensure that the responses they make to the HIV and AIDS challenges are contextually relevant to the schools and the communities that they serve. They also need to understand that it is imperative to draw the community into the school in order to address these problems. These stipulations further require the SMT and SGB to know and understand national policy; and to be able to give effect to that policy in a manner that is contextually appropriate. In addition, the SGB has to assume financial responsibility for school funds, help create a sense of trust amongst parents, and give practical support to the SMT. The present research showed that many of these tasks were not within the ability of even the most ‘active’4 SGBs.

Schools as centres of community life

The conceptualisation of schools as centres of community life, which deal ‘urgently and purposefully with the HIV and AIDS emergency in and through the education system’ (DoE 2000a: 7–8) was originally set out in the Implementation Plan for Tirisano 2000–2004. This notion is detailed in the Norms and Standards for Educators (DoE 2000b), where the roles and competences required for the development of teachers are listed. A ‘community, citizenship and pastoral role’ (DoE 2000b: 10) is included, as teachers are required to act beyond the limits of the classroom and school grounds and expand their reach into the community. This role requires that teachers be able to:

…respond to current social and educational problems with particular emphasis on the issues of violence, drug abuse, poverty…HIV and AIDS…accessing and working in partnership with professional services to deal with these issues. (DoE 2000b: 10)

This suggests that school leaders cannot work in isolation and that they need to interact with a range of stakeholders to develop their schools. This development is best done through establishing a broad care and support system around schools. Schools are also required to source professional partnerships to become centres of care and support. The present research has found examples of these partnerships in practice, with specific reference to nutrition, aftercare and counselling.

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Research project

This qualitative research study began in late 2006 with the South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE) setting out to investigate ways of strengthening management of schools in the environment of HIV and AIDS.

While SAIDE found numerous initiatives and interventions aimed at supporting schools to mitigate the impact of HIV and AIDS in schools, a considerable number of these did not appear to continue beyond the pilot stage and many of the pilot projects were also never evaluated. While doing that overview, SAIDE came across the Soul City pilot – Schools as Nodes of Caring – on the brink of being implemented. SAIDE decided to link its first round of fieldwork to that pilot, which focused on building the capacity of principals and SGBs to provide leadership in creating caring and supportive environments for learners rendered vulnerable by HIV and AIDS. SAIDE’s intention was to assess the value of this approach and to distil examples of good practice.

Soul City collected data in six schools to develop case studies that described examples of good practice in mitigating the impact of HIV and AIDS on vulnerable learners. These cases revealed a number of common features, including strong leadership by the principal, high levels of community involvement and trust, and targeted interventions by external agencies. The cases also revealed a number of supportive practices ranging from establishing school-based vegetable gardens through setting up of uniform ‘banks’, to aftercare with supervised homework and home visits. The cases also showed though that these interventions were often uneven in their implementation and generally unsystematic. Based on the examples documented in the case studies, Soul City developed a training guide,5 used in two-day workshop sessions for SGB members. SAIDE’s participation in 6 of these workshops, held with a number of quintile 1 and 2 schools, plus visits to 18 schools in the Soul City pilot across 3 provinces (Free State, Mpumalanga and the Western Cape) led SAIDE to think critically about the role that school leaders need to play in mitigating the impact of HIV and AIDS in the lives of their learners and teachers. Further, given the context of these schools and the lack of capacity of many SGBs, SAIDE also realised that the in-depth involvement of the SMT was crucially important.

This shift to include the SMT as well as the SGB led SAIDE to concentrate attention on school-wide interventions rather than ad hoc initiatives implemented by individual teachers, which SAIDE researchers observed in many of the schools visited.6 Issues pertaining to sustainability also needed to be highlighted. SAIDE acknowledged that to successfully implement and sustain care and support programmes, school leaders needed to be adept at identifying and harnessing resources – human and material – that would best assist them in setting up and running these programmes. Thus the issue of leadership is central to the present research, which ultimately recommends an enhanced set of skills for school leaders.

At this point SAIDE shifted its research focus to concentrate on investigating five school-wide interventions that seemed to have a positive impact on learners and teachers who were infected and/or affected by HIV and AIDS. These interventions were:1. Creating networks to harness support for learners and teachers.2. Running effective nutrition programmes for learners.3. Providing school-based aftercare for learners.4. Supplying psycho-social support in the form of counselling for learners.5. Establishing support for teachers and systems for substitution.

To facilitate this investigation, SAIDE began the process of selecting a more purposive sample of schools where several of these interventions were already successfully occurring. The aim was to document examples of good practice that could eventually be shared and replicated. Various stakeholder groups were approached to assist in the identification of schools.7 After

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conducting telephone interviews with school principals at the 32 schools identified, a sample of 18 schools across 7 provinces was selected. Finally the data were obtained from 16 schools as, despite recommendations by provincial education department officials, site visits to 2 of the schools proved fruitless as these schools were not actually implementing any of the support interventions identified.

Extensive and specialised data collection tools were developed, including in-depth interview schedules for each of the 5 targeted areas and a detailed school profile questionnaire. The research team then conducted their directed interview/s in each of the 16 schools and completed the profile questionnaire.

Researchers used their interview data to develop case studies on each of the interventions. In total 30 school-based case studies were developed. The case studies were used to write up a detailed synthesis document for each of the 5 intervention areas. These synthesis documents and the case studies were analysed to ascertain the range of leadership skills demonstrated across the sample; the analysis revealed a particular manner in which school leaders established support networks.8

Four interconnected challenges

Four interconnected challenges emerged out of conducting research in this context, all of which meant that it was difficult to hold a tight focus on supporting learners and teachers infected and/or affected by HIV and AIDS.

First, the deep silence and stigma around HIV and AIDS meant that much of the information gathered during school -based site visits was often rather opaque and that the identification of vulnerable children requiring specific assistance proved to be vague, understated, unsystematic and largely unrecorded. The process for identifying Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) is highly complex as it involves screening, identification, assessment and support. It also requires a level of management from leaders that is often absent in South African schools.

Second, researchers found that it was almost impossible to probe learner needs exclusively in the context of HIV and AIDS. Given the way in which HIV and AIDS is embedded in a range of socio-economic problems, the multifaceted nature of the HIV and AIDS crisis in South Africa must be acknowledged (Badcock-Walters & Whiteside 2000; Coombe 2000; Giese, Meintjies, Croke & Chamberlain 2003). Children made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS cannot easily be separated out from those made vulnerable for any other reason. It is this interconnectedness of HIV and AIDS with other socio-economic issues that makes it difficult to keep a single focus and, instead, gives rise to the need for a more integrated or holistic approach to care and support.

This led researchers to consider a wide definition of the notion of ‘vulnerability’, which was used to guide the research. The definition emerged over time and takes into account work done by UNICEF (2006) and the National Plans of Action for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in sub-Saharan Africa (Engle 2008). In addition, the definition was informed by work done by many South African institutions and organisations concerning the provision of support and care to vulnerable children in South Africa (Children’s Institute, Soul City, Save the Children, Media in Education Trust Africa [MIETA]). Embedded in the resulting definition is the notion of children orphaned by HIV and AIDS, and the notion of children made vulnerable by a wider range of socio-economic issues resulting from varying degrees of poverty. In this study, vulnerable children are those who meet one or more of the following criteria:

• Are orphaned (one or both parents have died).• Are hungry and do not bring food to eat at school, resulting in an inability to pay attention in

class.• Are living on their own, or with grandparents or other family.

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• Have parents who are sick.• Are care givers to others who may be sick.• Are not properly cared for at home.• Are physically or sexually abused.• Do not attend school.• Are visibly neglected (not clean, need clothes and school uniforms).• Have emotional problems (bully others, cry a lot, are quick to get angry, are sad).• Are unable to pay attention in class.• Are unable to manage their school work (their work is not up to standard and/or their work is

often behind).• Are physically sick/have no one to take care of them when they are sick.• Appear abused.• Lack confidence.

This type of broad definition was also used at the 17th International HIV and AIDS Conference, where UNICEF HIV and AIDS project officer Penelope Campbell argued that broader targeting is appropriate in high prevalence settings (Campbell 2008). These issues also contributed to the difficulty of holding a tight focus on HIV and AIDS during the research.

Third, while schools made an attempt to support OVC at school, nothing was done when such learners did not present themselves at school. Given that absenteeism is one of the most common problems associated with OVC, there is a need for schools to provide academic compensatory support in order to enhance the academic achievement of these vulnerable learners.

And fourth, very little support directed at the specific needs of school teachers was discovered. Only two schools had any initiatives for teachers; and even in these schools there was a lack of clarity concerning the Prevention, Care and Treatment Access (PCTA) programme.9 Despite the lack of clarity in certain instances and contradictions in others, what is clear is that the PCTA programme allowed for the dissemination of further information on HIV and AIDS and support to teachers.

In conclusion, the present research set out to investigate school leadership specifically in the context of HIV and AIDS. Yet due to the circumstances discussed above, it became impossible to hold such a tight focus, as broader socio-economic problems were seen to impact on the school leadership actions observed in the schools.

Establishing supportive networks: nutrition, aftercare and counselling

This study confirmed what other reports have conveyed regarding the majority of schools in South Africa, and indeed in developing Africa; that they are in communities that are too poor to support themselves in a meaningful way and, as a result, operate under severe resource constraints.10 This has led to schools being overwhelmed by the problem of increasing numbers of learners at risk, commonly referred to as OVC. In the 16 schools visited for the present research, an average of 20% of all learners were deemed to be vulnerable, though many principals believed the number to be much higher. Two key concerns are raised from this scenario; the first relates to the scale of the problem. With such large numbers of learners coming to school in traumatised or vulnerable states, no meaningful learning can occur unless measures are taken to mitigate the effects of learners’ social conditions. The second concern relates to the extent that school leaders can manage this extensive problem. Even though the situation is desperate, schools have little capacity to support the psycho-social or other needs of their learners. This study showed that as a response schools with limited resources drew in some of the additional help their learners needed through establishing supportive networks around their schools. It also demonstrated that creating a culture of care for OVC resulted in many schools institutionalising nutrition programmes, aftercare facilities, and counselling opportunities for learners.

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Two key issues are probed in this section: first, the form that the nutrition, aftercare and counselling programmes took is described; and second, the manner in which school leaders established support networks around their schools is analysed.

Describing the programmes

NutritionGood nutrition is a key factor contributing to learner attendance and performance at school, especially for OVC and children living with HIV and AIDS. This was clearly demonstrated in all six of the case studies (see Appendix 13A, page 202). The DoE report prepared by the Community Agency for Social Enquiry (CASE) and JET Education Services on absenteeism (2007) confirms the benefits of school nutrition programmes and cites food as a key motivating factor in school attendance. Teachers in several schools noted that learners looked more alert and participated better in class after a meal. This observation lends credence to Maslow’s (1970) theory of human motivation being based on a hierarchy of needs. The needs at the lowest level of the hierarchy are physiological, including hunger and thirst, and must be satisfied before a person can realise safety, emotional and self-actualising needs. Thus nutrition, which meets a primary human need, is a foundation for ensuring development and learning. This basic need for food has been acknowledged by the DoE, which funds a decentralised provincial feeding programme. The minimum norms set by the national DoE require that primary school learners in quintiles 1, 2 and 3 be fed a cooked meal every weekday of the school term. Provinces receive their grants based on the number of learners registered in schools. National guidelines set in 2004 allocate R1.50 per learner per day, with 93% of the grant being allocated to food and 7% to administration. So while R1.50 is allocated for each learner, R0.80 is spent on food, R0.30 on administration and a further R0.40 on preparation and cooking by community ‘volunteers’ who are paid a stipend. Schools in quintiles 4 and 5 with learners requiring the nutrition programme have to apply to the provincial education department, documenting the number of vulnerable or ‘needy’ children in the school. As Case Two illustrates, however, this process is not clear cut and an equitable solution cannot be guaranteed.

Problems have been experienced with this national programme, most notably in terms of provincial variations to the norm. For example, during the research undertaken in KwaZulu-Natal, it was reported that per child spending on the nutrition programme was R1.30 and not R1.50; and in the North West Province, only schools in quintiles 1 and 2 (i.e. not quintile 3 schools) were receiving food from the nutrition programme. Another challenging issue relates to the responsibility for implementation being delegated to the school, which has to identify the number of OVC requiring the nutrition programme. The school must also identify people in the community who will be responsible for supplying food and preparing meals for these learners on a daily basis, and provide the facilities and storage space needed to run the programme. The principal must nominate a senior teacher to oversee the programme. Members of the SGB also play active roles in the nutrition programme; for example, by helping to identify vulnerable children in the broader community, by nominating cooks, and by being signatories for payments. Schools are required to keep records: of invoices from suppliers, payments made, and the number of learners fed daily. Payment systems vary between the education department paying the service provider directly and the department making a grant available to the school, which then pays the service provider. Cases Three and Six reflect on the financial roles played by their SGBs in relation to programmes implemented in the schools.

Of the 16 schools included in the sample, 10 had this type of programme. In summary, the following problems were identified in relation to the implementation of the school nutrition programme:• Nutrition programmes do not operate over weekends and school holidays. • Nutrition programmes do not serve secondary schools.• Nutrition programmes in some provinces or districts are ad hoc and diminishing.

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• There are no set criteria for deciding how many children are eligible to receive food in any given school.

• It is difficult for schools to update the information they provide to the education department concerning the growing number of children who require food.

• The education department stipulates administrative procedures but rarely inspects files and records kept at schools.

• The quintiles in which schools are placed are inaccurate.• The food provided in the programme is repetitive and often of poor quality.• Quintile 4 and 5 schools have to look for funds to implement their own nutrition programmes

for vulnerable learners.

Nonetheless, the nutrition programmes observed at many of the schools went beyond the official nutrition programme offered by the DoE. School leaders recognised that the levels of hunger and poverty amongst learners in their schools required that they supplement the provincial nutrition programme. The most common enhancing activities initiated by school managers included raising additional funds from local businesses to feed more learners, establishing vegetable gardens on school property, and networking with CBOs and FBOs in their communities to augment the programme. These actions are clearly seen in Cases Two, Three, Four and Five. Many schools have enough vacant land on the school property to allocate space for a vegetable garden, which creates a source of food to supplement the nutrition programme and benefits others in the local community. In communities where many are poor and unemployed and have no access to land, and where rates of HIV and AIDS are high, establishing vegetable gardens is an important way of maintaining the health and strength of families.

AftercareAftercare facilities were established in four of the schools visited, in acknowledgement of the lack of a safe place for learners to spend their afternoons. Across the four schools included for the original case studies, three different approaches emerged to setting up and managing aftercare programmes. In the first approach the school, under the leadership of the principal, made the necessary arrangements to set up and manage homework support and an aftercare facility. Case Two is an example of this approach. Second, an approach was observed where a group of concerned adults in the community approached the school with the idea of setting up and running an aftercare facility on its behalf. And in the third approach, the aftercare facility was the initiative of an external agency (see Cases Three and Six). In this third approach some of the external programmes were in collaboration with the provincial education department – for example, MIETA’s Schools as Centres of Care and Support (SCCS) programme – and some were introduced independently of the department – for example, Nurturing Orphans of AIDS for Humanity (NOAH). With the exception of the first approach (where the principal took the initiative), in the other two types of approach little or no involvement from school leadership was evident.

Aftercare arrangements for learners played a key role in supporting OVC in a number of ways across the schools. Typically most aftercare facilities offered a meal, and for many children this was the only proper meal they received for the day. Some aftercare facilities functioned only as safe places for children to stay after school, while others extended this service to offer structured homework support, programmes of extramural activities, opportunities for psycho-social counselling, and a referral system for accessing social security grants.

CounsellingVarious forms of counselling service were introduced in six of the schools in this study to address the psycho-social needs of traumatised learners. Generally, the common responses identified through this study included setting up systems for identifying learners at risk and providing them with some first-level counselling at school level, in most cases on an ad hoc basis. This type of counselling was mostly provided by teachers who were not trained and who offered the service out of their own sense of care and responsibility (as was the situation in Case Five). In a

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few instances, more systematised counselling systems were identified, where counselling was provided at school level by a designated teacher who had undergone some form of psycho-social training. In such cases, there was also a referral system, where learners were sent to external professional counsellors. Some of these counsellors were interns who came to the school under the supervision of their lecturers. However, if the problem was serious enough the intern referred the child to more experienced help. In these few instances, the counselling service was systematised and professional as well as being dependent on a substantial investment of resources from the school (see Case Two for a description of this form of counselling).

The actual choices that school leaders made in terms of aftercare and counselling, in particular, were often based on which organisations and agencies were to be found in the vicinity of the school. An example of this can be found in Case Two, where the principal entered into a formal partnership with the Johannesburg Parent and Child Counselling Centre (JPCCC), as this organisation is situated close to the school. While other schools may also have benefited from this type of partnership, they could not access it due to their geographical location.

Analysing networking

After analysing the data collected, a particular framework emerged from the schools in terms of how networks were established across the sample, and how this framework impacted on the manner in which the three selected support programmes of nutrition, aftercare and counselling were implemented and managed. This framework is based on two distinct approaches that school leaders used to set up and manage these networks of support. The first approach, the proactive approach, is characterised by school leaders who took the initiative in terms of how care and support interventions were implemented in their schools; and the second approach, the passive approach, involves leaders who played a limited role in the external care and support projects implemented in their schools. Given that this paper aims to provide examples of good practice, it concentrates on school leaders who used a proactive rather than a passive approach.

Evidence suggests that the proactive approach in this study is defined by the following leadership characteristics in school leaders. For example, proactive school leaders:• openly acknowledged the challenges their learners faced on a daily basis;• used their knowledge of the context to direct their networking attention to specific

organisations and institutions;• established webs of interconnected activities to support learners;• took ownership of external programmes through their direct involvement in managing,

administering and implementing projects;• built on developments that had already begun in their schools; and• included the role of community activist in their official roles.

School leaders who were able to openly acknowledge the challenges their learners faced were more likely to proactively source appropriate supportive networks to address these problems. As already explained, little or no mention was made of the problems associated with HIV and AIDS in particular. In fact it was only the principal in Case Six who was found to be fairly open concerning HIV and AIDS in his school. Thus the most constraining challenge generally identified was that of poverty and its associated social and emotional problems (as typified by Case One.) However, the school leaders who acknowledged this context did not become paralysed by the magnitude of the problem; rather they concentrated on addressing some of its constitutive parts, like nutrition, aftercare and counselling. And by doing this they made enormous differences in the lives of their learners and indirectly began to mitigate the impact of HIV and AIDS in their schools and communities.

In a ministerial review of what makes schools work, Christie et al. define quality leadership as principals who ‘demonstrate an understanding of the history and identity of the school

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and deep commitment to the community in which the school was located’ (2007: 78). The examples of school leadership provided here are similar to this and to what Hersey et al. call the school leader as responder and diagnostician (1996). Useful concepts for understanding this type of leadership are distributed leadership and contingency leadership, both of which have interactive natures where value is placed on the ability to take cognisance of the particular situation in a school (Diamond 2007, cited in Henry 2008). Several examples taken from the data collected reflect this style of leadership, where responsibilities for networking were shared as ‘varieties of expertise [which] are distributed across the many and not the few (Bennet et al. 2003: 7). For example, the principal of Zama (Case Six) became aware of the growing number of child-headed households in his area and realised that there was a need to enhance the nutrition programme that the education department offered to some of his learners. A local businessperson and the owner of the biggest football club in the region were approached by the principal for assistance with food donations and the purchase of a stove and gas. The ability of the principal to acknowledge the problems his learners faced led not only to the provincial feeding programme being enhanced but also to the beginnings of a comprehensive aftercare programme in his school. Similarly, the principal of Oxford (Case Two) acknowledged the fact that many of the learners in her school required psycho-social assistance. She was also sensitive to the fact that neither she nor her teachers were equipped to offer this support. So, through her knowledge of the context and her initiative, suitable professional counselling services were introduced and institutionalised in the school.

In a related issue, proactive school leaders used their understanding of the challenges their learners faced to direct their attention to specific networks. This relates to how school leaders mapped community resources with a view to entering partnerships. While these partnerships seemed to focus on helping schools create a caring and supportive environment for OVC, learners and teachers, ultimately they could also serve to mitigate the impact of HIV and AIDS. The examples cited here are illustrated through a continuum of possibilities related to the school leaders’ roles in community mapping and entering partnerships: at one end of the continuum are school leaders who first establish supportive and caring environments in their schools and then seek out particular partnerships to enhance the culture of care that already exists; at the other end of the continuum are schools that have externally initiated projects implemented by outside agencies, with little or no support from the school leaders. Drawing on examples from the data collected, cases are situated along this continuum with a view to considering which have the greatest chance of experiencing sustainability.

For example, the principals of Hlophe (Case Five) and Vuwani (Case One) both established school-based committees aimed at supporting OVC; the committees comprised and were run by teachers, under the leadership of the principal. The principal of Oxford (Case Two) also looked inward to provide learners with support with their school work. She did this through implementing a very simple strategy that could be replicated in any school; every teacher is required to stay in their classroom for an hour at the end of the school day to make themselves available to support learners with their school work. The principal also established an aftercare programme, which runs during both the school term and school holidays for approximately 30 children. Blase and Anderson’s (1995) conception of the facilitative role of school leaders, and the notion of Leithwood et al. (1999) of participative leadership, are evoked by these actions. And Lambert (1995) theorises about reciprocal processes where leaders:

…enable participants in a community to evoke potential within a trusting environment, to reconstruct or break set with old assumptions, to focus on the construction of meaning, or to frame actions based on new behaviour and purposeful intentions. (Lambert 1995: 47)

The principal of Manguzi11 also drew on in-school expertise to provide counselling support for her learners. A support team made up of teachers was established to take care of learners’

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counselling needs. The team’s main role was to work with teachers to identify learners in need of special care, including counselling. This identification process was systematised in the school and teachers saw it as one of their official roles. The school principal documented the process and invited learners’ parents/guardians to explain the problems being faced and the measures the school proposed to take to mitigate the effects of the problems. Essentially Manguzi assumed a new role not found in many schools in the country – that of caring and supporting learners in emotional and psycho-social stress through a well-planned system of counselling. This support encouraged vulnerable learners to remain in school – and research has shown that access to schooling is an important ‘social vaccine’ that can help reduce the spread of HIV (Coombe & Kelly 2001). The actions of this principal are demonstrative of the work of Hersey et al. (1996) with leaders who adapt through changing human behaviour to meet the demands of the situation. These types of leaders also learn to operate differently to suit the situation; they call for change and manage it.

School leaders also looked externally for support from official structures or from more informal organisations outside the school. For example,Vuwani (Case One) formed partnerships with a range of provincial departments; whereas the principals in both Ndlovu (Case Three) and Madiba (Case Four) sourced help from local businesses and NGOs. Some of their fundraising efforts resulted in one-off support for specific projects or events, while other funding provided sustained support. Examples of the more sustainable initiatives are Ndlovu (Case Three), which developed a link with Phinda Game Reserve; and Naledi,12 which has a long-term relationship with the East Rand Trust to support aftercare and nutrition programmes. The principal of Oxford (Case Two) carefully investigated organisations that offered counselling services in her area and identified the JPCCC – a nonprofit organisation located within the vicinity of the school – as a key partner. The principal then negotiated with this organisation so that it would offer counselling to learners at her school. The school entered into a contractual arrangement with the JPCCC, which included practical arrangements made by the counsellor and, very importantly, the role the school was expected to play in the partnership. Hayward (2008) writes of the invitational leader, who helps the schools through including the community in its key activities.13

No matter, though, whether school leaders looked inwards or outwards (or both) for support, they all drew on their understanding of the context to prioritise areas of need. In other words, it was not ad hoc support that they sourced but rather assistance directed at specific individuals, institutions and/or organisations that could address acknowledged challenges. In all these examples it is important to note that principals took the initiative to approach the individuals or organisations based on a clear vision of what they wanted in their schools. This part of the framework is best understood in terms of Fullan’s (2000) three stories of educational reform: the ‘inside’ story shows that there is no substitute for internal development, while the ‘inside-out’ story demonstrates that schools cannot develop on their own and that they need assistance from parents, the community, corporate connections and government policies. Fullan cautions that these external forces do not come in helpful packages and that the role of school leaders is to work out how to make the school’s relationship with them a productive one. And finally, Fullan’s ‘outside-in’ story (2000) is strongly suggestive of assistance from the DoE in general and the district office in particular.

Successful support networks functioned as webs of interconnected initiatives, where one initiative led almost seamlessly to the next. The data present some good examples:• Hlophe (Case Five): successfully involving the South African Police Services (SAPS) in creating

a safe and stable environment around the school led to the network expanding to include the Community Police Forum and the Justice Forum.

• Vuwani (Case One): the Women’s Project established in partnership with the Centre for Community Development led to interest from the National Development Agency, which started off by supporting the existing initiative but soon branched out into other areas such as literacy, management and governance training.

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• Ndlovu (Case Three): the combined efforts of NOAH, MiETA, Phinda Game Reserve and the school, working together in an interconnected manner to implement a successful aftercare programme, helped to maximise limited resources and minimise the deep rural location of the school.

It is a tribute to the networking efforts of these school leaders that many organisations worked towards the same goal and were able to pool resources to meet these common purposes and the final objective: namely, supporting OVC to participate fully in achieving a quality education. Support networks of this nature also helped to promote sustainability, as the burden of support was spread and did not all hinge on one organisation. It is evident that assertive and proactive leadership in these schools led to the establishment of strong networks of organisations that supported the schools in their areas of need. Many of the organisations with which the school leaders worked led them from one organisation to another, thus creating webs of support networks. Networking is vital if schools are to succeed in offering sustainable support to their learners. Where schools try to operate in isolation and neglect the social capital in their communities, they fail to mobilise enough resources to develop sound support programmes; all of the cases set out in this paper are illustrative of support networks of one form or another.

Whether it is the provincial department of education or any other external agency that brings a caring and support project to a school, it has a greater chance of success and sustainability if school leaders take ownership of the external programme. There is a need for support programmes to be initiated within schools, which in turn should seek external support but still remain at the core of the programmes’ implementation, thus ensuring ownership of the external initiatives. This was the case in both Madiba (Case Four) and Zama (Case Six), where the principals internally managed, coordinated and reported on projects implemented by MiETA and Save the Children (UK) respectively. However, the case of Zama and Save the Children (UK)’s Caring Schools project is of particular interest here given the contractual agreement entered into, which served to enhance notions of school leadership with respect to external projects. The agreement stipulated the actions and responsibilities of school structures like the SMT and the School-based Support Team (SBST): the SMT was expected to take ownership and responsibility in providing leadership for the programme and ensuring that it succeeded in creating a caring school for learners, and was also expected to ensure that the school integrated all other support initiatives that it might have into the Caring Schools programme; the SBST was responsible for day-to-day liaison, support and guidance provided to the programme’s youth facilitators. The school reported a drop in absenteeism from the time of the introduction of the nutrition and aftercare programmes in the project. They also reported that the children were in better health and that there was a noticeable improvement in learner performance. The fact that the Save the Children (UK) programme was underpinned by a contractual agreement seems to be a useful device for trying to promote a systematised approach to this type of care and support programme, an approach that almost forces the school to assume ownership and responsibility.

A similar example is that of Oxford (Case Two), which entered into a contractual agreement with the JPCCC. Ongoing communication between the counselling service and the school was built into the contract, and roles and responsibilities were clearly defined. The principal was responsible for contacting parents and preparing written referrals detailing the personal information pertaining to the learner and his/her home circumstances. The principal also briefed counsellors on new referrals and received feedback from them on progress of learners undergoing counselling. In this respect the role of the principal was central in enabling, coordinating and managing this external support intervention.

A characteristic of school leaders who have been proactive in establishing support networks is that of building on what they already have in their schools. For example, the principal of Ndlovu (Case Three) had already started building a classroom block, which assisted her in securing local business funds for additional blocks. And the principal of Madiba (Case Four) had already

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started support initiatives for OVC before the provincial education department introduced the SCCS programme. The SCCS, run by MiETA, built on pre-existing initiatives in the school but in a more systematic and structured manner. Its objectives included empowering the school so that it was better able to address HIV and AIDS and to provide care and support for OVC and teachers. It also aimed to ensure that the initiative was managed and sustained through school-based leadership structures. In another example of building on what already exists, the principal of Manguzi realised that her deputy principal was already skilled in counselling care. The deputy held a BEd (Honours) in Guidance and Counselling, and had attended several departmental workshops on counselling. These skills made the deputy an invaluable asset in the school in terms of providing counselling support to learners. With the deputy’s assistance, the principal built additional systems to support vulnerable learners at the school and forged links with relevant external agencies. The principal used skills that already existed in her school to initiate first-level counselling in response to the identified needs of learners in the school.

In all of the examples presented above and in the cases provided in this paper, supportive networks were established as a result of school leaders being community activists. As well as fulfilling the more traditional requirements of school development and the implementation of policy, these school leaders brought their role of community activists into their professional lives. They used their community contacts to mobilise support for their schools in a range of successful ways. These individuals broadened the notion both of what it means to be a school leader and of the roles schools play in the communities they serve.

Findings

A key finding of the present research has been the recognition of the importance of the care and support role played by schools; and the formal acknowledgment that, while teaching and learning is the core business of any school, for many vulnerable learners the care and support offered by the school is a prerequisite for their participation in the schooling system.

The sampled schools in this study were stratified across all quintiles in seven provinces and represent a range of primary and secondary schools in rural, township and urban settings. However, as the schools were purposively sampled, the information collected on learners rendered vulnerable as a result of HIV or a range of other socio-economic factors is indicative of the sampled schools only and is not representative of the wider population. Nonetheless, using a broad definition of vulnerable, the percentages of OVC in the schools ranged from 4.0% to around 90.0%, highlighting the scale of this problem. In a separate study commissioned by the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC), the prevalence of HIV infection amongst teachers was found to be 12.7% nationally (Shisana et al. 2005: xvi). This is higher than the 11.0% national average figure. The study by Shisana et al. (2005) also reflects marked provincial variation,14 which is confirmed by Hall et al. (2005: 23) in a separate ELRC study. Strategies for better supporting teachers and managing teacher absenteeism are therefore also imperative.

Several lessons emerged from this study regarding how establishing supportive networks in schools could help to put well-systematised programmes in place. These programmes could serve, even in some small way, to mitigate the impact of HIV and AIDS on learners and teachers. The lessons learnt have been distilled into key findings, which are described below. The concluding section includes a proposed approach and recommendations regarding basic and what are believed to be manageable interventions; it focuses on some of the important skills school leaders need to acquire in order to establish supportive networks around their schools, as well as the implementation of specific school-based initiatives. The enabling role that the DoE needs to play in supporting schools is also signposted.

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FINDING ONE: In the sample selected, only through changing what the schools stood for and how they were led had these schools been able to support teachers infected and/or affected by HIV and AIDS, and learners made vulnerable by the impact of HIV and AIDS and a range of socio-economically related concerns.

The lesson learnt is that schools have to undergo a paradigm shift to become centres of care and support. Making this shift is a precondition for successful learning and teaching to take place. Equipping schools with the resources and capacity to deal with HIV and AIDS related issues is not simply a matter of equipment, furniture and buildings – for which additional money can be arranged; rather it is a radical paradigm shift. The necessity for this shift is noted by Jansen (2007) when he writes:

One thing is clear, if the education system was designed for responsiveness to the pandemic, the organisation, content, delivery and outcome of schooling would be very different from the standard arrangements. (Jansen 2007: 67)

FINDING TWO: School leadership is very important in mitigating the impact of HIV and AIDS on vulnerable children, and teachers infected and/or affected by HIV and AIDS.

The second finding points to the fact that the necessary paradigm shift has serious implications for schools and school leaders; they need to be equipped with skills that go beyond teaching and the ordinary range of school management and administrative issues.

FINDING THREE: A variety of leadership styles enabled schools, in a variety of contexts, to create supportive programmes for learners and teachers.

The third finding probes the issue of school leadership within such a paradigm shift: what does this shift really mean in terms of leadership style? The six case studies in this paper (see Appendix 13A, page 202) represent the range of skills leaders demonstrated.

• Case One (Strategies for action) suggests that school leaders need to be skilled and creative in developing strategies to address specific challenges; they must also be able to develop and implement practical actions that give substance to these strategies. This is similar to the notion of Spillane et al. (2004), of the school leader as strategic manager.

• In Case Two (Proactive…insightful…involved) the principal had a vision towards which she worked. This vision was created out of an insightful and critical understanding of her school community. Once the vision was clear, practical steps were taken with other school leaders to work towards that vision. Good communication skills were required, as were involvement and insight. These skills evoke Mintzberg’s (1975) notion of the leader’s role as disseminator of information, and Fullan’s ‘action-based theory of leadership’ (1996: 720).

• Case Three (Charismatic, organic leadership) was possibly the only one of the schools in which success rested on the individual personality traits of the principal herself. It may be impossible to teach someone to be charismatic, yet all school leaders can learn how to use every opportunity to access funds for support programmes. While we accept the contention of Christie et al. (2007) that there is need for a ‘more sophisticated understanding of leadership than that offered by…the “heroic” principal’ (2007: 75), this should not detract from the achievements of this particularly dynamic leader.

• Case Four (Prioritising needs according to context) also demonstrates that school leaders need a proper understanding of their school’s context and how to work within it, much like the adapting component of leadership written about by Hersey et al. (1996).

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• Case Five (Task-driven management and leadership) illustrates that basic compliance issues that ensure functionality need to be addressed before networks can be established. Blake and McCanse (1991, cited in Hersey et al. 1996) write that task-oriented behaviour can be a form of impoverished management. However, in the South African context such a task-driven style does have a role to play, especially in the more dysfunctional schools. Additional implications of this type of leadership are detailed by Hayward (2008), who speaks of assertive leaders who focus their teachers on tasks that need to be managed.

• Case Six (Managing interventions) stresses the need for school leaders to initiate contact with external agencies and then actively participate in any project that is brought in as a result. This resonates with both Hall and Hord’s (1987) definition of the school leader as an initiator, and Mintzberg’s (1975) idea of the leader as an entrepreneur.

These cases demonstrate that apart from the accepted school leadership roles that Leithwood et al. (1999) list as instructional leadership, transformational leadership, moral leadership, participative leadership, managerial leadership and contingent leadership, the following skills are required by school leaders who aim to support learners and teachers in the school:• Ensure school functionality as a precondition for other developments.• Demonstrate a sound knowledge and understanding of the social context of the school.• Use every opportunity to develop the school.• Accurately identify the problems that learners and teachers face.• Prioritise these problems.• Develop critical strategies to address these problems.• Put insightful but practical actions in place to address these problems.• Develop and practise good communication skills.• Initiate contact with external agents.• Actively participate in external projects.

Kelly (2000) identifies six preconditions that need to be in place for schooling to be provided and managed differently in the contexts of high HIV prevalence and poverty:1. Greater flexibility.2. Increased resourcefulness and openness to change.3. Tolerance of diverse solutions and models.4. Willingness to loosen up bureaucratic constraints and procedures.5. Co-operation and collaboration with several partners.6. Meaningful decentralisation based on school autonomy and effective participation of local

stakeholders.

These preconditions can be used to enhance the framework of additional management and leadership competences. If schools are to play a greater role in responding to the vast range of socio-economic and cultural factors that make children vulnerable, then it is vital that they be equipped to do so.

In summary, school leaders need to be knowledgeable and skilled at identifying and mobilising resources (both human and material) within the school and beyond, which enables them to set up and sustain programmes for OVC. Once support programmes are in place, school leaders need to be fully involved in their management and implementation. All schools in South Africa need to do this, as the impact of HIV and AIDS cannot be ignored by anyone. The task is much harder, however, for schools with limited financial resources as they have to engage the services of a range of government departments and forge links with external agencies. These school leaders must learn to network with NGOs, CBOs and FBOs to acquire food, training, funds and other forms of assistance. They also need to learn how to raise funds from local businesses, organisations and individuals, to source a regular income stream to sustain their activities and projects over time. This raises the challenge of how support programmes can be maintained once the external funds and assistance are withdrawn. This study showed that school leaders

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who used every opportunity to establish support structures and programmes in their schools were both proactive and successful. These kinds of leaders put training to good use; for example, they drew on funding proposal skills gained in workshops to apply successfully for funds; and they accurately prioritised school, learner and teacher needs. The more community standing the school leaders had the more likely it was that they were able to mobilise that community to assist the school. Irrespective of where support projects were initiated, those that were coordinated and managed by a school leader had the greatest chance of success and sustainability. Record-keeping skills are very important in relation to HIV and AIDS, especially with reference to psycho-social counselling; but records were generally poorly kept as school leaders were reluctant to note information concerning HIV and AIDS on the grounds that this would not be confidential. School leaders need to be helped to keep systematic records, as these are important in terms of planning and support. External projects need to actively encourage and model accurate record-keeping (as illustrated in Case Two). It is crucially important that these enhanced leadership skills be included in the official set of competences required by school leaders; it is equally important that school leaders receive training on these additional skills.

FINDING FOUR: A discourse of vulnerability existed across the schools. This discourse embedded HIV and AIDS in a range of socio-economic issues, including poverty. The tendency to subsume HIV and AIDS into a wider conception of vulnerability served to increase the silence and stigma associated with the pandemic and to marginalise it in practice.

The schools in this study all operated under varying conditions of poverty. For example, unemployment was high, violence was rife, and substance abuse and HIV and AIDS were prevalent. Given this context, the schools did need as much and as varied forms of support as possible. This resulted in support programmes that dealt with broad issues like nutrition, aftercare and psycho-social counselling being implemented in the schools. However, apart from the standard curriculum offerings that taught HIV and AIDS in the context of life orientation, the schools had not developed any programmes dealing directly with HIV and AIDS.

While the necessity of the nutrition, aftercare and counselling programmes is unquestionable, problems emerge when one considers the level of stigmatisation and silence around HIV and AIDS; HIV and AIDS issues become lost and the focus so diluted that very little real or directed impact is made. As HIV and AIDS becomes marginalised in the face of other poverty-related issues, the silence and stigma continue and the challenges are never fully addressed. Christie et al. (2007) talk of the ‘enormous resistance’ to talking about HIV and AIDS, resulting in what is everyone’s business becoming no-one’s business. Thus it becomes very important to consider the ways in which children infected and/or affected by HIV and AIDS need specialised support. HIV and AIDS related suffering and vulnerability make it harder for children – and indeed adults – to ask for help and to access support. This is largely due to the feelings of shame and alienation that result from the stigma around the disease. Possibly this could explain schools’ reluctance to ‘name’ the problem and to be proactive in finding solutions. The stigma attached to HIV and AIDS possibly causes a mismatch with resources because while there may be a great deal of help available for OVC, it cannot be effectively used, as school communities shy away from the OVC label.15

The need for the silences and stigma surrounding HIV and AIDS to be addressed was discussed at the ANC’s 2007 conference in Polokwane where, amongst other things, a mass mobilisation campaign to increase AIDS awareness16 was suggested.

FINDING FIVE: Teachers and principals interviewed reported that the nature of learner vulnerability required that the support concentrate on areas like nutrition, aftercare and psycho-social counselling. These programmes made a positive difference in the lives of these vulnerable children. This view was further corroborated by the researchers’ observations during school-based site visits.

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SAIDE’s research showed that these sorts of support programmes can be implemented in schools with limited resources. In particular, the following three kinds of programme were reported to have positive influences on the lives of vulnerable children:1. A school nutrition programme, which ensured that the most vulnerable learners received at

least one meal a day.2. An aftercare programme, which fed learners and provided a safe place in the afternoons.

Some aftercare facilities also provided places for learners to do their homework under adult supervision and a range of other structured activities. Vulnerable children were provided with extended opportunities to interact with peers and ‘friendly’ adults in the aftercare. Social warmth, which was often lacking in the children’s homes, was experienced in the facility.

3. A psycho-social programme in the form of counselling, which provided traumatised learners with the emotional support they required to come to terms with issues such as bereavement and abuse.

FINDING SIX: To implement support programmes for vulnerable children, school leaders looked for assistance fi rst from within their own school communities. School leaders involved teachers, the governing bodies, local businesses, local government services, and various NGOs involved in implementing support programmes for vulnerable learners.

Many school leaders first looked within their own schools for assistance with vulnerable learners; and they did this successfully. Examples are cited in this paper of school leaders identifying additional skills and interests in their teaching staff and building support programmes around them. Realistic ways in which SGBs could assist with learner support were also found. In many instances, while the SGBs could not fulfil their mandated functions concerning school governance, they did provide financial guidance and practical help with support programmes. In addition, many schools received a range of support from their local communities, which could be as basic as the parents collecting firewood for the nutrition programme – nonetheless demonstrating that even in the poorest areas it is possible to enlist the assistance and support of communities. In other instances, long-term partnerships with local business were established. Essentially a common-sense understanding and appreciation of the concept of vulnerability took root in the school communities, manifesting a notion of community as originally propagated in the Implementation Plan for Tirisano 2000–2004 (DoE 2000a), and endorsed further in 2008 by the likes of Cyril Ramaphosa and Graça Machel at the launch of the Action for a Safer South Africa Convention, as an approach to combating crime in South Africa.17

This finding is best understood in the context of Fullan’s (2000) three stories of educational reform: in particular, the first story, the ‘inside’ story, which shows that there is no substitute for internal development; and the second, the ‘inside-out’ story, which demonstrates that schools cannot develop on their own and need assistance from parents and the community. However, Fullan cautions that these external forces do not necessarily come in helpful packages and that the role of school leaders is to work out how to make such relationships productive. This is a point well made in relation to the present research, where it was found that sustainable external help occurred where school leaders were actively involved in both the coordination and management of outside programmes.

FINDING SEVEN: HIV and AIDS and the large range of socio-economic factors impacting on children’s lives were so complex that schools could not manage their responses to these alone. All of the schools in the study require additional assistance from the education department (both provincially and locally), which they believe has a very important role to play.

The DoE has a very important support role to play in assisting schools with establishing a culture of care and support. Even though some of the schools in the project were classified as quintile 4 or even 5, it was found that these socio-economic classifications were not entirely accurate, and all schools required support to make the required paradigm shift. Fullan’s third story, the

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‘outside-in’ story (2000), strongly supports the notion of significant support, monitoring and provision of infrastructure by the DoE.

The research showed that when the provincial education department created an enabling environment around schools, schools were in a better position to support vulnerable learners. And in very practical terms it was found that this support was enhanced in schools where the department provided infrastructural development and where, for example, the provincial nutrition programme was more consistently implemented. In the concluding section of this paper some possible approaches to creating a more enabling environment are suggested.

FINDING EIGHT: The payment of stipends makes a significant difference to the sustainability of school-based programmes for support of OVC, as does the presence of additional staff to take responsibility for facilitating a number of support initiatives.

Large agencies like NOAH, Save the Children (UK) and MiETA, which are involved in these types of school-based programmes for OVC support, provide stipends to support auxiliary staff working in individual schools or within a cluster of schools. The lesson learnt is that even very modest financial support to schools is enabling and can make the difference between such interventions succeeding or not.

FINDING NINE: When collaboration took place between government departments, the approach to learner support was more integrated and thus more successful.

This finding suggests that the DoE needs to forge stronger links and partnerships with other government ministries as well as with civil organisations and, importantly, with the schools themselves. The present research demonstrated that much of the support that schools need, in order to address the issue of HIV and AIDS and the range of socio-economically related challenges that face schools, falls outside the actual remit of the DoE. For example, it is important that the following departments also provide support: Health (access to clinics and health care), Water (access to drinking water), Social Development (access to social grants), and Welfare (access to social workers). Linking with the SAPS would also serve to ensure the safety and security of the schools. The DoE needs to forge links with these departments and services on behalf of schools.

In addition, the nature of inclusive education and HIV and AIDS policies requires sophisticated, matrix-style project management with a strong multi-sectoral component. It is important that this form of collaboration take place not only at national level but also at provincial and district levels in practical ways. In practice, though, multi-sectoral collaboration is not an easy task as departments tend to be organised hierarchically, and matrix-style management does not occur. Different government departments are not accustomed to working jointly on projects, and are not structured to do so as they are accountable for their own policies rather than those of other departments. The nature of the partnerships, though, needs to be such that they focus on collapsing ‘defensive administrative and bureaucratic boundaries’ (Jansen 2007: 69) for the sake of enabling schools to become centres of care and support. This need for departments to work together in an integrated manner to fight poverty has been acknowledged at the highest levels. For example, at national level the former agricultural director-general, Masiphula Mbongwa, was put in charge of the government’s anti-poverty programme; in 2008, Mbongwa put forward an integrated government approach when speaking of the need for departments and local authorities to work together in a coordinated way to fight poverty.18 And in 2008, deputy president at the time, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, also spoke of an integrated approach, in which government departments like Education, Health, Social Development and Home Affairs would collaborate as part of the government’s strategy for dealing with poverty.19

At provincial level, the Western Cape has for some time been implementing its Social Transformation Programme, an integrated approach to social service delivery coordinated by the

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office of the provincial premier. The programme involves a number of government departments including Social Services, Education (in particular the HIV and AIDS deputy chief specialist: care and support), Health and Home Affairs, as well as the SAPS, working collaboratively.20

FINDING TEN: Existing policies pertaining to HIV and AIDS and inclusive education were not taken up robustly by the education department and as a result many implementation problems resulted.

The research found that while national policies do exist to mandate schools as centres of care and support, the fact that schools do not enjoy financial support for implementation of such policies is profoundly problematic. Russell Wildeman (2007) of the Institute for a Democratic South Africa reflects on the financing of inclusive education at provincial education level. He talks of the ‘policy modesty’ of Education White Paper 6, which includes HIV and AIDS as a barrier to learning in arguing against a greater flow of resources to inclusive education initiatives. Further, according to Wildeman (2007), the fact that provinces avoid aggressive campaigns to get ‘special needs’ learners into schools reveals the folly behind policy implementation without significant resource backing. A fragmented implementation reality results, as what is achieved is still determined by capacity (financial and otherwise) and is not yet a function of policy.

FINDING ELEVEN: No instances were found of academic support for learners who were unable to attend school either due to their own illness or for any other reason.

While the national policy on HIV and AIDS for learners, students and educators is clear that if and when learners with HIV or AIDS become incapacitated through illness, the school should make work available to them for study at home and should support continued learning where possible, or provide older learners with distance education (DoE 1999), no school in this study had any system in place to support learners with school work missed due to illness or for other reasons. It is important to note that academic achievement is in itself an important factor that motivates learners to remain in school, but where learners do not achieve academically their chances of dropping out of school are very high.

Various models can be used to support learners who frequently miss lessons. For example, one useful approach is the ‘school in a bag’,21 to keep absent learners constantly engaged with academic work. Also workable is the ‘buddy’ approach, where learners are in contact with their teachers through the medium of a buddy, with the teachers sending reading materials and homework to absentee learners and getting the completed work back for marking and further feedback via the buddy. Within the community, additional support can be provided through a ‘catch-up club’ – a group of absent learners meeting and receiving assistance with their academic work from an advisor who works closely with the school and is supplied with support learning and counselling guides used to afford maximum help to the learners (Pridmore 2008). Apart from organising the work programme, the class teacher also needs to keep a register of learners ‘at risk’ of repetition due to poor attendance. The teacher must also note who could drop out of school due to poor test results. School leaders have a role to play in that they must ensure that the ‘at risk’ register kept by the class teacher is up to date. They also need to follow up on each learner in the register by visiting the home to provide support for living and encouragement for learning.

FINDING TWELVE: While varying levels of support existed for vulnerable children, little or no support was provided for teachers infected and/or affected by HIV and AIDS.

Despite the high prevalence of HIV infection amongst teachers (as reflected in the ELRC study mentioned above), researchers on this project were met with silence on the issue of teachers infected and/or affected by HIV and AIDS, and failed to gather information pertaining to teacher support initiatives, bar one; this was the union-instituted Prevention, Care and Treatment Access (PCTA) programme. The PCTA was aimed at educating and informing teachers about the HIV and AIDS pandemic and what teachers infected and/or affected could do about their situations.

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School-based peer counsellors were expected to support teachers by listening to their problems and ensuring that teachers had time to go for consultation and treatment when necessary; a privately sponsored programme allowed teachers to call a toll-free number and be directed to a private doctor for free counselling, testing and treatment. The SMT had a role to play in that they had to ensure that school policies were compatible with these arrangements. Only two of the schools sampled were aware of the PCTA programme.

The research found that the needs of infected and affected teachers were marginalised and neither acknowledged nor addressed. Teachers are not in the socio-economic bracket of extreme poverty. This means that teachers do not present with the obvious problems of very poor children in that they do not come to school hungry or dirty; but many of them do come to school sick, in ill-health and very often depressed (Shisana et al. 2005). None of the schools had systems of substitution that could, at a very basic level, help to support ill teachers and the continuation of teaching and learning when teachers were absent.

Serious questions need to be asked about this lack of support for teachers and why school leaders and the DoE fail to nurture and support them. When teachers are seen as ‘resources’ or ‘tools’ to implement care and support, and where no acknowledgement is made of the traumas in their own lives, teachers may become objectified and depersonalised.

Conclusions and recommendations

In this section we put forward some preliminary ideas on how the findings from this study could be translated into achievable interventions to support vulnerable learners, especially those infected and/or affected by HIV and AIDS. Ideas on teacher substitution to mitigate the impact of teacher absenteeism are also proffered.

Schools conceptualised as centres of care and support

A new paradigm for schools needs to become entrenched, one in which schools are conceptualised as centres of care and support. This notion is not a new one; rather, it is well rooted in existing policy.22 The need to make the shift from a narrow focus on what schools do and how they are led, to the notion of schools as centres of care and support becomes urgent when one takes cognisance of the number of OVC as evidenced in this research sample alone. The challenge is to give realisable, practical expression to existing policy.

We propose that, while retaining their emphasis on teaching and learning, schools need to focus on a few well chosen interventions. This study suggests that basic nutrition, aftercare and support with school work, and psycho-social support are preconditions for successful learning and teaching to take place. Schools will therefore be required to build supportive networks to:• better manage, strengthen and expand the current provincial nutrition programmes;• establish aftercare facilities; and• manage psycho-social support and referral services.

While currently a number of large NGOs, notably NOAH, Save the Children (UK) and MiETA, are working with schools, engaging in a range of similar interventions to support vulnerable children, such interventions have been integrated in a context where the school has not been reconceptualised in the manner suggested by Jansen (2007) as being necessary (as discussed earlier in this paper). For the notion of a school as a place of care and support truly to take hold, a shift in the way the role of schools is thought about needs to take place at all levels of the education system. For example, it is important to enable proactive school leadership as a necessary part of the very fabric of each school and district, to ensure buy-in and concerted effort from all key stakeholders in the immediate school community. Support from the provincial and

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national education departments as well as other departments involved in social services is also required.

The education departments in KwaZulu-Natal and the North West Province are already working collaboratively with MiETA to implement a model of schools as centres of care and support. Such initiatives deserve high-level support, careful planning and rigorous monitoring to ensure replicability.

The resulting expanded role of school leadership

The concept of the school being expanded to include notions of becoming a centre of care and support inevitably results in a concomitant expansion of the role of the school leadership. New responsibilities will have to be assumed.

The leadership team will need to take on more explicit mentoring and management roles in relation to staff, as well as skilfully developing the buy-in and support of the SGB and the parent community at large. Yet most important, as this study exemplifies, is establishing effective support networks. This approach to harnessing support is suggested as a mechanism for establishing the kinds of interventions suggested. Setting up these networks is likely to require school leadership to engage simultaneously with a range of target groups and organisations. Although this may be achieved in a variety of ways, it may be useful to visualise this process as a set of concentric circles of support. Starting by drawing on skills within their schools, leaders can then look beyond the school walls to the community to map and utilise available resources.

However, it is important to remember Fullan’s (2000) cautionary message in his ‘inside-out’ story of educational reform; while schools cannot develop on their own and need external assistance, the role of school leaders is to work out how best to manage these interventions to make relationships optimally productive and sustainable.

Added responsibility for the SMT requires additional resources to which the SMT has access; for example, it becomes necessary to extend the time that the SMT has at its disposal to perform its additional functions.

The need for professional development with a different emphasis

It is likely that many principals and SMT members will themselves lack these kinds of skills and require a different form of capacity building from that currently offered to school leaders. This has implications for the type of continuing professional development needed. While the DoE is acknowledged for developing the Advanced Certificate in Education in Leadership and Management for school principals, the current content of this programme is not responsive to the type of needs described here. In fact, as it presently stands, the programme does not have a module dealing with vulnerable children nor with HIV and AIDS.

The role of the education department

If schools are to become centres of care and support, they will require extensive support from the education department at all levels (national, provincial and district).

• First and foremost, the school nutrition programme needs to be fully functional, and expanded wherever possible.

• The proposed interventions, such as the strengthening and expanding of the provincial nutrition programmes with school food gardens, or the setting up of aftercare and homework support facilities, and systems for grant referrals and psycho-social support, do need to be resourced. For example, resources need to be made available to support auxiliary activities,

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such as in the form of stipends for casual staff working on the school nutrition programme. In making care and support a precondition for all else that happens in schools and districts, the DoE needs to include care and support as a budget line item, foregrounding it in all school and district development plans.

• The education department needs to facilitate more accurate planning and resource allocation. A systematic school-based process supported by the education district office for identifying OVC is a necessary precondition for proper planning and resource allocation. A simple information management system is needed for capturing and processing information on OVC, which will help to facilitate planning and management of support interventions, per school and per district, based on actual numbers of OVC.

• The DoE needs to establish a data feedback loop. Current practice is for school data that are collected to be sent to the district office and then to the provincial education department office for processing, with very little or no feedback to district offices and schools. A data feedback loop would assist in supporting proper planning at district and school levels.

• There is a need for regular revision of the quintile system. The current quintile system needs to be revisited and updated in respect of determining the socio-economic position of schools. Even in the small sample frame used in this study, examples of incorrectly classified schools were encountered.

• The education department needs to build the capacity of district officials to fulfil their role of supporting and monitoring schools. Resources need to be earmarked and capacity development undertaken to equip specifically identified district officials to play a role in monitoring and supporting schools, to fulfil their mandated obligation of implementing support programmes for learners and teachers. This responsibility needs to be viewed as a core function of these officials, rather than an additional task in an already over-stretched day.

• The education department should facilitate collaboration with other stakeholders. The national and provincial education departments as well as the district offices need to mobilise and play a coordinating role in involving other departments, especially from the support services cluster, to enable effective support programmes in schools. Departments to consider a multi-sectoral, collaborative approach along with Education could include Transport, Health, Social Development, Home Affairs and Justice.

Attention to the needs of teachers

Urgent attention needs to be given to identifying, examining and expanding initiatives to support teachers. For example:• The PCTA programme, the teacher union scheme to provide confidential counselling, testing

and treatment of teachers with HIV and AIDS, needs attention, support and expansion.• Embryonic initiatives to establish a system for teacher substitution, to mitigate the impact of

teacher absenteeism on children’s learning and teaching, need to be explored carefully and budgeted for appropriately and then managed by the DoE.

To sum up

This paper has presented research conducted by SAIDE, focusing on sourcing examples of good practice where school leaders were able, even in some small way, to mitigate the impact of HIV and AIDS on the lives of their learners and/or teachers. Set within the broad parameters of school leadership theories, this research was framed by three policy issues: human rights and inclusivity; official leadership structures in schools; and schools as centres of care and support.

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This frame resulted in a tension that was never completely resolved either during the actual research or during the writing of this paper. Essentially the tension was between following an integrated and multi-layered approach to working with learners made vulnerable by a range of socio-economic issues and teachers infected and/or affected by HIV and AIDS, while struggling to hold a tight focus on HIV and AIDS.

The research findings showed that while many school leaders were able to engage with support programmes for learners, there was little support, barring the union-instituted PCTA programme, for teachers. The research also showed that support programmes for learners concentrated on implementing school nutrition, aftercare and counselling programmes. Two key recommendations are made as a result of these findings: first, that a more extensive range of school leadership competences be acknowledged and institutionalised in South Africa; and second, that the education department play a pivotal role in supporting schools in mitigating the impact of HIV and AIDS on school communities.

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Appendix 13A: Case studies

CASE ONE: Strategies for action

Vuwani Lower Primary School is a rural school situated in a poor Limpopo community where unemployment is rife. The few people who do work are employed on the surrounding commercial fruit farms. Subsistence farming supports most people, but it is an activity that is totally dependent on the weather. Vuwani is a quintile 3 school, where every learner is required to pay R50 school fees per year; but the principal, Mrs Ndukwana, stated that the annual default rate is in excess of 50%. The school, with a total of 688 children, has a favourable teacher : learner ratio of 1 : 30. As there is no running water, the school is dependent on a borehole from which water is pumped into tanks. Vuwani does not have a telephone line or e-mail facilities, and the only way of communicating is through the principal’s private cellphone. While the school has three donated computers, limited computer literacy on the part of the staff renders these almost unused. The school is connected to the ESKOM grid with electricity primarily used to run a photocopying machine and computers, which are located in the principal’s offi ce. The principal’s offi ce also has to double up as a library and a storage room for school equipment.

According to school records, 30 learners have been identifi ed as OVC, and of these 14 are estimated to be infected and/or affected by HIV and AIDS. The school records do not list learners who are orphaned directly as a result of HIV and AIDS, nor is the problem of HIV and AIDS infection talked about openly in the community. However, the majority of learners are vulnerable because of their poor home backgrounds. Mrs Ndukwana commented that most learners stay with their siblings or with relatives and, as a result, regular food supply is a challenge.

Poverty causes the school to rely heavily on support from offi cial sources and from external donors. After realising the constraints posed by poverty in the community, Mrs Ndukwana looked for external support. As a result many provincial departments became involved in the school, with the most obvious being Education, which helps with infrastructure development as well as training on record-keeping and school administration. The Department of Agriculture helps with the school garden, while Health contributes educational posters and assists learners to go to the local clinic. The Department of Water provides water when the borehole does not work.

When Mrs Ndukwana arrived at Vuwani in 1997 there were not enough classrooms and many classes were run under trees. The school grounds were not fenced and accessing water was extremely challenging. However, the principal had learnt about accessing donor funds from her experiences at another school. Today the school has fi ve classroom blocks that accommodate all learners and suffi cient space to plan for the extension of the school to include Grade 5 in the very near future. Three of these blocks are relatively new; one was built through the assistance of the DoE while the others were constructed through funds from the Japanese Embassy. The Centre for Community Development started a Women’s Project aimed at raising funds for school fees through building and sewing. This led to the involvement of the National Development Agency (NDA), which began by supporting salaries for the men and women who worked in the Women’s Project. The NDA’s involvement soon spread to capacity-building training for teachers, school managers and the school governors. Mrs Ndukwana has also secured the help of local businesses, and one bus company supplies free transport as well as food and dishes for special occasions like HIV and AIDS days.

The principal has organised her staff into teams to work on various aspects of school development and learner support. Apart from the SMT, which implements policies, committees have been established for orphans and vulnerable learners, health and hygiene, nutrition and the school garden, and psycho-social counselling for learners. These committees are answerable to the principal and to the SMT. Thus the principal remains constantly aware of what is happening in the committees. She also plays a pivotal role in supporting the committees through mobilising resources.

Mrs Ndukwana said that the SGB is too weak to make meaningful contributions towards school development. The SMT reportedly has problems in getting members of the SGB to attend meetings, as the latter are usually busy fending for their families on the surrounding commercial farms. Most activities in the school are therefore driven by the principal and her SMT. Although there is no active SGB, the principal has been able to mobilise a tremendous amount of resources from external agencies.

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CASE TWO: Proactive…insightful…involved

Oxford Girls Primary School is situated less than 5 km from Johannesburg’s city centre. Established 90 years ago, it is one of the oldest schools in Johannesburg. Over the years, the community that the school serves has changed considerably – from the children of what was largely a middle class, Jewish community to the children of a predominantly black African community. This contemporary community comprises mainly immigrants and refugees from neighbouring African countries, in particular, French-speaking refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mrs Smit, the principal, has identifi ed that 90% of the 500 learners are OVC. This means that the majority of children in the school require some kind of socio-economic or psycho-social support. About 200 children (40% of the total enrolment) are from refugee families and, as such, have a range of psycho-social and economic needs that require special attention. This high percentage of OVC at the school means that there is a great need for care and support in a range of spheres within the school community. As a quintile 4 school, Oxford does not receive food from the provincial nutrition programme, despite serving a predominantly poor community with high rates of unemployment. Applications to the Gauteng education department for learners to be considered for the nutrition programme have been turned down without reasons being provided. Thus the school has taken responsibility for feeding between 100 and 150 learners daily. To do this the school has to rely on monetary donations and food provided by the successful vegetable garden.

In lieu of fees, parents are asked to volunteer their services to programmes run in the school. The principal assesses the parents’ skills and language levels and deploys them in the school accordingly. Some parents help with cleaning, some look after the vegetable garden, some work as teachers’ assistants in the classrooms and one parent assists with the school’s aftercare programme. In addition, Mrs Smit has integrated a school/homework support system in the daily programme to offer learners academic support. The aftercare facility at the school runs during school time and in the holidays. This facility is run by the Grade R teacher, who also makes it available to some young children who attend an early childhood development centre situated across the road from the school and whose parents are unable to fetch them when the centre closes at around midday. The aftercare offers a meal, a set period for the children to do their homework, and a programme of ‘fun’ activities. The Grade R teacher liaises with her colleagues if she picks up a need for remediation in any particular area, thus forming a useful feedback loop.

The proactive leadership of the principal has made a huge difference in this school. Through her commitment, insight and values-based leadership she has invested in training and motivating her staff to be part of an integrated and systematised approach to supporting learners and enabling them to access quality education. Included in this is a contractual agreement between the school and the Johannesburg Parent and Child Counselling Centre (JPCCC). This contract involves identifying vulnerable learners and following through with the necessary support actions. The principal is required to keep records regarding vulnerable learners and home visits.

Because the school actively supports vulnerable children it enjoys a positive relationship with the community in terms of support and respect. This can be seen through the high level of parental participation in school activities and functions.

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CASE THREE: Charismatic, organic leadership

Ndlovu Primary School is in a rural area of KwaZulu-Natal. The school serves a very poor community where water is scarce and agricultural activity is limited to small-scale cattle and goat rearing. Ndlovu relies on the local council to deliver water to its tanks. While the main road is in good condition, the road leading to the school is a dusty trail overgrown with grass. The principal, Mrs Zami, has been the main driving force in this school for the past 10 years. When she came to the school there were many out-of-school children in this community. Mrs Zami had a vision of bringing education to the community, but there were no school buildings. She described how in 1998 she started the school with 200 learners under four trees – one for each of the fi rst three grades and a tree that served as an offi ce. She reported, ‘I was alone by that time. I was the only teacher, the principal, everything.’ Mrs Zami spoke passionately about how the school developed from being under a tree in 1998 to now having three classroom blocks and an administration block to support learners from Grades 1 to 7.

Mrs Zami has the ability to harness support from different organisations and from the local community. Through networking she has been able to raise funds to get support for OVC in her school. Phinda Game Reserve was responsible for building three classroom blocks so that teaching and learning did not have to take place under trees. The community had already started building one block on its own – a fact that impressed Phinda and encouraged them to commit their fi nancial resources. Instead of asking the game reserve for additional money for food and uniforms, Mrs Zami and some of her learners provided hospitality support to overseas tourists at Phinda. For this they were paid R14 000. Some tourists, impressed by the efforts of the principal and touched by the plight of the school, donated an additional R8 000. This fundraising continues, with the principal having been overseas to raise funds, and with tourists continuing to visit the school and offer donations. All fi nances that the principal receives are deposited in the school account by the SGB treasurer; the principal makes a point of calling on the SGB treasurer as soon as she receives any funds.

Ndlovu NOAH Phinda Ark started in 2007 as a joint venture between Phinda Game Reserve, NOAH, MiETA and the school. As well as running its own programme, SCCS, MiETA provides funding for community volunteers. As NOAH runs a programme directly aimed at assisting OVC, they provide the bulk of the funds for additional activities like aftercare, extra nutrition and other support including homecare visits as well as training of care givers. The ark programme also operates in a local secondary school. Mrs Zami argues that you cannot help a learner in her school but not her sister in the secondary school when they are both parentless and in need. Also, you cannot ignore Ndlovu learners as soon as they move on to secondary schools.

The principal has drawn on a range of other networks: for example, local businesses in the community, the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, DramAidE, the New Zealand Embassy, a school in Sweden, and the national lottery. Some of this support has been one-off assistance secured through persistent requests, through referrals from contacts or through chance meetings but much of it has been sustained and provides ongoing aid to the school.

The passion, strong will, community actions and persistent personality of the principal have resulted in the school enjoying a circle of support for OVC. There are state-of-the-art classrooms, there is support for OVC in terms of food, uniforms, aftercare, and clothes, and the school is now able to attract trained teachers. Through the support that the school obtains from its web of networks, a culture of care and caring for vulnerable learners is cultivated in the school and this is likely to continue should Mrs Zami leave the school. The teachers, learners, and the community at large associate the school with that culture and perceive the school as a home for learners.

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CASE FOUR: Prioritising needs according to context

Madiba Combined School is found in the North West Province, surrounded by commercial farms. The school largely serves the nearby informal settlement with a large community made up of farm labourers who have lost their jobs as well as immigrants from other countries and provinces. As many of the learners come from neighbouring countries, they are offi cially un-documented. Most of the parents are unemployed, with alcohol and substance abuse being rife. It is reported that, consequently, abuse against women and children is also high. The community has been badly affected by HIV and AIDS, impacting on the number of orphans and/or infected learners at Madiba. As is the case in many communities, the silence around HIV and AIDS makes it diffi cult to ascertain the exact number of people infected and/or affected by the virus.

Madiba has 14 DoE teachers in the school, including a Grade R practitioner. The SGB is described as ‘active and enthusiastic’ by the principal, Mrs Ramusliei, who does acknowledge that even though the SGB members attend meetings, they do not have the capability to be proactive and assume leadership in governance issues. There are 402 learners, with 206 being identifi ed as vulnerable. Mrs Ramusliei is unsure how many of these OVC suffer from HIV and AIDS as this is still a stigmatised condition. Madiba has running water, electricity, and one computer but no e-mail connectivity. A range of extramural activities are offered including soccer, netball, volleyball and gymnastics.

Mrs Ramusliei acknowledges this context and has responded to it by fi rst looking to the DoE for support. In 2007 Madiba became a no-fee school, meaning that it received additional funds from the department. Some of this money was used to erect a fence to secure the school. Other departmental sponsored initiatives include a school nutrition programme and a garden, which supplements the food supply. The DoE also supports a transport scheme for learners to and from the school as well as a referral system for OVC.

This type of offi cial assistance is not suffi cient, however, and Mrs Ramusliei has identifi ed other organisations that help her improve the school and the care it can offer to OVC. One of these organisations, MiETA, was brought to the school by the education department. MiETA’s project, SCCS, built on pre-existing school initiatives but in a more systematic and structured manner. The project helped link Madiba to a Cluster Child Care Coordinator (CCC) and the local AIDS Council. These structures coordinate their activities to share resources and reduce duplication.

Through this networking the principal has introduced other organisations and government departments to the school. These include social workers, the Department of Home Affairs, the SAPS, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health. Other organisations that have assisted the school include local businesses and Soul City.

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CASE FIVE: Task-driven management and leadership

Hlophe Secondary School, a township school in Gauteng, is surrounded on all sides by houses. The double storey classroom block is well maintained and a fence secures the school. Hlophe is a quintile 3 school with 1 762 learners, 30% of whom are designated OVC by the principal, Mr Mokoena. The 56 teachers at the school have access to 4 computers for administrative purposes as well as e-mail. The school runs a range of extramural activities including sports, chess and music.

Mr Mokoena, who has been at the school for many years, is a strict disciplinarian. The manner in which he manages punctuality is evidence of this. For learner punctuality he locks all latecomers out as soon as the early morning bell rings. For teacher punctuality he has implemented compulsory daily early morning meetings. This has been met with acceptance as a cordial relationship appears to exist between Mr Mokoena and his staff. They are a close-knit team who have the well-being of the school at heart.

Mr Mokoena is a member of the HIV and AIDS committee established at Hlophe. This committee coordinates all efforts to assist the OVC including a vegetable garden, bereavement activities, and home visits for learners. Individual teachers offer limited counselling services and school nutrition.

The principal acknowledges the challenges his school faces and believes that taking on the role of community activist will help his school succeed. He has been very successful at securing outside support for his school and in establishing supportive networks, especially around the issue of safety and security. This came about from his involvement with the SAPS, which led to interactions with the Community Police Forum and the Justice Forum. Many positive benefi ts have been experienced as a result of these networks. For example, the school is respected and feared by criminals, and good communication strategies exist internally as the principal keeps his staff aware and informed about networking activities.

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CASE SIX: Managing interventions

Zama Intermediate School is located in a semi-urban area with the atmosphere of both rural village and urban township. The school is neat and well maintained with a good fence. Two large gardens dominate the grounds, at each end of the school. The school has running water, electricity and a number of computers for administration, but no e-mail. While the school has a library, it does not have a computer laboratory. Extramural activities like soccer, netball and volleyball are run on the fairly good sports grounds. The principal describes the SGB as being ‘very good and active’. They run the school fi nances with a vigilant eye and oversee the maintenance of the school buildings.

The school has a total of 34 teachers, with 2 of them being paid for by the SGB. Zama is a quintile 1 no-fee school with 1 223 learners; but only 192 of these learners are offi cially considered to be OVC. The principal, Mr Molefe, estimates that there are about 72 learners who are infected and/or affected by HIV and AIDS. An SBST – including learner representatives – looks after the interests of OVC in the school. The team identifi es problems that learners face outside the classroom and conducts some home visits.

When Mr Molefe became principal 10 years ago he acknowledged the challenges faced by the community and his learners. For example, many learners came to school hungry, many were unhealthy and quite a number demonstrated behavioural problems consistent with abusive backgrounds. In addition, a great number of learners lived in child-headed households. The principal felt that he needed to assist the learners to lead healthier lives. He also wanted to feed learners who were always hungry and to source assistance from government departments. This led Mr Molefe to look outside the school and to the education department for help.

Mr Molefe initiated several contacts for assistance resulting in a number of organisations and local businesses now working with the school to offer a range of services to the learners. Save the Children (UK) run a programme called ‘Caring Schools’, which requires the school to sign a contract for each year, securing the support of the organisation. The contract is quite explicit about what each of the partners must do to create a school that cares for its learners by offering them certain services. Mr Molefe also initiated contact with Thusanang in 2007. The organisation began working with the school in 2008 on rights and responsibilities. The principal is responsible for maintaining liaison with the organisation through the SBST. The Roman Catholic Services were also approached and they offer money for food, train kitchen staff and maintain a food garden. This organisation was brought on board by the principal to supplement the nutrition programme offered by the DoE. Another organisation that has offered its services to the school is the Soul Buddies programme. This partnership, initiated by a teacher, runs the aftercare programme.

Apart from making the initial contact with the external organisations, Mr Molefe’s leadership style is evidenced by the way he manages these external projects. As part of Save the Children (UK’s) programme, READ became involved in Zama as one of a cluster of three schools. The programme provides literacy resources and science and sports equipment. It also trains teachers. The principal is mainly responsible for the liaison in the programme.

The impact of HIV and AIDS is fairly openly acknowledged in this school;23 and the principal acknowledged the role of the life skills programme as being crucial to addressing stigma and discrimination.

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Endnotes1. The term ‘school leadership’ is used throughout this paper to refer to principals and other senior

members of staff who assume leadership roles in schools. ‘School Management Team (SMT)’ is used interchangeably to denote school leadership as well.

2. While based on the actual case studies undertaken as part of this study, school names and the names of school principals have been changed.

3. Organisation of African Unity (OAU) (1999) African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. OAU document. CAB/LEG/24.9/49 (1990), entered into force November 29 1999.

4. ‘Active’ was a term used by many school leaders in this research when asked to describe the role the SGB played in their schools.

5. Supporting Vulnerable Children: A Guide for SGBs (2006)6. This shift was not meant to diminish the impact of these individual teachers’ actions, but rather to

seek out interventions that could be systematised and had the potential of making a difference on a larger, school-wide scale.

7. The following organisations/agencies were involved in sourcing schools that already had effective programmes in place for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC): provincial HIV and AIDS life skills coordinators; the head of the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU) HIV and AIDS desk; and representatives of Media in Education Trust Africa’s (MiETA) Schools as Centres of Care and Support (SCCS) programme.

8. As this research set out to investigate the extent to which school leadership skills needed to be enhanced to deal with the specific challenges of HIV and AIDS, issues of curriculum delivery in schools’ life orientation or other programmes were not investigated. The focus was on how leaders in certain schools managed the health and social needs of vulnerable children and teachers infected and/or affected by HIV and AIDS. Given that schools find it difficult to respond in ‘deep and sustained ways’ (Jansen 2007: 13) to this crisis and that both teachers and learners need ‘guidance, assistance and treatment’ (Jansen 2007: 27), this makes this research of particular importance.

9. This is a collaborative intervention set up by a number of teacher unions, with SADTU and the National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa playing the lead roles.

10. Of all South African schools, 60% (i.e. all quintile 1, 2 and 3 schools) are non-fee paying, which bears testament to the poor socio-economic status of the communities in which they are located.

11. This school is not included as a case study here.12. This school is not included as a case study here.13. Hayward R, Quality in leadership. The Teacher, Mail and Guardian, March 2008.14. Provincial prevalence rates are reported as follows: KwaZulu-Natal (21.8%), Mpumalanga (19.1%),

Eastern Cape (13.8%), Free State (12.4%), North West (10.4%), Limpopo (8.6%), Gauteng (6.4%), Northern Cape (4.3%) and Western Cape (1.1%) (Shisana et al. 2005: 59).

15. Thanks to Dr Gisela Winkler for sharing these points with SAIDE in an e-mail (August 2008).16. Butler A, Mending the two cracked pillars on which renewal must lean, Business Day, 18 August 2008.17. Tale L, South Africa urged to take a stand and be counted, The Sowetan, 29 August 2008. Accessed

September 2008, www.sowetan.co.za/article.aspx?id=83250418. Barron C, Fresh onslaught against poverty, Sunday Times, 24 August 2008.19. Brown K & Musgrave A, Mlambo-Ngcuka’s anti-poverty launch ‘not rich in specifics’, Business Day, 15

August 2008.20. BA Mangcu, deputy chief HIV/AIDS specialist, HIV/AIDS care and support manager, Western Cape

Education Department (e-mail dated 18 September 2008).21. The approaches suggested in ‘school in a bag’, the ‘buddy’ system, and the ‘catch-up club’ are derived

from the model developed by Pridmore (2008).22. Most notably, the Implementation Plan for Tirisano 2000–2004 (DoE 2000a); and Education White

Paper 6: Special Needs Education, Building an Inclusive Education and Training System (DoE 2001), amongst others.

23. This is one of the only sampled schools in which this was the case.

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THEME: TEACHER LABOUR MARKET


An appetite for teaching

Michael CosserHuman Sciences Research Council

This paper juxtaposes the key findings of two surveys – a 2005 baseline survey of 20 659 Grade 12 learners in all nine provinces of South Africa and a tracer study survey of this same cohort one year later – to ascertain the extent to which learner aspirations to study in the field of education at a higher education institution are realised the year after school. The paper finds that less than 5 per cent of learners wanting to proceed to higher education plan to study in the education field; and from an analysis of the higher education management information systems dataset of first-time entering students straight from school, that a not dissimilar percentage actually enrolled in an education programme in 2006. Besides providing quantitative information on learner aspirations and student enrolments, the paper considers the variables affecting learner decision-making, both at aspiration and enrolment stages. The conclusion, given the various disjunctions between aspiration and enrolment, is that there is a great deal of volatility in the process of transition from school to higher education.

Keywords

teacher educationteachingaspirationenrolment

Introduction

The rate of enrolment in teacher education programmes at higher education institutions is one early indication of the extent to which the teaching profession is renewing itself. Another is the rate of take-up of posts in schools. However, while these indications provide ready evidence, on an annual basis, of incipient renewal of the teaching profession, they do not capture, from a broader and a deeper perspective, the profile of persons aspiring to enter it: who wants to do so (men or women, of which races, from which socio-economic backgrounds); why they want to do so (the factors that have influenced their learning pathways and their decision-making processes); when they intend doing so (immediately after school; after a first degree in another discipline; after working in another profession); and at what levels (pre-primary, primary or secondary) they want to do so. This paper attempts to depict certain aspects of this profile through the presentation and subsequent discussion of the findings of a large-scale, national study of the aspirations of Grade 12 learners to enter the teaching profession, conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) in 2005 (Cosser 2009) and of a tracer study of


this cohort in 2006 (Cosser forthcoming) to ascertain the extent to which such aspirations were realised.

The study in its entirety examines the pathways of Grade 12 learners from school. Only one subset of these learners enters higher education, and only one subset of these students enrols for teacher education programmes. It is the aspirations of this smaller subset with which this study is predominantly concerned.

Methodology

The research for the Grade 12 Learner Aspiration study involved the collection of primary data by means of a cross-sectional quantitative survey research design. The survey was administered in a sample of schools within all nine provinces between April and October 2005, through the deployment of a self-completion questionnaire designed to be completed by Grade 12 learners in a classroom under the supervision of a senior school teacher.

The data sources used in the sampling process were the 2004 senior certificate examinations database (Department of Education [DoE] 2004a), which contains 6 140 records, and a subset obtained from the DoE’s education management information systems database (DoE 2004b), with 6 126 records. The subset contains data on all schools with Grade 12 learners in 2005, their physical addresses and the number of Grade 12 learners enrolled.

Table 14.1 indicates the breakdown of responses by province and pass-rate stratum in relation to the total and sample populations.

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Tab

le 1

4.1:

Sam

ple

fra

me,

res

po

nse

pro

file

and

wei

ght

ing

fo

r th

e G

rad

e 12

Lea

rner

Asp

irat

ion

surv

ey (2

005)

Scho

ol

pass

-rat

e st

ratu

m

No. o

f sc

hool

s in

tota

l po

pula

tion

(Sou

th

Afric

a)

%

dist

ribut

ion

of s

choo

ls

betw

een

the

thre

e pa

ss-r

ate

stra

ta (t

otal

po

pula

tion)

No. o

f le

arne

rs

in to

tal

popu

latio

n (to

tal

popu

latio

n)

%

dist

ribut

ion

of le

arne

rs

betw

een

the

thre

e pa

ss-r

ate

stra

ta (t

otal

po

pula

tion)

No. o

f sc

hool

s in

sa

mpl

e

%

dist

ribut

ion

of le

arne

rs

betw

een

the

thre

e pa

ss-r

ate

stra

ta

(sam

ple)

No. o

f Gr

ade

12

lear

ners

in

sam

ple

%

dist

ribut

ion

of G

rade

12

lear

ners

be

twee

n th

e th

ree

pass

-rat

e st

rata

(s

ampl

e)

No. o

f sc

hool

s th

at

resp

onde

d

%

dist

ribut

ion

of s

choo

ls

betw

een

the

thre

e pa

ss-r

ate

stra

ta

(res

pons

e pr

ofile

)

No. o

f le

arne

rs in

re

spon

se

prof

ile

%

dist

ribut

ion

of le

arne

rs

betw

een

the

thre

e pa

ss-r

ate

stra

ta

(res

pons

e pr

ofile

)

Wei

ght

appl

ied

to e

ach

lear

ner

in th

e re

spon

se

prof

ile

EC1

267

29%

18 7

0127

%34

30%

2 72

733

%8

17%

343

15%

54.5

2186

589

EC2

392

43%

29 1

8843

%49

43%

3 47

663

%19

41%

1 10

950

%26

.319

2064

9

EC3

260

28%

20 1

6030

%32

28%

2 05

678

%19

41%

772

35%

26.1

1398

964

FS1

51%

276

1%1

2%1

3%18

1%15

.333

3333

3

FS2

7623

%6

385

25%

921

%58

415

%6

17%

344

14%

18.5

6104

651

FS3

253

76%

19 3

4774

%32

76%

2 69

154

%28

80%

2 01

885

%9.

5872

1506

4

GP1

467%

4 04

25%

67%

500

6%1

2%13

63%

29.7

2058

824

GP2

157

24%

18 7

7625

%19

23%

1 78

821

%13

22%

732

19%

25.6

5027

322

GP3

446

69%

51 9

6269

%56

69%

6 07

457

%44

76%

3 04

278

%17

.081

5253

1

KZ1

113

7%18

776

15%

147%

687

5%4

4%12

73%

147.

8425

197

KZ2

484

32%

34 0

9527

%61

31%

3 84

829

%17

19%

703

15%

48.4

9928

876

KZ3

929

61%

75 0

7059

%11

961

%9

233

73%

6977

%3

747

82%

2 03

4694

42

LP1

504%

3 47

04%

74%

291

3%0%

0%

LP2

408

29%

29 4

5637

%50

29%

3 04

830

%8

19%

435

19%

67.7

1494

253

LP3

933

67%

47 4

4259

%11

767

%5

825

60%

3481

%1

837

81%

25.8

2580

294

MP1

4811

%4

651

12%

611

%1

124

18%

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At the level of the school the national response rate was 47%, while at the level of the learner the national response rate was 35%. One would have hoped for higher school and learner response rates from a survey in which, in theory at any rate, one has a ‘captive audience’ – in the form of schools with fixed addresses whose learners have no option but to participate. However, the difficulties experienced in conducting the fieldwork – difficulties associated with school and address inaccuracies in the senior certificate examinations database, the inaccessibility of many rural schools to courier services, and the administrative incapacity of many schools to mount a survey of this kind – put paid to this theory, yielding a learner response little different from rates for previous, postal surveys conducted by the HSRC (see, for example, Cosser 2003; Cosser, with Du Toit and Visser 2004) – all of which hover around the 30% mark.

The sample frame for the 2006 tracer study of the 2005 Grade 12 cohort was derived from the 2005 survey response profile. Of the 20 659 responses to the baseline survey, 17 641 provided usable addresses to allow for a follow-up survey in 2006. A total of 4 278 learners (24.3% of respondents) participated in the 2006 tracer study.

The second part of the analysis involves an examination of the Higher Education Management Information Systems (HEMIS) database of student enrolments in 2006. From a quantitative perspective, then, the comparison of aspiration and enrolment occurs at a systemic level: there is no analysis, in this paper, of the direct translation of aspiration into enrolment figures.

For the most part, disaggregations by race and gender are provided only when they appear to be key to the issues under investigation.

Grade 12 learner aspiration to study in the education field

The profile of aspirant student programme area preferences is indicated in Table 14.2.

Table 14.2: Preferred programme for higher education study (2005)

Programme area 1st, 2nd and 3rd choices (%)

1st choice (%) 2nd choice (%) 3rd choice (%)

Natural & mathematical sciences

Computer science 10.8 14.3 11.5 8.0

Life & physical science

3.0 3.4 3.5 2.4

Mathematical sciences

4.8 3.6 5.8 5.4

Engineering & other applied sciences

Agriculture 2.6 3.4 2.6 2.5

Architecture & planning

2.5 2.0 2.8 2.5

Engineering 12.5 16.8 12.5 7.8

Industrial arts 1.9 0.9 2.1 2.7

Health sciences

Health sciences 8.9 11.5 8.4 6.6

Business/commerce

Business/commerce

14.1 22.7 10.0 6.5

Education

Education 4.5 3.0 6.1 5.5

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Programme area 1st, 2nd and 3rd choices (%)

1st choice (%) 2nd choice (%) 3rd choice (%)

Social sciences & applied humanities

Home economics 2.3 1.3 2.9 3.2

Law 8.0 6.7 9.2 7.7

Librarianship 0.6 0.2 0.8 1.0

Physical education 1.1 0.4 1.1 2.3

Psychology 5.3 3.0 5.0 7.1

Public administration/social services

3.7 1.5 4.0 5.8

Social sciences 2.1 0.9 2.0 3.5

Humanities

Visual & performing arts

2.4 1.6 2.4 2.6

Communication 5.3 1.8 4.6 9.6

Languages, literature

2.5 0.8 1.9 5.3

Philosophy, theology

1.1 0.2 0.8 2.0

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

At the level of combined first, second and third choices of study programme, we see (from the second column in Table 14.2) that the most preferred programme for study is business/commerce (14.1%), followed by engineering (12.5%), computer science (10.8%), health sciences (8.9%) and law (8.0%). Education, at 4.5%, comes in at ninth spot. That fewer than 2 in 25 learners plan to enrol for an education programme is cause for major concern.

At the level of first choice of study programme (the third column), we see that the order of the top 5 most popular programmes mirrors that of the programmes combined (second column): business/commerce is the most popular programme (22.7%), followed by engineering (16.8%), computer science (14.3%), health sciences (11.5%), and law (6.7%). Education is again in ninth position – with here only 3 in 100 learners planning on studying in the education field.

The profile shifts slightly as we consider learners’ second choices: the second-choice order is engineering (12.5%), computer science (11.5%), business/commerce (10.0%), law (9.2%), and health sciences (8.4%). Nonetheless, the same 5 programmes appear top of the list. This profile shifts, however, at the third-choice level, where communication (9.6%) is the most popular choice, followed by computer science (8.0%), engineering (7.8%), law (7.7%) and psychology (7.1%). The pattern is that more social sciences and humanities programmes appear in the top 5 preferences the lower down the set of learners’ choices one goes.

Education is the sixth most preferred programme at the level of second choice, and again ninth most preferred at the level of third choice. There is a shift, moreover, in the percentages of learners wanting to study education at the first-, second- and third-choice levels – from 3.0% first choice to 6.1% second choice to 5.5% third choice – which suggests that education is a default option for learners as they exhaust their first preferences.

The picture disaggregated by race is shown in Table 14.3.

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Table 14.3: First-choice programme for higher education study, by race (2005)

Programme area

Black African (%)

Coloured(%)

Indian(%)

White(%)

Other(%)

Total(%)


Computer science

16.0 8.9 6.3 8.3 4.2 14.4

Life & physical science

3.5 4.1 2.3 3.4 3.3 3.4

Mathematical

sciences4.0 2.1 2.1 2.3 4.2 3.6


Agriculture 3.7 0.9 1.4 2.6 3.3 3.3

Architecture & planning

1.8 0.4 2.3 5.3 0.0 2.0

Engineering 17.9 11.3 15.9 11.5 7.0 16.9

Industrial arts 0.9 0.9 0.6 0.7 2.8 0.8

Health sciences

Health sciences 10.8 11.9 16.3 14.1 20.3 11.5

Business/commerce

Business/commerce

22.4 24.9 26.7 20.4 22.3 22.6

Education

Education 2.5 4.5 2.8 6.5 9.3 3.0


Home economics

1.2 1.0 1.1 1.8 7.5 1.3

Law 6.5 8.6 6.0 7.7 0.0 6.7

Librarianship 0.2 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2

Physical education

0.3 0.0 1.5 0.3 0.0 0.4

Psychology 2.1 7.5 7.1 5.2 8.5 3.0

Public administration/social services

1.6 1.0 1.7 0.3 2.9 1.5

Social sciences 0.8 0.6 1.4 1.7 0.0 0.9

Humanities

Visual & performing arts

1.2 4.8 1.4 3.9 4.6 1.6

Communication 1.6 4.6 2.8 2.1 0.0 1.9

Languages, literature

0.8 1.8 0.4 1.0 0.0 0.8

Philosophy, theology

0.2 0.0 0.0 1.1 0.0 0.2

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

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Of particular concern, from the perspective of teacher shortages, is the very low preference for study in education not only amongst learners of all races but amongst black African learners in particular (2.5% for black African learners, 6.5% for white learners). While Education is the ninth most preferred programme choice of black African and coloured learners, moreover, it is the sixth most preferred choice of white learners and the seventh of Indian learners.

From a gender perspective, there remain clear gender-stereotypical distinctions between male and female study preferences, as Table 14.4 indicates.

Table 14.4: First-choice programme for higher education study, by gender (2005)

Programme area Male (%) Female (%)


Computer science 16.1 12.9

Life & physical science 3.7 3.2

Mathematical sciences 5.1 2.5


Agriculture 4.3 2.7

Architecture & planning 3.1 1.2

Engineering 22.8 12.3

Industrial arts 1.1 0.7

Health sciences

Health sciences 7.6 14.5

Business/commerce

Business/commerce 18.4 26.0

Education

Education 3.3 2.7


Home economics 0.7 1.7

Law 7.0 6.5

Librarianship 0.2 0.2

Physical education 0.6 0.2

Psychology 0.9 4.6

Public administration/social services 1.4 1.5

Social sciences 0.6 1.1

Humanities

Visual & performing arts 1.5 1.7

Communication 1.0 2.5

Languages, literature 0.4 1.1

Philosophy, theology 0.2 0.2

Total 100.0 100.0

Counter-intuitively education, the table reveals, is preferred more by males than by females. But in terms of the position education occupies in the preferences of male and female learners, there is little difference between the two: education is the ninth most preferred programme amongst males, and the eighth most preferred programme amongst females – along with Agriculture!

It is instructive to compare, by gender, the programme preferences of Grade 12 learners over a four-year period – between 2001 and 2005. Table 14.5 makes this comparison.

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Table 14.5: First-choice programme for higher education study, by gender (2001 and 2005)

Programme area 2001 preference (%) 2005 preference (%)

Male Female Male Female

Natural & mathematical sciences 11.7 9.7 24.9 18.6

Engineering & other applied sciences 32.0 14.6 31.3 16.9

Health sciences 7.8 20.8 7.6 14.5

Business/commerce 28.6 35.7 18.4 26.0

Education 1.0 1.8 3.3 2.7

Social sciences & applied humanities 9.6 8.0 11.4 15.8

Humanities 9.3 9.4 3.1 5.5

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

In 2002, 3.2% of enrolments were in education, compared with the 1.5% preference in 2001 for study in this field (Cosser, with Du Toit & Visser 2004). This finding is consistent with the notion that education appears to be the default option for learners who cannot, or will not, access other programmes of study.

The extent to which a list of variables influenced programme preferences in 2005 is reflected in Table 14.6.

Table 14.6: Variables influencing higher education programme preference, in descending order by extent of influence (2005)

Variable Mean

Interest in this area of study 4.4

Opportunities of finding a job in South Africa after qualifying in this area 4.3

Wanting to enter a profession for which a qualification in this area is needed 4.2

Ability to use a qualification in this area to contribute towards the development of the country and its people

4.1

Knowing you can succeed in this area because of your academic performance at school 4.1

Opportunities of finding a job overseas after qualifying in this area 3.9

The amount of money to be made with a qualification in this area 3.8

The reputation of the school/faculty/department in which you want to study 3.7

The possibility of being offered a scholarship to study in this area 3.7

Your role-model in life having studied in this area 2.5

Parents/relatives having persuaded you to study in this area 2.3

A parent/relative having studied in this area 2.1

Friends having persuaded you to study in this area 2.0

A boyfriend/girlfriend having decided to study in this area 1.6

The addition of new variables since the 2001 survey aside, the profile of influential variables is essentially the same in the 2001 and 2005 surveys: Interest in this area of study is paramount (with a score of 4.5 in 2001, 4.4 in 2005); Opportunities of finding a job in South Africa is second (4.3 in both surveys); Ability to use a qualification in this area to contribute towards the development of the country and its people is fourth (4.1 in both surveys); and Opportunities of finding a job overseas after qualifying in this area (3.9) was fifth in the 2001 survey and is sixth

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here. (Fourth in the 2001 survey was Ability to follow a practical course of study, which was not included in the 2005 survey list of options.) Intervening in the above profile are Wanting to enter a profession for which a qualification in this area is needed (4.2) and Knowing you can succeed in this area because of your academic performance at school (4.1). There is therefore a high degree of reliability in the findings that interest in the study area, job opportunities in South Africa and using a qualification in the study area to contribute towards development are the variables most strongly influencing programme preferences.

The effect of these variables upon those who indicated education as their preferred programme for study is captured in Table 14.7.

Table 14.7: Variables influencing higher education programme preference and education programme preference, in descending order by extent of influence on higher education programme preferences (2005)

Variable % respondents wanting to enrol in a higher education programme whom the variable has influenced to a large or very large extent*

% respondents wanting to enrol in an education programme whom the variable has influenced to a large or very large extent

Interest in this area of study 87.2 (1) 79.0 (1)

Opportunities of finding a job in South Africa after qualifying in this area

80.6 (2) 74.5 (4)

Wanting to enter a profession for which a qualification in this area is needed

78.8 (3) 76.6 (2)

Knowing you can succeed in this area because of your academic performance at school

75.9 (4) 73.8 (5)

Ability to use a qualification in this area to contribute towards the development of the country and its people

74.9 (5) 75.5 (3)

Opportunities of finding a job overseas after qualifying in this area

66.2 (6) 55.2 (7)

The amount of money to be made with a qualification in this area

65.6 (7) 46.1 (9)

The reputation of the school/faculty/department in which you want to study

63.6 (8) 58.0 (6)

The possibility of being offered a scholarship to study in this area

60.9 (9) 54.2 (8)

Your role-model in life having studied in this area

34.2 (10) 41.0 (10)

Parents/relatives having persuaded you to study in this area

25.9 (11) 31.0 (11)

A parent/relative having studied in this area 20.1 (12) 25.7 (12)

Friends having persuaded you to study in this area

18.0 (13) 20.0 (13)

A boyfriend/girlfriend having decided to study in this area

11.9 (14) 15.0 (14)

Note:* The number in parentheses after the item in each of the two columns represents the item’s position in the table.

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Except for Ability to use a qualification in this area to contribute towards the development of the country and its people, we see that, in every instance involving those variables for which more than 60% of respondents indicated that the variable affected their preference for study in a higher education programme area, the effect was lower for those learners opting for study in education than for study in one of the areas combined. This would suggest less enthusiasm on the part of those wanting to study education programmes than those wanting to study a higher education programme – a suggestion confirmed by the significance values, the highest of which (for The amount of money to be made in this area, where the Phi, Cramer’s V and Contingency Coefficient values are 0.172, 0.122 and 0.170 respectively) are themselves very weak (0 = no association and 1 = total association).

Enrolment in teacher education programmes

It is evident that very small percentages of those who indicated that they plan to enrol in an education programme have been influenced by teachers/career guidance experts in their schools (8.0%), career guidance experts from outside their schools (6.0%), teacher unions (0.9%) or other teaching bodies (0.9%) – severely calling into question the effectiveness of teacher recruitment strategies.

Potential education students indicated the extent of the influence of a range of listed variables on their intention to study education, as presented in Table 14.8.

Table 14.8: Variables influencing teacher education programme preference, by race, in descending order by extent of total influence (2005)

Variable Mean

Black African

Coloured Indian White Other Total

The range of career opportunities that a qualification in education opens up

4.2 4.4 4.1 4.0 4.5 4.2

Being assured of getting a job if you study education

4.1 3.8 4.0 4.0 3.8 4.1

The flexibility that studying education gives you to enter another programme area

4.0 4.1 4.0 3.8 3.6 4.0

The amount of money to be made in South Africa with an education qualification

4.0 3.6 3.7 3.7 3.9 4.0

The amount of money to be made overseas with an education qualification

3.6 3.8 3.8 3.6 3.7 3.6

The ease with which you can be accepted into teacher education programmes rather than into other programme areas

3.4 3.3 3.5 3.2 3.9 3.4

All six of the listed variables have exerted some influence on aspirant education students. Two of the top three influences, though superficially encouraging, have to do with the extent to which studying education facilitates mobility – possibly out of the teaching profession. It is not clear, for example, whether respondents have interpreted ‘career opportunities’ in the top variable as being in the education field; if not, this first variable combines with the third to send a powerful message about the extent to which education is merely a springboard to other professions. What is clear from the responses, however, is learners’ belief that studying education significantly enhances employability.

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At the race-disaggregated level, we see that the range of education opportunities open to education graduates is most influential for coloured learners (4.4) and black African learners (4.2), and by comparison least influential for white learners (4.0). Job prospects with an education qualification are marginally more influential for black African learners than for Indian and white learners. However, the amount of money to be made in South Africa as an education graduate is more influential for black African learners (4.0) than for any of the other groups – by a large margin in the case of coloured, Indian and white learners.

A very different picture emerges from an analysis of learners’ responses to a question about the relative influence of variables contributing to their decision to enter the teaching profession, as we see from Table 14.9.

Table 14.9: Variables influencing decision to enter the teaching profession, by race, in descending order by extent of total influence (2005)

Variable Mean

Black African

Coloured Indian White Other Total

A passion for teaching 3.4 3.2 3.8 4.0 4.6 3.4

The usefulness of teaching as an entry point into other careers

3.3 3.1 2.9 3.3 3.4 3.2

The status that teachers have in the community

3.2 3.0 2.8 2.5 3.4 3.2

The flexible lifestyle which teaching provides

3.1 3.0 3.1 3.3 3.9 3.1

Your choice of subjects for the senior certificate having naturally led you into teaching

3.1 2.6 2.6 2.7 2.2 3.1

Wanting to be a teacher since you were young

3.0 2.4 3.3 3.7 3.6 3.0

Wanting to become a teacher because of the influence of a teacher in your school

2.8 2.3 3.0 2.8 2.3 2.8

Family members/relatives having been teachers

2.7 2.3 2.8 2.4 1.8 2.7

Teaching being the only career open to you in the circumstances in which you find yourself

2.7 2.3 2.2 1.9 2.0 2.6

Not knowing what else to do with your life 2.5 2.1 1.9 1.7 2.1 2.4

Here we see that only the first five variables are above the mid-point on the Likert scale, and only just. Hence, while it may be encouraging to see that a passion for teaching is the most salient influence, its mean score (3.4) suggests little commitment to the proposition. Teaching is seen as a useful entry point into other professions (3.2) – reinforcing the point made above about teaching as a springboard; but again, the proximity of the mean to the mid-point suggests lukewarm support for the proposition.

There are no significant differences between male and female learners in terms of the effect of the 10 variables on their decision to enter the teaching profession.

More than half of the respondents (53.8%) to a question about the level of teaching for which they planned to achieve an education qualification indicate high/secondary school teaching, followed by special education (18.9%), primary school teaching (16.5%), Early Childhood

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Development (ECD) (6.1%), and ‘other’ (4.8%). Clearly, it must be of concern to the education authorities that more learners want to achieve a qualification in special education than in primary school teaching.

Even starker differences are evident between the sexes in terms of their aspiration to teach at different levels of the education system. While a secondary school qualification is the most popular level for both males and females (60.6% and 48.4% respectively want to achieve a high school qualification), a far higher percentage of males than of females (60.6% : 48.4%) plan to do so. The second most popular preference of males is special education (19.1%), but for females a primary school qualification is the second most preferred qualification (21.4%) – special education coming in a close third at 18.5%. The gender differentials within the various qualification options are large for all qualifications except for secondary school: 28.4% : 71.6% (male : female) for ECD; 28.1% : 71.9% (male : female) for primary school; and 45.4% : 54.6% (male : female) for special education. The differential for a secondary school qualification is small, almost equal percentages of male and female learners wanting to achieve such a qualification (50.1% male : 49.9% female).

The response profile for the subjects that respondents plan to teach and the levels at which they plan to teach them after qualifying shows a somewhat different picture, however. A total of 43.8% of respondents plan to teach in the General Education and Training (GET) phase – from Grade 0 to Grade 9 (including the first two years of secondary school, therefore) – while the balance (56.2%) plan to teach in the Further Education and Training (FET) phase. Of those who plan to teach subjects in the GET phase, more than a third (35.7%) want to teach languages, just under a third (29.5%) economic and management sciences, and 12.8% arts and culture. Of those who plan to teach subjects in the FET phase, 9.6% want to teach accounting, 9.5% business economics, 7.8% biology, 7.6% mathematics, 6.3% travel and tourism, 6.0% physical science, 5.8% computer studies, 5.5% economics, and 5.0% geography. The other teaching choices are spread across 17 other subject areas. At the aggregated level (GET and FET combined), the highest percentage of respondents want to teach languages (15.7%) and economic and management sciences (12.9%) in the GET phase. Two-thirds (65.4%) of those wanting to study teaching plan to do so only after achieving a qualification in another faculty/school.

Learners planning to enter higher education are for the most part positive about different aspects of the teaching profession. On a scale ranging from ‘very low’ to ‘very high’, the status teachers enjoy in the community is rated 3.6; but on teacher commitment to their jobs, the quality of teaching in the learner’s school, and the professionalism of teachers in carrying out their work, respondents rate teachers highly: the mean scores are 4.1, 4.0 and 4.0 respectively.

Profile of Grade 12 learners whose first study choice at ahigher education institution is education

Having looked, in the previous section, at the profile of would-be students of education and aspirant teachers, we now turn to an examination of the biographical profile of learners whose first choice of study at a higher education institution is education.

This set of cross-tabulations reveals that: • Of those who want to study education, 55.9% are female and 45.1% male – that is to say,

a disproportionate number of females compared to their representation in the population want to study education.

• Nearly a third (31.1%) of those who want to study education were 18 years old at the time of the survey in mid-2005. A quarter (25.8%) were 17, followed by 17.9% who were 19, 12.6% who were 20, 6.6% who were 21, and 3.3% who were 16.

• The distribution of race groups amongst those who want to study teaching is 62.3% black

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African, 7.9% coloured, 6.6% Indian, 21.2% white and 2.0% ‘other’.• The most commonly spoken home language of aspirant education students is Afrikaans

(23.8%), followed by isiZulu (21.9%), English (14.6%), Setswana (10.6%), isiXhosa (9.9%), Sepedi (7.3%), Sesotho (6.6%), Xitsonga (2.6%), isiNdebele (0.7%), Siswati (0.7%), Tshivenda (0.7%), and another language (0.6%).

• The highest level of education of aspirant students’ and teachers’ fathers/male guardians – of those learners who knew what these were (86.4%) – is: some secondary schooling (24.1%); followed by matric/Grade 12 (18.5%); some primary schooling (12.0%); no formal education (12.0%); Grade 7 (9.3%); a university degree (7.4%); a technical college qualification (6.5%); a university certificate or diploma (5.6%); a technikon degree (2.8%); and a technikon certificate or diploma (1.9%). The highest level of education of aspirant students’ and teachers’ mothers/female guardians – of those who knew what these were (92.4%) – is: Grade 12 (26.3%); some secondary schooling (24.8%); some primary schooling (15.8%); no formal education (10.5%); Grade 7 (8.3%); a university degree (6.0%); a university certificate or diploma (3.8%); a technical college qualification (2.3%); a technikon certificate or diploma (1.5%); and a technikon degree (0.8%). From this we can see that fathers/male guardians and mothers/female guardians have similar levels of education – 42.7% of the former have a Grade 12 or higher qualification, while 40.7% of the latter do.

A cross-tabulation of the Grade 11 percentage scores for the top 10 subjects, by enrolment numbers of those learners who plan to study education at a higher education institution, reveals that learners opting for education study performed, on average, no better or worse than their peers opting for study in the top five preferred programme areas: business/commerce, engineering, computer science, health sciences, and law (see Table 14.2). Table 14.10 outlines the percentages of learners who achieved an A, B or C symbol for the top 10 most popular subjects in Grade 11 wanting to study in the top 5 most popular higher education programmes and in education.

Table 14.10: Learners who achieved an A, B or C symbol for the top 10 most popular subjects in Grade 11 wanting to study in the top 5 most popular higher education programmes and in education (2005)

Grade 11 subject

% learners achieving an A, B or C symbol for Grade 11 subject and wanting to study:

Business/commerce

Engineering Computer science

Healthsciences

Law Education

English 59.5 57.0 56.0 62.6 62.4 56.5

Afrikaans 52.5 54.7 43.2 55.9 49.6 51.8

Mathematics 28.8 32.5 28.6 35.4 26.2 35.5

Biology 48.8 54.6 42.6 53.8 38.5 49.2

Business economics

65.3 66.7 53.6 64.1 51.5 61.1

Physical science

46.1 34.3 31.5 34.5 35.4 31.0

Geography 62.2 55.9 42.2 58.0 49.0 55.3

Economics 64.6 59.5 42.8 57.1 50.7 53.7

IsiZulu 76.2 74.1 75.7 77.4 70.7 74.2

History 67.7 64.7 58.7 81.8 67.9 67.9

Average of Grade 11 subjects

57.2 55.4 45.5 58.1 50.2 53.6

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So, for example, the percentage of learners achieving an A, B or C symbol in English in Grade 11 and wanting to study education at a higher education institution was 56.5% – in comparison with 59.5% of learners with an A, B or C in English wanting to study business/commerce, 57.0% engineering, 56.0% computer science, 62.6% health sciences, and 62.4% law; and so on. The last row of Table 14.10 shows the average percentages for achievers of A, B and C symbols across the 10 most popular subjects in the Grade 11 examination. From this row we see that higher percentages of learners wanting to study business/commerce, engineering, and health sciences achieved an A, B or C symbol on average across the 10 subject areas than did learners wanting to study education, but that lower percentages of learners wanting to study computer science and law achieved an A, B or C symbol on average across the 10 subject areas than did learners wanting to study education. We can conclude, from Table 14.10, that academically more talented learners do not opt to study in certain areas rather than in others at higher education level.

An examination of the employment situation of the parents/guardians of learners choosing to study education at a higher education institution reveals that the fathers/male guardians of 82.7% of learners wanting to study education were employed at the time of the survey, while the mothers/female guardians of only 58.5% of learners wanting to study education were employed at the time of the survey. These percentages compare favourably, at least for fathers/male guardians employed, with those for learners wanting to study business/commerce (81.9% of fathers/male guardians working, 67.6% of mothers/female guardians); engineering (81.8% of fathers/male guardians, 69.1% of mothers/female guardians); computer science (79.8% of fathers/male guardians, 67.1% of mothers/female guardians); health sciences (83.0% of fathers/male guardians, 68.8% of mothers/female guardians); and law (83.6% of fathers/male guardians, 69.7% of mothers/female guardians). The percentage of learners wanting to study education whose mothers/female guardians were employed at the time of the survey, however – 58.5% – is considerably lower than for mothers/female guardians of learners wanting to study one of the top five most popular programmes.

Grade 12 learner enrolment in an education programme

Having analysed various aspects of Grade 12 learner aspiration in 2005 to study education, we now turn to an investigation of student enrolment at higher education institutions in 2006. The analysis that follows, as outlined in the Methodology section above, takes the form of an examination of the HEMIS database of the DoE to depict, at the systemic level, the enrolment profile for 2006 by first-level Classification of Education Subject Matter (CESM) category. This examination profiles the entire enrolment picture, but focuses on enrolments in education in particular.

HEMIS analysis of programmatic enrolments at the systemic level

An analysis of the DoE HEMIS database of enrolments for 2006 (DoE 2007) reveals that 63 149 of the 508 363 learners who sat for the senior certificate examination in 2005 enrolled in a higher education institution in 2006 – that is, 12.4% of the cohort. This is 1.3 percentage points lower than the enrolment rate for 2002 (see Cosser, with Du Toit & Visser 2004).

Large differences exist between the four race groups with regard to their programme areas and fields of enrolment in 2006, as Table 14.11 indicates.

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Table 14.11: Enrolment within higher education Department of Education programme areas, by race (2006)1

Programme area African Coloured Indian White Total

No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %


5 389 14.7 544 11.1 666 15.3 2 662 15.8 9 261 14.8


6 106 16.7 475 9.7 728 16.7 2 267 13.5 9 576 15.3

Health sciences 2 050 5.6 363 7.4 379 8.7 1 081 6.4 3 873 6.2

Business/commerce 12 156 33.2 1 450 29.5 1 276 29.4 4 019 23.9 18 901 30.1

Education 1 525 4.2 436 8.9 147 3.4 784 4.7 2 892 4.6


6 828 18.6 868 17.7 810 18.7 3 620 21.5 12 126 19.3

Humanities 2 564 7.0 772 15.7 338 7.8 2 397 14.2 6 071 9.7

Total 36 618 100.0 4 908 100.0 4 344 100.0 16 830 100.0 62 700 100.0

The key findings about programmatic enrolment, as revealed by Table 14.11, are the following:• Business/commerce is the most subscribed programme for black African, coloured and

Indian students, by a fairly large margin; but for white students, a similar percentage are enrolled in the social sciences. That a third of all black African enrolments are in business/commerce is both in keeping with the spirit of black entrepreneurship currently gripping the country and indicative of a large imbalance in the enrolment profile for this group.

• The social sciences is the second most subscribed area for all four race groups, though by a small margin in the case of all groups but white students (for whom social sciences enrolments are closer to business/commerce than to natural and mathematical sciences enrolments).

• Education is the least subscribed programme for black African, Indian and white students, but not for coloured students – for whom the health sciences is the least subscribed programme area.

• Coloured student enrolment evinces the flattest profile of the four.

A comparison of the four population groups according to their enrolment choices reveals, from an education choice perspective, that just over half (52.7%) of the students enrolled in education are black, and just over a quarter (27.1%) are white. This signals a significant departure from the 2002 enrolment profile, where 62.0% of enrolments in education were white and only 28.3% black African (Cosser with Du Toit & Visser 2004: 39).

A comparison of Grade 12 learner preferences in 2005 for study in specified areas and their actual enrolment choices one year later (in 2006) is disaggregated by race group in Table 14.12.

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Table 14.12: Grade 12 study preference in 2005 and first-year programme enrolment in 2006, by race

Programme area 2005 preference (%) 2006 enrolment (%)

African Coloured Indian White African Coloured Indian White


21.6 14.7 10.9 13.7 14.7 11.1 15.3 15.8


24.1 14.7 20.0 13.7 16.7 9.7 16.7 13.5

Health sciences 10.9 12.0 16.1 13.9 5.6 7.4 8.7 6.4

Business/commerce 24.2 23.6 27.1 19.4 33.2 29.5 29.4 23.9

Education 2.2 4.1 2.7 6.5 4.2 8.9 3.4 4.7


13.0 20.2 18.6 17.6 18.6 17.7 18.7 21.5

Humanities 4.0 10.7 4.6 9.2 7.0 15.7 7.8 14.2

Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

This profile shows that:• Significantly higher percentages of students of all four race groups enrolled in the humanities

in 2006 than had aspired to do so in 2005.• Significantly lower percentages of students of all four race groups enrolled in the health

sciences than had aspired to do so.• Education enrolments outstripped aspirations for all groups bar white students.• Higher percentages of students of all four race groups enrolled in business/commerce than

had intended to do so.• Lower percentages of students of all four race groups enrolled in engineering and other

applied sciences in 2006 than had aspired to do so in 2005 – though the percentage difference for white students is negligible.

• Lower percentages of black African and coloured students than of Indian and white students enrolled in the natural and mathematical sciences than had aspired to do so.

• Higher percentages of black African and white students than of coloured students enrolled in the social sciences than had aspired to do so, with Indian student enrolment in this programme area matching aspiration.

Variables influencing enrolment in higher education programmes

Table 14.13 indicates the extent of influence of a range of listed variables on students’ decision to enrol in higher education programmes in 2006 and in education programmes in particular – the two sets of variables being juxtaposed.

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Table 14.13: Variables influencing higher education programme enrolment and education programme enrolment, in descending order by extent of influence on higher education programme enrolment (2006)2

Variable % respondents enrolled in a higher education programme whom the variable has influenced to a large or very large extent*

% respondents enrolled in an education programme whom the variable has influenced to a large or very large extent

Interest in this field of study 81.2 (1) 73.8 (4)

Opportunities of finding a job in South Africa after qualifying in this field

78.2 (2) 80.2 (1)

Ability to use a qualification in this field to contribute towards the development of the country and its people

71.1 (3) 79.5 (2)

Wanting to enter a profession for which a qualification in this field is needed

69.5 (4) 79.1 (3)

Opportunities of finding a job overseas after qualifying in this field

54.9 (5) 57.8 (5)

Good performance in this field at school 52.4 (6) 45.7 (6)

The amount of money to be made with a qualification in this field

47.7 (7) 8.7 (18)

Ability to follow a practical course of study 46.8 (8) 39.7 (7)

The reputation of the school/faculty/department in which I am studying

43.2 (9) 35.1 (9)

Ability to follow a theoretical course of study

36.5 (10) 27.8 (12)

Not being able to study in the field that was my first choice

27.4 (11) 16.2 (15)

The ability to obtain funding through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme

26.9 (12) 31.3 (10)

A teacher at school having persuaded me to study in this field

21.1 (13) 14.7 (17)

The offer of a scholarship to study in this field

19.7 (14) 38.4 (8)

My role-model in life having studied in this field

17.7 (15) 26.1 (13)

Parents/guardians/relatives having persuaded me to study in this field

16.3 (16) 30.8 (11)

The ability to obtain a bank loan to study in this field

15.9 (17) 15.8 (16)

A parent/relative having studied in this field 11.8 (18) 23.1 (14)

Friends having persuaded me to study in this field

6.8 (19) 5.2 (19)

A boyfriend/girlfriend having decided to study in this field

2.0 (20) 1.9 (20)

Note:* The number in parentheses after the item in each of the two columns represents the item’s position in the table.

As this comparison reveals, there are stark differences between education students and students enrolled across the board in terms of the influence of certain variables on their course of study.

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The most salient of these, from an education perspective, are the following:• Education students are far less interested than are students across the board in their chosen

field of study. Paradoxically, however, they are far keener than students across the board to contribute through their chosen field towards the development of the country and its people.

• Education students also recognise more than students in general the need to obtain a qualification in a field that is needed.

• The starkest difference lies in the supposed amount of money to be made with a qualification in the chosen field: only 8.7% of education students agree or strongly agree with this variable as an influence on their choice of study direction, compared with 47.7% of students across the board.

• While a very small percentage of education students (16.2%) were influenced in choosing education by not being able to study in the field that was their first choice, 27.4% of students in general were so influenced.

• Tellingly, in their choice of study direction education students were far less influenced by teachers having persuaded them to study education than were students in general.

• The offer of a scholarship was far more important for education students than for students across the board.

• Parents/guardians/relatives exerted a greater influence on education students than on students in general either through having studied in the education field themselves or through having persuaded their children to do so.

Professional aspiration of students

Table 14.14 indicates the relative percentages of students wanting to practise in the listed professions. Factored out of the calculation are a large number of occupations not properly professions in the terms in which the research team defined the term (n=1 820), as well as the responses of students (n=74) unsure of which professions they would enter.

Table 14.14: Profession in which first-year students in 2006 want to practise after qualification

Profession N %

Engineering 1 675 26.7

Accounting 1 659 26.4

Medical 630 10.0

Military 450 7.2

Legal 414 6.6

Teaching 414 6.6

Social work 414 6.6

Nursing 265 4.2

Architectural 122 1.9

Clerical 120 1.9

Academic 50 0.9

Dental 43 0.7

Veterinary 20 0.3

Total 6 276 100.0

It is arguably unsurprising that more students want to practise engineering, accounting and medicine after qualification than want to enter the teaching profession, but surely surprising that more should want to enter the military than nine other professions listed. Teaching is on a par with law and social work as the profession of choice.

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The variables that have influenced aspirant teachers to want to enter the profession are presented in Table 14.15.

Table 14.15: Variables influencing aspirant teachers to join the profession, in descending order by extent of influence (2006)

Variable Mean

A passion for teaching 3.8

Wanting to be a teacher since you were young 3.3

The usefulness of teaching as an entry point into other careers 3.1

The flexible lifestyle which teaching provides 3.1

Wanting to become a teacher because of the influence of a teacher in your school 2.8

The status that teachers have in the community 2.8

Your choice of subjects for the senior certificate having naturally led you into teaching 2.8

Family members/relatives having been teachers 2.5

Teaching being the only career open to you in the circumstances in which you find yourself 2.3

Not knowing what else to do with your life 1.9

Significantly, only 4 of the 10 variables score above the mid-point on the Likert scale: there is no great enthusiasm for any of the propositions, then, as influences on aspirant teachers joining the profession.

The corollary is that the mean values for three of the variables suggested to non-aspirant teachers as having influenced them not to become teachers are fairly high. Table 14.16 depicts the profile.

Table 14.16: Variables influencing non-aspirant teachers not to join the profession, in descending order by extent of influence (2006)

Variable Mean

Knowing I can do something better with my life than become a teacher 4.0

Knowing I can earn more money in my chosen profession 3.8

The difficulties that teachers in my school had in controlling learners 3.6

The low status that teachers enjoy in the community 2.8

The attitude of the teachers in my school to their profession 2.7

The culture of violence in my school 2.4

Family members/relatives having been teachers 2.3

As we see from Table 14.16, teaching appears unattractive because:• It epitomises the maxim attributed to George Bernard Shaw that ‘those who can, do; those

who can’t, teach’.• It is not as lucrative as other professions.• It is characterised by a lack of classroom control.

Enrolment in a teacher education programme

Students enrolled in teacher education programmes have been influenced by listed variables in their decision to study education to the extents reflected in Table 14.17.

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Table 14.17: Variables influencing students to study education, in descending order by extent of influence (2006)

Variable Mean

The range of career opportunities that a qualification in education opens up 3.9

Being assured of getting a job if you study education 3.8

The flexibility that studying education gives you to enter another programme area 3.7

The amount of money to be made in South Africa with an education qualification 3.4

The amount of money to be made overseas with an education qualification 3.1


2.8

This table is interestingly contrasted with Table 14.8, which indicates the relative extent of the same influences on aspirant education students. For ease of comparison, the two sets of values are juxtaposed in Table 14.18.

Table 14.18: Variables influencing teacher education programme preference (2005) and enrolment (2006), in descending order by extent of influence on enrolled education students

Variable Mean for education preference

Mean for education enrolment

The range of career opportunities that a qualification in education opens up 4.2 3.9

Being assured of getting a job if you study education 4.1 3.8

The flexibility that studying education gives you to enter another programme area

4.0 3.7

The amount of money to be made in South Africa with an education qualification

4.0 3.4

The amount of money to be made overseas with an education qualification 3.6 3.1


3.4 2.8

Interestingly, the order of influences is identical for aspirant and enrolled education students; only the values differ. Aspirant education students, the values reveal, are in every instance more positive about the effect of the variable on their decision to study education than are enrolled students – suggesting that enrolment tempers significantly (the values differ by 0.3 or more for every variable compared) the optimism with which aspirant students view their intended study programme.

Only one of the variables, it will be noticed – The ease with which you can be accepted into teacher education programmes rather than into other programme areas (2.8) – is not significant for students enrolled in education programmes, suggesting that entry into teacher education programmes has not proved to be any easier than access into other programmes of study. As pointed out in the earlier analysis of aspirant education student responses on this item, two of the top three influences, though superficially encouraging, have to do with the extent to which studying education facilitates mobility – possibly out of the teaching profession. It is worth repeating that it is not clear, for example, whether respondents have interpreted ‘career opportunities’ in the top variable as being in the education field; if not, this first variable combines with the third to send a powerful message about the extent to which education is

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merely a springboard to other professions. What is clear from the responses, however, is learners’ – and students’ – belief that studying education significantly enhances employability.

As we saw from the aspirant education studies profile earlier in the paper, more than half of the respondents (53.8%) to a question about the level of teaching for which they planned to achieve an education qualification indicated high/secondary school teaching, followed by special education (18.9%), primary school teaching (16.5%), ECD (6.1%), and ‘other’ (4.8%). This profile can be juxtaposed with the teaching aspirations of enrolled education students, as shown in Table 14.19.

Table 14.19: Level of teaching for which aspirant education students (2005) and enrolled education students (2006) plan to achieve their education qualifications

Level % aspirant education students

% enrolled education students

Early childhood development 6.1 7.7

Primary school teaching 16.5 22.8

High/secondary school teaching 53.8 43.3

Special education 18.9 8.7

Adult education 9.4

Other 4.8 8.2

The omission of adult education in the Grade 12 learner aspiration questionnaire aside, we see a notable shift away from special education and, to a lesser extent, from high school teaching – the beneficiaries being primary school teaching and adult education. Enrolment in education programmes has clearly tempered students’ views about the desirability of specialising in special education.

The response profile for the subjects that respondents plan to teach and the levels at which they plan to teach them after qualifying shows a somewhat different picture, however. Enrolled students’ plans in this respect are very similar to those of aspirant education students: while 43.8% of aspirant education students planned to teach in the GET phase, 46.2% of enrolled education students plan to do so. Of those aspirant education students who planned to teach in the GET phase, 35.7% wanted to teach languages; 35.5% of enrolled education students plan to do so. However, while 29.5% of aspirant GET teachers wanted to teach economic and management sciences, only 6.3% of enrolled education students plan to do so; instead, the next highest percentage after languages want to teach life orientation (19%), and mathematics and mathematical literacy (14.3%). Of those who plan to teach subjects in the FET phase, 14.7% of enrolled education students want to teach accounting, 13.4% mathematics, 11.3% agricultural science and 8.6% history, with the remaining choices being spread across the rest of the subject areas. At the aggregated level (GET and FET combined), the highest percentage of respondents want to teach languages (16.6%) in the GET phase – more than double the percentage who want to teach any other subject.

Some implications of the findings

What emerges from the analysis presented is the inconsistency of association between aspiration and enrolment. Sometimes there is little or no relationship between the aspirations of Grade 12 learners and their enrolment choices; and at other times there is a remarkable congruence between the two. Some of the conclusions and implications to be drawn from the findings are the following:

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• The study presented in this paper is limited, tracing as it does a single cohort from school in 2005 to higher education in 2006. Panel studies tracing cohorts of learners over extended periods – at least five years – are needed if we are to obtain a clearer picture of the factors influencing learning (and career) trajectories.

• Race and gender are important variables to monitor as one pursues the pathways of learners through the education system – particularly in relation to the representation of different groups in the population as a whole and in different age categories.

• There is a remarkable congruence in the variables influencing aspiration, preference and enrolment in the findings of the two surveys, which bodes well for more in-depth analyses of the reliability of the findings regarding learner influences over longer periods of time.

• Education students do not differ markedly from students across the board in terms of their academic performance at school and the employment situations of their parents/guardians. They do, however, differ from students in general in terms of the education levels of their parents/guardians and the effect of listed variables on their aspirations to enrol in education programmes.

• Aspirant and actual education students differ in terms of the levels at which they plan to teach and the subjects they plan to teach. There is some (understandable) volatility as they move from school to higher education.

• The racial profile of education enrolments changed dramatically from 2002, when 62% of education enrolments were white and 28% black African (Cosser, with Du Toit & Visser 2004) to the time of this research in 2005–06: 2006 saw a reversal of this situation – 53% black African and 27% white enrolments in education. In 2006, education enrolments outstripped 2005 aspirations to enter education for all groups except white learners/students.

• The data showed a typical first-year education student in 2006 – in comparison with students across the board – to be:• less driven by interest in the subject;• keener to contribute to the development of the country;• less influenced by considerations of remuneration; • less influenced by past teachers; and • more influenced by parents/guardians/relatives in having chosen to study education.

Conclusion

This paper is ironically entitled ‘An Appetite for Teaching’. What has emerged from the findings is that, in comparison with appetite for other programme areas and professions, there is no great hunger for studying education or entering the teaching profession. There are signs, particularly between the time of the 2001–02 transition study (Cosser, with Du Toit & Vissser 2004) alluded to and the research conducted in 2005-06, of a greater interest in teaching, especially amongst black African learners and students; but that interest will have to grow exponentially, particularly in key scarce-skill areas like mathematics and physical science, if South Africa is to transform its teaching capacity to meet the needs of a population of learners eager to bridge the developing–developed world divide.

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Endnotes1. The figures in Tables 14.11 and 14.12, based on raw data supplied by the DoE HEMIS section, are

provisional, and may be inflated by virtue of higher education institutional double counting of distance learning enrolments.

2. This table follows the same format as for Table 14.7, where aspiration preferences were compared.

ReferencesCosser M (2003) Graduate tracer study. In M Cosser, S McGrath, A Badroodien & B Maja (Eds) Technical

college responsiveness: Learner destinations and labour market environments in South Africa. Cape Town: HSRC Press

Cosser M (2009) Studying ambitions. Pathways from grade 12 and the factors that shape them. Cape Town: HSRC Press

Cosser M (forthcoming) Thwarted ambitions: Grade 12 learner destinations one year on. Cape Town: HSRC Press

Cosser M, with Du Toit J & Visser M (2004) Settling for less: Student aspirations and higher education realities. Cape Town: HSRC Press

Department of Education (DoE) (2004a) Senior certificate examination database. Pretoria: DoEDoE (2004b) Education management information systems database. Pretoria: DoEDoE (2007) Table 2.12 (second order CESM) Headcount of unduplicated student enrolments according

to CESM category of major(s)/area of specialisation and qualification type. HEMIS database. Pretoria: DoE

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Teaching disposition: Factors affecting student enrolment in education and entry into the professionMichael CosserHuman Sciences Research Council

Based on a 2006 tracer study of learners who were in Grade 12 in South African schools in 2005, this paper explores the relationships between desire to enter the teaching profession, enrolment in education programmes, and perceptions of choice of life situation. It shows positive correlations between study direction and chosen profession, between perceived choice of life situation and internal locus of control, and between factors influencing choice of study programme, internal locus of control, and perceived choice of life situation. The paper concludes by considering some of the possible implications of the findings for future research on teacher supply.

Keywords

teacher attraction, recruitment, selection Locus Of Control (LOC)programme choice

Introduction

This paper is concerned with the attraction of young people to teaching – whether to education as an enrolment option in higher education or to teaching as a career choice. More specifically, it seeks to understand, through investigating the relationship between the decision of first-year students to enrol in an education programme and the aspiration of post-Grade 12 learners to enter the teaching profession, the factors influencing the trajectories of young people opting for enrolment in education and/or teaching as a career choice.

The paper arises out of work conducted over a four-year period (2005–2008) at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) in South Africa, which tracked a cohort of Grade 12 learners from school into higher education to ascertain the extent of interest in studying education and in entering the teaching profession, and the factors that influence pathways into teaching (Cosser 2009). This work in turn has its genesis in a study of student choice behaviour conducted at the beginning of the decade (Cosser, with Du Toit 2002; Cosser et al. 2004). The later study (2005–08) is located within a wide-reaching exploration of teacher supply and demand conducted by a team of researchers at the HSRC under the auspices of the Teacher Education Research and Development Programme.

Four literatures, at first glance seemingly incongruent, underpin this study. The first is concerned with student choice behaviour, the second with learner pathways through the education system, the third with personality theory, and the fourth with discourse analysis.


Student choice behaviour

In the literature on student choice behaviour (for a fuller account of which, see Hossler et al. 1999; and Cosser, with Du Toit 2002), there is consensus that the decision to enter higher education is a multi-stage process involving a series of successive decisions finally resulting in enrolment in a higher education programme (Hossler et al. 1989). Generally, according to Campaigne and Hossler (1998), three broad stages can be distinguished in the process: 1. Deciding to enter higher education.2. Selecting a particular institution and programme of study.3. Persisting in higher education.

It is the second part of the second stage that serves as a springboard for the present study – the focus of which is the relationship between programme preference (pre-enrolment), programme selection (enrolment), and attitude towards the availability and exercise of choice.

Tracer studies

Because student choice behaviour is not fixed in time – students’ decisions are influenced by a variety of changing internal and external factors – we need to understand the nature and extent of temporal change in such behaviour. Tracer studies constitute one of the means of tracking the programme trajectories of cohorts of students through the education and training system. The focus on individual student trajectories is particularly useful in understanding the factors that influence students in their decision-making; two large-scale tracer studies in the South African context (Cosser 2009; Cosser, with Du Toit 2002; Cosser et al. 2004) have shown this to be the case. Similarly, studies in the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) series have tracked learners variously through the schooling and vocational education systems into higher education and the labour market (see, in particular, Fullarton 2001; Hillman 2005; Khoo and Ainley 2005; Lamb 2001; Lamb and Ball 1999; Lamb and McKenzie 2001; Marks et al. 2000; McMillan and Marks 2003; McMillan et al. 2005; Thomson 2005). The present study is located within this tradition.

Personality theory

Though the student choice behaviour and tracer study literatures alluded to above provide the broad context for the study described in this paper, the more pertinent context is provided by a specific literature that combines personality theory with choice. Student choice behaviour is integrally bound up with the notion of Locus Of Control (LOC) first espoused by Rotter (1954; 1966). Briefly, LOC can be either internal (reflecting the belief that one controls oneself and one’s life) or external (reflecting the belief that one’s environment, some higher power or other people control one’s decisions and life). For example, higher education students with a strong internal LOC would tend to ascribe positive academic achievement to their own abilities and efforts, whereas those with a strong external LOC would tend to ascribe positive academic achievement to good fortune – the corollary being that they would ascribe poor academic achievement to bad fortune. Thus ‘internals’ are believed by Rotter (1966) to exhibit two essential characteristics: high achievement motivation and low outer-directedness. They are more likely to work for achievements, to tolerate delays in rewards, and to plan for long-term goals than are ‘externals’, who are less willing to take risks and to work on self-improvement.

One of the empirical findings with a particular bearing on the present study is that the development of LOC is a function of family values, parenting style, and Socio-economic Status (SES) (Schneewind 1995). Many internals have grown up in families that modelled typical ‘internal’ beliefs – the value of effort, education, responsibility and reflection. Lefcourt (1976) finds: ‘Warmth, supportiveness and parental encouragement seem to be essential for development of an internal locus’ (1976: 100). On the other hand, people who grow up in

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families that are subject to social unrest tend to develop an external LOC. Externals are typically associated with lower SES – poor people having less control over their lives.

The cumulative import of these findings, for the present paper, is that the development of an internal LOC would seem to be an important indicator of the independence and self-belief required to make appropriate choices – whether of subjects at school or of programmes at a higher education institution.

Discourse analysis

One of the ways in which the particular orientation of the individual’s LOC (internal versus external) can be assessed is through language, which encodes his/her ideology and world view. The fourth type of literature from which this paper arises, then, is the literature of discourse analysis. The work of Roger Fowler (in particular, Fowler 1986 – a cumulative exposition of his approach towards discourse that builds upon his earlier works: Fowler 1975; Fowler et al. 1979; and Fowler 1981) provides a broad foundation for the identification of LOC. Through a study, inter alia, of syntax, semantics, speech acts, modality, text construction, point of view and world view and of the relationships between and among them, Fowler (1986) constructs a powerful methodology for the interpretation of literary texts – a model that can be applied equally in the context of learners’ utterances.

Personality theory and student choice behaviour

Two of the literatures described above – the literature on personality theory (as manifested in LOC) and the literature on student choice behaviour – are suggestively combined by Boone et al. (2002) to show that personality predicts not only specific study choices but also different levels of rationality in the choice process. The specific hypotheses that these authors test – and show for the most part to be valid – are that:

1. Compared to externals, internals will be overrepresented in study programs leading to more challenging, uncertain and unstructured future professional environments.

2. Compared to externals, internals will be more likely to have actively searched for information on which to base their study choice.

3. Compared to externals, internals will be more likely to have allowed relevant factors to influence their study choice.

4. The relationship between LOC and study program choice is stronger for students following more rational (i.e., more active and relevant) decision processes. (Boone et al. 2002: 7–8)

The Boone et al. paper is highly suggestive in terms of the research avenues it lays out. Yet while the chief interest of these authors lies in ascertaining the extent of correlation between LOC and the type of programme that students of a particular LOC orientation would typically choose, my interest, for the purposes of this paper, lies in their third hypothesis: the relationship between LOC and the factors that influence study choice.

Methodology

As indicated in the Introduction, the paper seeks to understand the factors influencing the trajectories of young people opting for enrolment in education and/or teaching as a career choice. It does so through investigating, through three different analyses, the relationship between the decision of first-year students to enrol in an education programme and the aspiration of post-Grade 12 learners to enter the teaching profession.

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In the first part of the analysis, I conduct three basic cross-tabulations: 1. Planned entry into the teaching profession of students enrolled in an education programme,

with perception of ability to exercise choice of life situation.2. Enrolment in an education programme, with perception of ability to exercise choice of life

situation.3. Planned entry into the teaching profession, with perception of ability to exercise choice of

life situation.

The analyses are undertaken on the 2006 Grade 12 Learner Destination study (henceforth, Tracer Study 1) data set, which contains the responses of learners who were in Grade 12 in 2005 and who were traced along their various pathways in 2006. The dependent variables are derived from the following two questions posed in the postal survey:1. In which programme/s are you enrolled?2. Which profession are you planning to enter once you have completed your studies?

The independent variable is derived from the question:3. To what extent do you feel that you have been able to choose your present life situation?

The resulting cross-tabulations differentiate the three categories of respondent, whose discursive responses to the question of their ability to exercise choice I subsequently analyse.

In the second part of the analysis, I deploy stylistic techniques based partly on the work of Fowler (1986) and partly on my own work on literary stylistics (see, for example, Cosser 1998) to analyse respondents’ motivations for indicating the extent to which they felt they had been able to choose their present life situations. These motivations are derived from the following question:4. What is the main reason for your response to [the question ‘To what extent do you feel that you

have been able to choose your present life situation]?

In the third part of the analysis, I investigate the responses of all 75 respondents across the three categories of student to a further question in Tracer Study 1 – To what extent did the following factors influence your decision to enrol in the field in which you are studying? – to ascertain whether internal and external LOC as embodied in specific factors posited as possible influences on their choice of study programme correlate with their responses to the question about their exercise of choice of life situation.

Results

Education students, aspirant teachers, and choice of life situation

A cross-tabulation of learner perceptions of choice with enrolment in different academic programmes reveals that education occupies position 16 out of 21 programmes in the Department of Education (DoE) programme list (DoE 2001) in terms of the extent to which students enrolled in education feel that they have been able to choose their present life situation.1 Figure 15.1 illustrates the profile.2

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Figure 15.1: Choice of life situation amongst students enrolled in different programmes (2006)

From this figure we see that, of those respondents enrolled in an education programme, three-fifths (61%) felt they had been able to choose (to a large or very large extent) their present life situation. A juxtaposition with student enrolment in other programmes shows that, at the top end, 100% of those enrolled in librarianship and in physical education felt they had been able to choose their present life situation,3 while at the bottom end 46% of those enrolled in life and physical science felt so. Education is fairly near the bottom of the rankings in terms of the students enrolled in it perceiving that they had been able to choose their present life situation.

A distribution across programmes reveals that, of those respondents who felt they had been able to choose their present life situation, only 3% were enrolled in education – compared to more than a quarter (29%) in business/commerce, 13% in engineering, 11% in computer science, 7% in each of communication and the health sciences and 6% in law. Figure 15.2 provides the full profile.

Figure 15.2: Percentage distribution of choice of life situation, by programme of enrolment (2006)

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Lib

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Architecture & Planning, 1

Industrial Arts, 1

Home Economics, 1

Philosophy, Theology, 1

Physical Education, 1

Librarianship, 1

Life & Physical Science, 2

Visual & Performing Arts, 2

Agriculture, 2

Mathematical Sciences, 3

Languages, Literature, 3

Education, 3

Social Sciences, 3

Psychology, 3

Public Administration/Social Services, 3

Law, 6

Communication, 7

Health Sciences, 7 Computer Science, 10

Business/Commerce, 28

Engineering, 12


At position 8 out of 21 programmes in this list, education would seem to occupy a fairly high place in terms of students enrolled in it feeling able to exercise choice in their lives; but since only 3% of students who felt they had been able to choose their present life situation were enrolled in education, the distribution hardly favours education students.

Similarly, a cross-tabulation of respondents’ perceptions of choice with desire to enter various professions reveals that teaching occupies a middling to menial place in students’ ranking of professions. Figure 15.3 illustrates the profile.

Figure 15.3: Percentage distribution of choice of life situation, by chosen profession (2006)

As Figure 15.3 reveals, of those respondents who felt they had been able to choose their present life situation, more than half (27% each) were intending to enter the engineering and accounting professions, followed by 8% the medical profession, 7% social work and the legal profession, and then 6% the teaching profession. There is therefore a fairly low correlation between proposed entry into the teaching profession and perceived exercise of choice.

The corollary is that, of those respondents wanting to enter the teaching profession, 58% felt they had been able to choose their present life situation. Figure 15.4 shows the profile for all professions.

Figure 15.4: Choice of life situation amongst students planning on entering different professions (2006)

%

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As the bar chart shows, only the military sees a lower percentage of persons than those wanting to enter the teaching profession who felt they had been able to choose their present life situation.

As these analyses demonstrate, enrolment in an education programme and desire to enter the teaching profession are, on the whole, poorly correlated with student perception of the ability to exercise choice of life situation.

LOC and the language of education students and of aspirant teachers

Of the 27 students planning on entering the teaching profession who were enrolled in education programmes in 2006, two-thirds (67%) indicated that they had been able to choose (they marked ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ in response to the question), a fifth (22%) positioned themselves in the middle of the five-point scale, and the balance (11%) indicated that they had not been able to choose their present life situation (they marked ‘disagree’ or ‘strongly disagree’ in response to the question).

Of the 17 students enrolled in an education programme in 2006 who were not planning on entering the teaching profession, just under half (47%) indicated that they had been able to choose, almost a third (29%) placed themselves in the middle, and the balance (24%) indicated that they had not been able to choose their present life situation.

Of the 31 respondents planning on entering the teaching profession who were not enrolled in a teacher education programme in 2006, 48% indicated that they had been able to choose, 29% placed themselves in the middle, and 23% indicated that they had not been able to choose their present life situation.

With this quantitative introduction, I turn to the discourse analysis.

Following the categorisation of the three analytical groups in the Methodology section above, the following three tables outline the reasons advanced by students for their responses4 to the question regarding their ability to exercise choice in their present life situations. The first outlines the motivations of students enrolled in an education programme and planning on entering the teaching profession. The second outlines the motivations of students enrolled in an education programme but not planning on entering the teaching profession. And the third outlines the motivations of students planning on entering the teaching profession but not enrolled in an education programme.

In each of the three tables, the first column indicates the number I have assigned to each respondent for the purpose of differentiating responses in the ensuing discourse analysis. The second column indicates the respondent’s answer to the question To what extent do you feel that you have been able to choose your present life situation?, while the third column contains the corresponding reason provided by the respondent for his/her answer to the question What is the main reason for your response to [the question ‘To what extent do you feel that you have been able to choose your present life situation]?

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Table 15.1: Reasons for choice: Students planning on entering the teaching profession enrolled in an education programme in 2006

Student no.

Extent of choice*

Tracer Study 1 reasons for choice: Students enrolled in an education programme in 2006 planning on entering the teaching profession

1 5 I have a long-term goal in mind, and I know I am going places, and I know that the study field which I choose was right

2 5 I have a strong personality I am not easily influenced by the wrong advice. I make my own choices and I never give up

3 5 I have support from family and friends to make my own independent choices

4 5 My life had changed, because I am now independent. I know my way forward and also knowing what I want in life

5 5 I live in a small town Newcastle with no university and my parents allowed me to move to Durban and study

6 5 I choose my career on my own free will. I felt no obligation in honouring the wish of anyone who had an influence in my life

7 5 Career

8 5 My parents allowed me opportunity and guidance to make my own choices. They give me their support in what ever I do

9 5 I’ve already chosen the career that I wish to do after studying, getting a degree in it

10 5 To achieve my goal and have successful life and find a good job

11 4 I would choose to live a positive life as I do, carring on with my passion and loving all people even if is my enemy, and I would focus & choose

12 4 I am glad to have made my own choices for my present life so far, there are no regrets

13 4 I am still unemployed and I’m looking for a job to surpport myself. I want to stop depending on my mother

14 4 Because I passed all my first year subjects, my future is brightining up, day by day

15 4 I had my own choice for my career

16 4 I was able to make my own decision about what I wanted to study

17 4 I chose where I want to work and through who I want to study

18 4 Because now I can be able to teach. South Africa needs more responsible and qualified teacher’s and I think I’ll be one of them

19 3 I have not been able to choose my present life situation because the standard of education at my previous school was low

20 3 I feel it would be financial reasons as I would have prefered to have studied full time and then went to find a job but I’m happy with the compromize

21 3 It is because I find myself doing nothing and have been enrolled at 2006 and not admitted because of finance and this year enrolled again

22 3 Because I want to help my mother at home to buy everything at home and make a tombstone for my dad my young brother

23 3 The choice I made was to a large extent my decision and I am happy with it

24 3 Support from my parents and opportunities

25 3 The people where I stay while study are not very helpfull or friendly

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Student no.

Extent of choice

Tracer Study 1 reasons for choice: Students enrolled in an education programme in 2006 planning on entering the teaching profession

26 2 My parent being separated

27 1 My parents influence

Source: Tracer Study 1 questionnaire (2006)

Note:* Responses are sorted in descending order according to the extent to which students feel that they have been able to exercise choice; the shaded rows separate the five categories of choice response (5, 4, 3, 2 and 1).

Table 15.2: Reasons for choice: Students enrolled in an education programme in 2006 not planning on entering the teaching profession

Student no.

Extent of choice

Tracer Study 1 reasons for choice: Students enrolled in an education programme not planning on entering the teaching profession

28 5 My life is very happy and its very enjoyable

29 5 Because I enrolled for a senior certificate for part time and thats what gets me going

30 4 The Lord lead me into my life situation. He leads me into making the right choices

31 4 My parents are helping me with other things that I need. They are supporting and caring, so life is going on

32 4 I want my education to improve my qualification

33 4 I was able to make my own decisions being that I wanted to upgrade my marks. I just want a better life

34 4 That’s the extent I feel I have been able to choose my present life situation, my parents have also been helpfull to my present life situation

35 4 My main reason is that my present life situation has changed for better than the past years and again my self confidence situation

36 3 I think I took what came first because all I wanted was to improve my Grade 12 marks so that I could finally get a Grade 12 certificate

37 3 Because I was not expecting to study at the college, I wanted to study chemical engineering at university

38 3 I would very much like to be studying but my results were not good in 2007 I would like to be studying should I be admitted in a tertiary level

39 3 Im looking after my future and I would like to be like other people and live a wonderful life. Thats the only thing I need

40 3 I am still studying at tertiory but I’m not satisfied with my marks

41 2 Dont think I know where I am going. Being having difficulties with my Grade 12 marks, no support feel stress & depressed. Next year I’ll upgrade

42 1 I did my best to find a job or money to further my studies

43 1 I lost my father while I was writing exams. I thank god I passed, if he was still alive I will be able to go to school

44 1 I answered question l s due to the fact that I didn’t choose the present life situation that I’m finding myself in. It was’nt my option at all


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Table 15.3: Reasons for choice: Students planning on entering the teaching profession not enrolled in an education programme in 2006

Student no.

Extent of choice

Tracer Study 1 reasons for choice: Students planning on entering the teaching profession not enrolled in an education programme

45 5 I want to be someone also in future, I’m looking towards a bright future. In the next coming years I want this to be a dream come true – never give up

46 5 Because I’ve studied very hard to get where I am today. So I will continue doing that until I get my national diploma

47 5 Feel happy because is my dream to be an educator

48 5 If I have money to complete my goals

49 5 I want to improve my life style and focus on my education for achieving all I need in life generally

50 5 I want a better life for me and my family and I want to study to get a better job

51 5 It was me who decided to go and further my studies even in the financial problems that we had, and I made it

52 4 I’m gaining information by studying and I enjoy it and it is my foot step of my future

53 4 I do not depend on other people, I can do things for myself. The promise I kept to be strong no matter what

54 4 Because of encouragement of professional person, to be able to be dependent because of my career

55 4 I wanted to become a teacher but I am not studying it. I choose to enter one year contract for learnership to keep myself busy. I didn’t have money

56 4 My parents are very supportive. I am a determined, intelligent and vibrant young lady, so I do what I want and I give it my best

57 4 It was very easier for my life because I know now about my career in life

58 4 I’m studying at a school I always dreamt of

59 4 I am in good health, my previous year’s marks are good, I live in a good household with a good relationship with my family members

60 3 Economic background, lack of career guidance, hands on approach provided by schooling enhances my present life

61 3 I can buy clothes and food but I can not make my life better I can’t afford rent, to buy house

62 3 I blame my parents by being not able to support me in my studies, I also blame myself by not taking chances of bursaries or any opportunities

63 3 Because I have to accept anything and deal with it, because life is a challenge

64 3 The fact that my matric results did not meet the requirements not looking for a job is the fact that my ID is been at the home affairs

65 3 There is nothing good about my life. I feel like I could have done better for my exam I was very sick for my exam because of TB, did not do well

66 3 Because I want to prove myself to those who thought I would not succeed

67 3 Because I am not yet following my career of teaching

68 3 Wanting to make a difference to the lives of South African

69 2 Its because sometime things are going to change and Im going to get money to upgrade my subjects and get a job so that I can help myself and my family

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Student no.

Extent of choice

Tracer Study 1 reasons for choice: Students planning on entering the teaching profession not enrolled in an education programme

70 2 Being the only breadwinner in the family after the demise of my father I had to work to provide for my family, I had put hold to tertiary education

71 2 My senior certificate was pretty good, I pass with good points but have no money and I have friends with lower points and they are studying

72 2 I am not happy with my life because things are not going my way. I’m too dependent and would like to be in control of my life

73 1 Because I wanted to be at a tertiary institution studying, but my parents didn’t have money to register me and pay fees

74 1 Poor life. I wish to study further or get a full time job. I am not happy at all with my life

75 1 Firstly I’m unemployed and also my parents are unemployed and they can’t afford to pay for my studies


In the analysis that follows, I isolate various responses to illustrate a particular stylistic point I wish to make. There is, however, no perfect correspondence between the number in the second column and the reason in the third in terms of the points I make. The discussion is intended, rather, to highlight certain trends in the language of respondents. Generalisations, therefore, are not intended.

AgencyStudents most positive about their ability to exercise choice of life situation (that is, those marking ‘5’) are more emphatic in their responses than are students less positive about their exercise of choice. Student 1’s response – ‘I have… I know… I know… I choose’ epitomises the kind of assertiveness that characterises the responses of students who marked ‘5’ in Table 15.1. ‘I have’ and ‘I choose’ recur, variously, in the responses of Students 2, 3, 6 and 9. Other indicators of agency are found in ‘I make’ (Student 2) and ‘I am’ (Students 2 and 4). Significantly, ‘I have’, ‘I know’ and ‘I am’, which characterise the responses of the first four students, are identity markers defining human possession, cognition and existence.

The agency in these expressions is direct. Contrast this with Student 33’s ‘I was able to make my own decisions’, where the agency is less direct, and Student 20’s ‘I feel it would be financial reasons’, where the agency is even less direct (here mitigated by the emotional marker ‘feel’).

While some of these words – have, choose, am – recur in the responses of students less positive about their exercise of choice, they are (progressively) less frequent and their illocutionary force is diminished through propositions (I feel, I think) that weaken the sense of respondent agency.

Ownership While the verbs highlighted above separate the responses even of those who marked ‘5’ on the Likert scale from those who marked ‘4’ or below, there is an equally strong sense of ownership in the possessive constructions of those who marked ‘4’ and ‘5’. The syntax of Students 2, 3, 6, 8, 12, 15, 16 and 33 is characterised by the phrase ‘my own’ – as in ‘my own choice/s’ (Students 2, 3, 8, 12 and 15) and ‘my own decision/s’ (Students 16 and 33). No such ownership is evident in the responses of students in any of the three tables who marked ‘3’, ‘2’ or ‘1’ on the Likert scale.

Family supportThe issue of family and/or parental support is clearly a salient one for respondents. Students 5, 8, 13, 24, 31, 34, 56 and 59 refer directly or allude to support from family members having provided

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stability in their lives – the kind of stability Lefcourt (1976) identifies (and which I quoted earlier) as being central to the development of an internal LOC: ‘Warmth, supportiveness and parental encouragement seem to be essential for development of an internal locus’ (1976: 100). All but one of the respondents mentioning such support are positive or extremely positive about the exercise of choice. The corollary is that the mention of parents by respondents who marked ‘3’, ‘2’ or ‘1’ on the Likert scale is associated either with death (Students 22, 43 and 70), separation (Student 26), or stated or implied poor parental influence (Students 62 and 27 respectively). The ability to exercise choice is manifestly a function, then, of stable family households headed by parents.

CollocationCollocation – the proximity, in texts, of words of the same lexical set that contributes towards their cohesiveness (Fowler 1986) – is a feature of the broad binary division between positive and negative expression in the responses of students. This is, on one level, an obvious point: viable syntax is always characterised by semantic cohesiveness. More useful than considering individual student utterances – given the brevity of students’ responses, it is difficult to identify extensive use of collocation within such utterances – is a consideration of the positive–negative binary divide as articulated inter- rather than intra-utterance. Here we are dealing with inter-student collocation – a kind of collective unconscious (Jung 1981) of words that collocate in the minds of people who, in the language already analysed above, are agents of their own destiny, have a strong sense of ownership, and recognise the importance of family in their lives. The following examples make the point:1. ‘right’ ‘...not […] wrong…’ ‘right choices’ (Students 1, 2 and 30);2. ‘I am going places…’ ‘I know my way forward…’ ‘...that’s what gets me going’ (Students 1, 4

and 29);3. ‘independent choices’ ‘...am now independent’ ‘…stop depending on [my mother]’ (Students

3, 4 and 13);4. ‘my parents allowed me…’ ‘my parents allowed me opportunity...’ (Students 5 and 8);5. ‘improve my qualification’ ‘…improve my Grade 12 marks...’ (Students 32 and 36); and6. ‘ better life’ ‘…life situation has changed for better...’ (Students 33 and 35).

The negative corollary of example 2 above is ‘...sometime things are going to change…’ ‘...things are not going my way...’ (Students 69 and 72, both of whom marked ‘2’ on the Likert scale). And the negative corollary of example 5 above is ‘...my results were not good…’ ‘...I’m not satisfied with my marks’ ’…having difficulties with my Grade 12 marks...’ (Students 38, 40 and 41).

Degrees of comparisonA perhaps unintended consequence of survey respondents being provided with a scale upon which to rate a certain item – in this instance the extent to which they felt they had been able to choose their present life situation – is that their verbal responses may be influenced by the very comparability a scale embodies. Judging by the frequency of use of ‘good’, ‘better’ and ‘best’, respondents to the 2006 survey are acutely, and in some instances painfully, aware of their place in society and their need to improve their lot. The word ‘good’ is used nine times in Tables 15.1, 15.2 and 15.3, ‘better’ six times, and ‘best’ twice. Five of the nine usages of ‘good’ are by students who marked ‘4’ or ‘5’ on the Likert scale, four of the six usages of ‘better’ are by such students, and one of the two usages of ‘best’ is by a student who expressed ability to exercise choice to a large extent. Both ‘good’ and ‘best’ are used by students negative about their exercise of choice. Situational comparison, in other words, permeates the profile.

On closer inspection, the three terms – good, better and best – have three main referents: life, jobs, and academic performance. It is clear from the frequency of the various combinations, moreover – the ‘better life’ combination occurs four times in the profile of responses, the other two combinations (with jobs and with academic performance) three times each – that upward mobility is very much in the student mind. Students’ use of ‘upgrade’ – as in ‘upgrade my marks’ (Student 33), ‘upgrade my subjects’ (Student 69), and the intransitive ‘Next year I’ll upgrade’

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(Student 41) – reinforces this sense of mobility. The collocation with ‘improve’ – as in ‘improve my qualification’ (Student 32), ‘improve my Grade 12 marks’ (Student 36) and ‘improve my life style’ (Student 49) – serves to bolster this notion of an upwardly mobile student population.5

LOC I have alluded in the analysis above to internal LOC being strongly correlated with stable family life. By contrast, as we saw from the literature review, external LOC is correlated with low SES. Consider the following utterances:

‘Because I wanted to be at a tertiary institution studying, but my parents didn’t have money to register me and pay fees’ (Student 73). ‘Firstly I’m unemployed and also my parents are unemployed and they can’t afford to pay for my studies’ (Student 75).

An analysis of the parental/guardian employment situations and incomes of these two students based on data captured from the questionnaire reveals the following. Student 73’s father is unemployed and therefore earns no income, while his mother is employed in a company/organisation and earns between R3 201 and R6 400 per month – confirming the low SES of the family6 and an inability to afford a higher education for their son. Student 75’s father is employed, but she does not know what he earns, while her mother is unemployed and therefore earns no income. It is likely, given her mother’s unemployment, that this family too falls within the low SES bracket.

Both students attribute their inability to access higher education to their parents’ inability to afford higher education fees: in other words, an external LOC is – unavoidably – at play here. Both students marked ‘1’ on the Likert scale – indicating that they were in no position whatsoever to choose their present life situation. The major distinction between them is that while Student 73 works for his mother, selling vegetables, Student 75 is unemployed.

Aside from the SES correlation with LOC, there are more subtle, syntactic, markers of LOC in certain utterances in the three tables that differentiate positive from negative exercise of choice. We have already seen the extent of agency exemplified in strong verbal assertions (I have, I know, I am, I choose) and in ownership (‘my own choice[s]’; ‘my own decision[s]’). Yet consider the following:

‘I think I took what came first because all I wanted was to improve my Grade 12 marks so that I could finally get a Grade 12 certificate’ (Student 36).

The noun phrase ‘what came first’ is a classic indicator of external LOC: not only is the construction in the passive voice, but there is a fatalism about the choice to enrol in education (the presumed referent of ‘what came first’). The word ‘finally’ in the next clause, as much as it might seem to signal determination, actually betrays the resignation of the external.

A similar passivity is evident in the first clause of Student 21’s utterance ‘It is because I find myself doing nothing’ (my emphasis) – as though the student is a spectator in his own life.

In the following example, two separate constructions betray an external LOC:

‘Im looking after my future and I would like to be like other people and live a wonderful life. Thats the only thing I need’ (Student 39).

The first sign of an external LOC is to be found in the second clause, where the external orientation of ‘like other people’, the subjunctive mood marker ‘would’, and the assumption, in the third clause, that ‘a wonderful life’ is available to others but not to the writer, encompass

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an existentialist contradiction: ‘to be like other people’ (my emphasis), in its assumption of the identity of others, is effectively a negation of self-identity. The final clause, with its modal adjective ‘only thing I need’ (my emphasis), reinforces, by its very restrictiveness, the extent to which the writer is operating from an external LOC position.

Education students, aspirant teachers, and LOC in Tracer Study 1

Having established that there is a correlation between students’ varying commitments to the proposition of having been able to exercise choice in their lives and the language in which they couch their motivations for these commitments, I investigate in this section whether there is an association, in terms of LOC, between these varying commitments and students’ perceptions of the factors that have influenced their choice of programmes for higher education.

In the study by Boone et al. (2002) cited earlier, the authors characterise persons of an internal LOC orientation (internals) as being ‘more likely to have allowed relevant factors to influence their study choice’ (2002: 7–8) (my emphasis). The factors they deem relevant in terms of the programme choice process are:

I made my choice to enroll into a particular study program based on my interests.I made my choice to enroll into a particular study program based on the fact that it would provide an opportunity for self-realization.I made my choice to enroll into a particular study program based on the fact that the career opportunities were good. (Boone et al. 2002: 7–8)

The factors they deem irrelevant in terms of the programme choice process are:

I made my choice to enroll into a particular study program based on the fact that my high school friends made the same choice and I wanted to stay with them.I made my choice to enroll into a particular study program under pressure of my parents and/or family members.I made my choice to enroll into a particular study program based on the fact that the university was situated nearby. (Boone et al. 2002: 7–8)

Six factors in the Tracer Study 1 questionnaire that encode an internal versus an external LOC – factors that appear in the questionnaire under the rubric To what extent did the following factors influence your decision to enrol in the field in which you are studying? – are:1. Interest in this field of study.2. Opportunities of finding a job in South Africa after qualifying in this field.3. Ability to use a qualification in this field to contribute towards the development of the country

and its people.4. Friends having persuaded me to study in this field.5. Parents/guardians/relatives having persuaded me to study in this field.6. A boyfriend/girlfriend having decided to study in this field.

The first three correspond to the relevant factors of Boone et al. (2002), the second three to their irrelevant factors. We can hypothesise that students with an internal LOC will score high on the first three factors and low on the second three – the corollary being that students with an external LOC will score low on the first three factors and high on the second three.

The results of the analysis – conducted on the responses only of education students planning on entering the teaching profession and not of respondents in the other two categories – are presented in Table 15.4.

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Table 15.4: Choice of life situation and factors influencing choice of study programme for education students planning on entering the teaching profession (2006)

Choice of life situation

Factors influencing choice of study programme

Internal locus of control External locus of control

To what extent do you feel that you have been able to choose your present life situation?

Interest in this field of study

Opportunities

of finding a

job in South

Africa after

qualifying in

this field

Ability to use a qualification in this field to contribute towards the development of the country and its people

Friends having persuaded me to study in this field

Parents/ guardians/ relatives having persuaded me to study in this field

A boyfriend/ girlfriend having decided to study in this field

Positive (4 & 5)

4.6 4.6 4.6 1.4 2.3 1.0

Neither positive nor negative (3)

4.6 4.7 4.8 2.2 3.0 2.0

Negative (1 & 2)

2.5 3.0 2.5 1.5 3.0 1.5

Source: Author’s own table, based on Tracer Study 1 data (2006).

The table reveals that students positive about their ability to exercise choice (those who marked ‘4’ or ‘5’ on the Likert scale) ranked the factors that encode an internal LOC (columns two, three and four) significantly more highly than did students negative about their exercise of choice: 4.6 for all three factors versus 2.5, 3.0 and 2.5 respectively. The corollary is that students negative about their ability to exercise choice (those who marked ‘1’ or ‘2’ on the Likert scale) ranked the factors that encode an external LOC more highly than did students positive about their exercise of choice: 1.5, 3.0 and 1.5 versus 1.4, 2.3 and 1.0 respectively. Here, however, the difference is much less pronounced.

The extrinsic factors are far less stable, and therefore vary more widely, than the intrinsic ones: not all respondents, for example, will have boyfriends/girlfriends, or even, necessarily, parents. On the other hand, all respondents will have programmatic interests and – if only out of sheer necessity – will want to find jobs. Not all respondents, then, are subject to the same set of external forces (friends, family and significant others). Given this variation, it is all the more remarkable that students negative about their ability to exercise choice ranked the factors that encode an external LOC more highly than did students positive about their exercise of choice.

Discussion and conclusions

In this paper I have undertaken three related analyses.

First, I have juxtaposed three profiles: students enrolled in education programmes intending to enter the teaching profession; students enrolled in education programmes not intending to enter the teaching profession; and students planning on entering the teaching profession not enrolled in education programmes. One of the observations we can make from this juxtaposition is that, in the case of education/teaching at any rate, the closer the match between study direction and chosen profession, the higher the percentage of students who feel that they have been able to choose their present life situation. Thus while 67% of the students who were planning on entering the teaching profession and who were enrolled in an education programme felt that

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they had been able to exercise choice, only 47% of those enrolled in an education programme but not intending to enter the teaching profession and 48% of those intending to enter the teaching profession but not enrolled in an education programme felt that they had been able to choose their present life situation.

Second, a discourse analysis of the responses of the three categories of student about their motivations for their perceived ability to exercise choice of life situation has shown that respondents positive about the exercise of choice tend to exhibit an internal LOC, while respondents negative about the exercise of choice tend to exhibit an external LOC. The operative word here is ‘tend’. Language, this analysis has shown, encodes not only LOC but the very belief systems that underpin respondents’ world views.

And third, an analysis of the responses of education students planning on entering the teaching profession has demonstrated an inverse relationship between perceived choice of life situation and perceived influence of factors on choice of study programme – the factors that encode an internal LOC being correlated with greater perceived exercise of choice, and vice versa.

How useful are these findings to teacher education research? There are three lessons, I believe, that we can learn from them – each pertaining to one of the three analyses undertaken in the study.

The first is that chosen profession and active engagement in steps to realise entry into that profession (in this instance, enrolment in an education programme) appear to constitute a powerful coalescence of forces that not only reinforce the importance of goal-setting but may strengthen, through perceptions of the freedom to exercise choice, the possibility of short-term goal achievement (completing an education programme) leading to longer-term goal achievement (entering the teaching profession). That education students not planning on entering the teaching profession and aspirant teachers not enrolled in education programmes are less positive about their ability to exercise choice in their lives attests to the mutually reinforcing potency of career aspiration being realised in programme enrolment.

One of the possibilities this finding throws up is that students planning on becoming teachers who study education from their first year may be more likely, by virtue of their commitment to the profession manifested in their having taken the first step towards it, to enter and to stay in teaching than students who study in other programme areas first. Clearly, however, such a proposition would need to be tested in longitudinal studies of the Attraction, Selection, and Attrition (or ASA) cycle – the sorting process famously used by Schneider (1987) to describe the way in which individuals feel attracted to, and search (albeit unwittingly) for, situations that fit their psychological make-up: their values, talents, and personality.

The corollary is that students who enrol in education who have no intention of entering the teaching profession either intend to become teacher-educators (i.e. academics) or – the more likely scenario in the context of the present study – have enrolled in education because they have not been accepted, for reasons of poor grades7 or want of study places, into programmes in other disciplines. Again, such a scenario is speculative, and would need to be validated through further research.

The second lesson is that language, by virtue of the way in which it encodes LOC – an aspect of world view – is a powerful, yet neglected, tool in analysis of the characteristics of aspirant teachers. What kind of student entering higher education and enrolling in an education programme is most likely to stay the course and to enter his/her chosen profession? A student with a strong internal LOC of the kind identified through the discourse analysis above? An exercise given to aspirant students in which they were required to provide written motivations for entry into a programme would yield useful information about their intentionality and world views as encoded in their discourse.

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The third lesson is that relevance – following the hypothesis of Boone et al. that ‘Compared to externals, internals will be more likely to have allowed relevant factors to influence their study choice’ (2002: 7–8) – is a potentially powerful variable in differentiating internal from external LOC factors for use in selection and recruitment, whether oral or written, whether of students into study programmes or of aspirant teachers into the profession.

Endnotes1. Learners were asked to indicate, on a five-point Likert scale, the extent to which they felt they had been

able to choose their present life situation.2. Quantitative analyses in the paper are, for ease of understanding and comparison, reported in

percentage terms – though strictly speaking percentages should not be used where numbers below 100 are involved.

3. While all these percentages are based on weighted counts, the unweighted headcount enrolments in librarianship, physical education and philosophy/theology were 3, 5 and 10 respectively. These percentages should therefore be treated with caution.

4. Responses have not been edited and are reproduced here as supplied.5. For a fascinating American counterpart tracing life histories of young people over a third of a century,

see Schneider and Stevenson (1999).6. Parental/guardian employment situation and income are the two variables used in the student choice

behaviour and aspiration studies conducted at the HSRC (Cosser 2009; Cosser, with Du Toit 2002) to construct a socio-economic variable (high, middle or low).

7. Indeed, an analysis of the reasons provided by students enrolled in education in 2006 for whom education was not their first enrolment choice, reveals that their achievement of insufficient points is the predominant reason for their not having been accepted into other programmes.

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Cosser M (forthcoming) Thwarted ambitions: Pathways from grade 12 and the factors that shape them. Cape Town: HSRC Press

Cosser M, with Du Toit J (2002) From school to higher education? Factors affecting the choices of grade 12 learners. Cape Town: HSRC Press

Cosser M, with Du Toit J & Visser M (2004) Settling for less: Student aspirations and higher education realities. Cape Town: HSRC Press

DoE (Department of Education) (2001) National plan for higher education. Pretoria: DoEFowler R (1975) Style and structure in literature: Essays in the new stylistics. Oxford: BlackwellFowler R, Hodge B, Kress G & Trew T (1979) Language and control. London: Routledge & Kegan PaulFowler R (1981) Literature as social discourse: The practice of linguistic criticism. London: BatsfordFowler R (1986) Linguistic criticism. Oxford: Oxford University PressFullarton S (2001) VET in schools: Participation and pathways. Camberwell, Victoria: Australian Council

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Teacher recruitment policy: The case of the North West Province

Nolutho Ndengane DikoHuman Sciences Research Council

The issue of teacher supply and demand is contested terrain. From teacher unions and government officials, to independent researchers and various newspapers, opinions on this critical topic have been very vocal. A number of researchers present evidence to suggest that, despite heated debates about teacher supply, South Africa has enough teachers to meet current teacher demands. Further, despite high teacher attrition rates, low numbers of teaching graduates produced by higher education institutions, and the fact that many teachers seem willing to leave teaching should they get a better job offer elsewhere, the supply of teachers to public schools would seem to be sufficient to meet demand. This paper argues that what seems to be threatening both the supply of teachers and thus also the quality of teaching and learning is the manner in which employers appropriate teacher recruitment and retention policies. One aspect of this is the process of recruiting new teachers, which is proving to be counterproductive. The paper reports on the 2008 Human Sciences Research Council study on teacher recruitment, retention and attrition in South African public schools, with a focus on the North West Province. The paper provides a qualitative report-back on teacher recruitment and retention practices in that province, including stakeholder views on teacher recruitment and retention policies and practices, and whether such policies and practices succeed or fail in keeping teachers within the teaching profession.

Keywords

teacher recruitment, retention and attritionteacher supply and demandappropriation of policiesNorth West Province

Introduction

Since South Africa embarked on education reform in 1994, the country’s education system has been overhauled to reflect the ‘rainbow nation’, providing more equitable educational opportunities for all South African children regardless of gender, race or ethnicity. Developments have not been limited to national changes; on the international and regional fronts, South Africa became a signatory to the following agreements: providing Education For All (EFA) by 2015;1 attainment of the education-related Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015;2 and the Dakar Framework for Action (adopted in April 2000).3 These agreements, and the transformation


of education on which the country embarked, require a responsive teacher labour force that can bring the vision of the government to fruition.

In order to meet its constitutional mandate of providing a quality education for all, South Africa must produce, employ and retain a critical mass of teachers to serve the needs of the newly-organised education system. The true teacher supply crisis in this country is not limited to the gradually diminishing pool of potential primary and secondary school teachers, or the production of insufficient qualified teachers. It includes the manner in which employers, recruiting and employing teachers, appropriate or implement teacher recruitment and retention policies. (By ‘appropriate’ here is meant what Sutton and Levinson [2001] explain as a kind of taking of policy and making it one’s own.)

In fact, there is evidence that, despite the heated debates about teacher supply, South Africa has enough teachers to meet the current teacher demands (Arends 2008; Erasmus & Mda 2008). The teacher attrition rate (which is 5.5%); the low number of teaching graduates produced by higher education institutions; and the number of teachers willing to leave teaching should they get a better job offer (Peltzer et al. 2005), all put together, still do not seem to exceed the supply side. Rather, what seems to be threatening the supply of teachers, and thus also the quality of teaching and learning, is the manner in which employers appropriate teacher recruitment and retention policies – one aspect of this being the recruitment of new teachers. The process of employing new teachers is proving to be counterproductive.

From the perspective of teachers, parents, members of School Governing Bodies (SGBs) and education officials, this paper examines how the policies of teacher recruitment and retention generated at the national level are received and put into practice at the local level. This paper, which is a slice4 of a 2008 HSRC study (Diko 2009) on recruitment, retention and attrition of teachers in public schools in South Africa, argues that while the country might make the best education policies, with the best intentions and ideals, the success of these policies will depend on how the policies are appropriated or implemented at the provincial, district and school levels.

The issue of teacher supply and demand is contested terrain. From teacher unions and government officials, to independent researchers and various newspapers, opinions on this critical topic have been very vocal. Teacher unions argue that there is a significant teacher shortage that the government fails to address; while the government argues that there are enough teachers to teach. One study that addresses the issue is the government-mandated Teachers for the Future study (Department of Education [DoE] 2005). This study posits that there is no immediate pressure regarding potential teacher pools. It goes on to highlight the need for an improvement in strategies for recruitment and retention of teachers. It recommends that in trying to improve the recruitment and retention of teachers, stakeholder views – and most importantly teachers’ views – should be listened to in order to align recruitment policies and practices with their interests and expectations.

The study from which this paper is extracted is responding to such recommendations. It reports stakeholder views, both on teacher recruitment and retention policies and practices, and on whether such policies and practices succeed or fail in keeping teachers within the teaching profession. This paper goes further than that. It examines how the local actors go about trying to achieve the goal of providing every learner with a qualified teacher, and the impact of these practices on the actualisation of the policy intent. The paper recognises that good policies can succeed or fail at the local level simply because of how they are implemented. It is from these perspectives that the paper examines teacher recruitment policies and strategies and the extent to which they succeed in achieving their stated goal of providing schools with qualified teachers.

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Understanding policy appropriation at the school level

This paper looks at policy as a complex social practice of normative cultural production constituted by diverse actors across diverse social and institutional contexts (Sutton & Levinson 2001). There are different views on what policy is or is not. According to Sutton and Levinson (2001) policy is a form of governance that is constantly negotiated and reorganised at various levels and throughout its life. In the case of South Africa, the power to make nationally encompassing educational policies resides in the national DoE; yet the power to implement the policies according to what the situation on the ground demands lies with the provincial education departments as well as the schools. This creates an active process of policy appropriation (Sayed & Jansen 2001).

This paper acknowledges that while South African teacher policies are formulated by the DoE at national level, schools use the national blueprint to enact their own policies to specify proper conduct and procedure, thus giving the same policies a life of their own. The paper further argues that while the South African government may adopt excellent policies for providing schools with enough qualified teachers, the context in which the polices are implemented as well as who the implementers are and what their interests are have a great deal of influence on the outcomes (Diko 2004). Thus, the act of implementing a policy does not necessarily imply that the provinces receive, accept and follow the intent or spirit of the policy. Even the act of resisting a policy, which happens quite often, is a legitimate act of appropriating a policy and reinventing it.

As this paper shows, the purposeful act of appropriating a policy gives the local actors agency and power; instead of regarding policy as a top-down mandate, they take the policy and own it, thus making it a local or cultural resource (Sutton & Levinson 2001). Appropriation or implementation of a policy gives rise to new kinds of local normative policies and realities. It is with this understanding that this paper analyses the case of teacher recruitment in the North West Province.

Teacher recruitment and appointment policies and practices in the national framework

Since colonial rule, South Africa has been characterised by the political and economic dominance of certain sectors of the population. From 1948 to 1994, apartheid solidified the principle of domination, silencing and excluding black people from mechanisms that promote and enhance social and economic development, including education. As a result of this aggressive, state-perpetuated expression of power, the international community excluded South Africa from participating in most international campaigns.

As already mentioned, to end the apartheid legacy and align with the rest of the international education community, the post-apartheid government, formed as a result of the 1994 democratic elections, committed itself to the achievement of EFA and the education-related MDGs, and to the Dakar Framework for Action. In addition to these commitments to the international education community, the ANC-led South African government has a constitutional mandate to provide basic education for everyone.

To provide a teacher labour force that is responsive to the said challenges, the post-apartheid government in consultation with teacher unions restructured the South African teacher labour force and revamped teacher policies in such a manner that they match the new dispensation, which promotes basic education for all as a development strategy. The fulfilment of this promise depends, largely, on the availability and quality of teachers. The National Policy Framework for

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Teacher Education and Development in South Africa (DoE 2007) recognises this demand and gives guidance on how to ensure the availability of effective and efficient teachers.

Starting with the view that the overarching objective of teacher policies is to provide an effective and efficient teaching corps, this section analyses a few selected South African teacher policies related to the recruitment of teachers into schools. The analysis is intended to facilitate a broader and deeper understanding of the dynamics of the teacher recruitment process, the interaction between contextual factors, and the legal and political framework of the process and how these jointly impact on the teacher recruitment process and the teacher labour market.

Recruitment before 1994

The researchers identified patterns that seem pertinent to a discussion of teacher recruitment. According to the teachers surveyed, before 1994 recruitment was very relaxed and was the result of a decision by the school principal and the individual. The individual’s choice entailed deciding on the geographic area in which s/he wanted to take the teaching position. Once the decision had been made the individual would enlist the help of friends or the district office in finding out if there were jobs available in the area. This was not a difficult exercise because teaching jobs were always available.

Advertisement, on the other hand, was dependent on word of mouth, networking and headhunting. Upon identification of a need, principals used to look for a teacher and even enlist the help of other staff members without feeling obliged to involve officials or learners’ parents. A head of department for biology and science in one high school said that she had gained her position through networks; she had learned about the position from a peer who was vacating it. Principals confirmed that before the new recruitment policy was in place they were free to recruit educators they wanted and knew. They explained that this helped to promote collegiality as well as improve learner performance as principals targeted people they knew were strong on delivery.

Recruitment and appointment policies post-1994

Currently, the teaching profession, from joining to exiting teaching, is regulated by national policies. However, policies are implemented only at the provincial level. Employment of teachers is regulated by a number of interrelated national policies. The South African Schools Act (No. 84 of 1996), the Employment of Educators Act (No. 76 of 1998), the South African Council for Educators Act (No. 31 of 2000) and the teacher redeployment policy were said to be the most crucial in the process (Peltzer et al. 2005).

Different acts perform different functions and give different actors different roles and powers. The National Policy Framework for Teacher Education and Development in South Africa (DoE 2007) brings clarity and coherence to the vast range of teacher education activities, from the time a teacher is recruited into the profession up to the time that s/he undergoes continuing professional development. The policy framework for teacher education (DoE 2007) provides for Initial Professional Education of Teachers (IPET) and Continuing Professional Teacher Development (CPTD). The policy recognises that IPET is a national competence while CPTD is a joint responsibility of the DoE, provincial education departments, the South African Council for Educators (SACE) and individual teachers.

The Employment of Educators Act (No. 76 of 1998) gives the provincial government, in collaboration with the trade unions in that province (which are members of the Education Labour Relations Council [ELRC]), and governing body organisations that are active in that province, power to establish posts. Further, the Act gives clear guidelines about various employment-related matters such as minimum teacher qualifications necessary, teacher workload, and responsibilities of teachers.

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The South African Schools Act (No. 84 of 1996) gives SGBs the power to put together an interview panel and to recommend to the employer a suitable candidate for employment to the position. However, employment of a teacher is subject to that teacher being registered with SACE and adhering to the ethical and professional standards of the teaching profession.

The teacher redeployment policy prioritises teachers who are already in the system. A school cannot appoint a new teacher into a vacant position if there is a qualifying teacher who is in excess in another school. Instead, if there is such a teacher, s/he will be allowed to transfer from the school where s/he is in excess to the school where there is a vacancy.

Official recruitment process

There are other pertinent features of the teacher labour market that affect recruitment and retention of teachers and the process differs for different types of schools. For public schools, the annual hiring cycle, for example, is such that the process takes several months. This time lag can affect delivery of learning in schools, especially in hard-to-staff schools or schools with poor administration capacity. The evidence indicates that recruitment begins when a principal identifies the need for a teacher and ends when a suitable candidate fills the vacancy. If the recruitment process is not well timed, it can go on for a long time.

Principals are supposed to report subject shortages to the district office. The request has to be made in September of the previous year. When the department receives the request, it compiles a list of all vacant positions existing in a province. These are advertised in a government gazette, a bulletin and a circular. This is supported by advertisement of such posts through the public media.

Application letters are sent to the provincial education department, where the initial sifting is done. The provincial office passes on five qualifying applications to the school. Schools set up interview committees, which must comprise a departmental representative, the school principal (representing the department), members of the SGB, and union representatives. SGBs are responsible for ensuring that the process is just and fair, and are also responsible for recommending the preferred candidate/s to the employer. Employing the recommended candidate, however, is the function of the provincial education department. Nevertheless, the employer usually accepts the recommendation of the SGB unless there has been a serious flouting of the policy.

Recruitment to school governing body posts

SGB appointments provide another opportunity for teacher recruitment. They allow schools to adjust to labour market demands, and compete for scarce skills as well as highly educated labour. SGBs are not required to follow the DoE’s advertising procedure. If DoE posts are not filled within a certain period of time, SGBs do their own recruiting. Once they have found suitable candidates, they make recommendations to the MEC. The MEC evaluates whether the potential appointees comply with the department’s recommendation of equity and suitability for the post and, if so, the MEC approves the appointments.

Recruitment by schools that can afford SGB appointments takes the form of advertisement of posts through the local media or by word of mouth, followed by short-listing, selection, interviewing and appointment of the teacher. The research found that the salary offered in most of the SGB appointments was consistent with that of the department, excluding pension benefits. However, one principal noted that salary was a limiting feature in filling posts, as government salaries themselves were not competitive. In addition, the research found that, in the case of SGB appointments, no special requirements were necessary for applicants except the broad guidelines around experience and SACE registration.

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What was abundantly evident from interviews is that the schools in advantaged areas have a much lower learner : educator ratio and average class size, as a result of the impact of SGB employees. The post provisioning model may ensure equality in the distribution of educator posts but it does not ensure equity. The more advantaged schools have more resources at their disposal and are able to employ more teachers as a result of the higher school fees they charge parents. In one school the researchers observed that the school had a staff of 45 teachers and 6 administrative personnel; of those, 26 of the teachers and 5 of the administrative personnel were paid from SGB funds. The school had specialist personnel for human resources, one of whom was dedicated to dealing specifically with SGB appointments.

Educator recruitment and the quality of available recruits in certain provinces are influenced by the intense competition between DoE and non-DoE salaries. SGB appointments lure teachers away from schools that do not make SGB appointments and provide teachers who want to remain within the public school system with an opportunity to earn more. In the North West Province, moreover, researchers learned that mines have independent schools that pay teachers more than the government pays in public schools. The North West Province faces a serious challenge from the mines. Teachers and even district officials – in large numbers – leave the employment of the North West Province education department for mine schools. The area programme officer for Rustenberg complained that the mines were ‘poaching’ educators from public schools but conceded that the department was helpless in that it could not match what the mine schools offered.

This problem is more pronounced in certain Learning Areas and schools. For example, English language medium schools are the hardest hit by this competition. Recently, the Rustenberg district office lost two subject advisors to mine schools; these officers went back to classroom teaching because of the high salary scales at mine schools. The competition is so intense between these two sectors, furthermore, that male educators are willing to leave teaching to take up driving positions at the mines. According to the district offices, however, the system has enough educators to replace those who leave.

Teacher recruitment: The case of the North West Province

Profile of the North West Province

The North West Province is spatially a medium-sized province. It is home to approximately 3.7 million people, or 8% of the South African population. The province contributes approximately 7% to the national economy. The mainstay of the province’s economy is mining, which generates more than half of the province’s gross domestic product and provides jobs for a quarter of its workforce. Of importance to this paper is the fact that Rustenberg, one of the two districts chosen for the research, is rich in platinum; and the mining industry, which is the major driver of the economy of that province, influences the education sector to a large extent. Despite the mining areas and the growth rate of the province, there are still areas that are largely rural, belonging to what was previously the Bophuthatswana ‘homeland’. It is also important to mention that the schools selected for the research were 100% black. In addition, they were poor schools; by ‘poor’ is meant that they were schools in quintiles 1 and 2.

Problems related to teacher attrition in the North West Province

Information obtained from an interview with the Deputy Director General (DDG) for education in the province confirmed that the province faces a mammoth challenge with respect to recruitment, retention and attrition of teachers. Quantitative data from the office of the DDG showed that in the North West Province an estimated 352 educationists had left the education field in 2007. Given the size of the province and its teacher labour force, this number is high. These data are disaggregated by different exit options in Table 16.1.

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Table 16.1: North West Province: Total numbers – teacher personnel attrition (2007)

Reasons for leaving the field Number of teachers

Retirement – Section 16(1)(A) Public Service Act (No. 103 of 1994) 45

Deceased 42

Resignation 185

Retirement – Article 16(2)(A) Public Service Act (1994) 7

Compulsory retirement – Section 16(4) Public Service Act (1994) 10

Retirement – Section 10(2) Employment of Educators Act (1998) 25

Early retirement – Section 10(3)(A) Employment of Educators Act (1998) 16

Retirement – Section 10(1) Employment of Educators Act (1998) 22

Grand total 352

Source: DoE North West Province (2007)

When disaggregated by race and gender the data show quite worrying trends. For instance, the key driver in the province’s attrition dynamics, by race and gender, is resignations.5 A total of 185 teachers (92 white, 89 African, 3 coloured and 1 Indian) left the profession through resignation in 2007 (see Table 16.2). In terms of gender, more females (111) than males (74) resigned (see Table 16.3). The second most important driver of the province’s teacher attrition is retirement. A total of 125 teachers took retirement packages.

Table 16.2: North West Province: Teacher personnel attrition, by race (2007)

Resignation type African Coloured Indian White Grand total

1 retirement – Section 16(1)(a) Public Service Act (1994)

36 1 8 45

2 deceased 40 1 1 42

3 resignation 81 3 1 89 174

31 retire – Article 16(2)(a) Public Service Act (1994) 2 5 7

32 compulsory retirement – Section 16(4) Public Service Act (1994)

4 1 5 10

52 retirement – Section 10(2) Employment of Educators Act (1998)

21 4 25

55 retirement (early) – Section 10(3)(a) Employment of Educators Act (1998)

12 4 16

65 retirement – Section 10(1) Employment of Educators Act (1998)

16 1 5 22

9 resigning of position 8 3 11

Grand total 220 6 2 124 352


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Table 16.3: North West Province: Teacher personnel attrition, by gender (2007)

Resignation type Female Male Grand total

1 retirement – Section 16(1)(a) Public Service Act (1994) 30 15 45

2 deceased 20 22 42

3 resignation 104 70 174

31 retire – Article 16(2)(a) Public Service Act (1994) 7 7

32 compulsory retirement – Section 16(4) Public Service Act (1994) 8 2 10

52 retirement – Section 10(2) Employment of Educators Act (1998) 17 8 25

55 retirement (early) – Section 10(3)(a) Employment of Educators Act (1998)

9 7 16

65 retirement – Section 10(1) Employment of Educators Act (1998) 20 2 22

9 resigning of position 7 4 11

Grand total 222 130 352


School samples

The rationale behind the inclusion of the two selected districts – Mafikeng and Rustenberg – was to cover urban and rural locations as well as schools with high and low attrition rates. In district 1 (Mafikeng), the research team chose two high schools: the first high school had the highest attrition rate in the list of sampled schools and the other high school was in the middle level. In district 2 (Rustenberg), a middle school and a primary school were selected with a view to providing diversity and an alternative perspective on school type. It was hoped that this would also provide different lenses and contexts for interrogating the recruitment, retention and attrition phenomena, which would complement the focus on high schools in the Mafikeng district. The basis for choosing the four schools was their attrition rates, which were considered reasonably high – high enough to warrant investigation. The following initial data set on teacher attrition was compiled for the period 2003–05:

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Table 16.4: Samples: North West Province schools

School name Resignation/retirement 2005

Educators 2005

Attrition rate

Phase

SCHOOL 1 3 31 9.7 Secondary School

SCHOOL 1 19 5.3 Primary School

SCHOOL 1 32 3.1 Middle School

SCHOOL 2 3 18 16.7 Secondary School

SCHOOL 2 23 8.7 Intermediate School



SCHOOL 3 2 19 10.5 Intermediate School

SCHOOL 1 17 5.9 Secondary School


SCHOOL 4 2 15 13.3 Primary School





Source: Diko (2009)

A team of two researchers visited the four schools selected in the province. School-level actors were interviewed according to their demarcation within the following categories: teachers for sciences/languages/humanities; the principal and/or the management team; and the SGBs. Some teachers were also interviewed on the basis of years of service.

During the fieldwork, the district and provincial officials responsible for teacher recruitment and employment were also interviewed. In addition to the interviews there were forms the researchers requested the teachers to fill in. Mainly these forms collected data on the attrition patterns in the province.

The appropriation of the teacher recruitment policy in the North West Province

Teacher recruitment policyAccording to the study participants, there are no provincial recruitment policies. Instead, the province follows the national teacher recruitment policy, which follows the terms and conditions explicated in the DoE document on the creation of educator posts in a provincial department (DoE 2002), and in the DoE document determining the conditions of service for educators for inclusion in the Personnel Administration Measures, as set out in the Employment of Educators Act (DoE 2003). The former document clearly states that the establishment of educator posts is the responsibility of the MEC of that particular provincial education department after consultation with teacher unions (which are members of the ELRC), and governing body organisations (DoE 2002).

The policy is very clear about the factors that need to be taken into consideration in the implementation of the policy. For example, the policy stipulates that the number of posts established must accord with the provincial personnel budget and must comply with the post provisioning model, which is based on the equitable distribution of resources. The post provisioning model specifies that the learner : educator ratio for primary schools must not

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exceed 40 : 1 and for secondary schools should not exceed 35 : 1. While the DoE leaves the actual employment of educators to the provinces, provinces have to adhere to the spirit and intent of the norms contained in the policy.

Post establishment is done on an annual basis. During September and October of the previous year, schools’ needs are determined. However, if at the beginning of the new school year in January learner enrolment has changed, then the number of teachers changes too. If learner enrolment declines, then the number of teachers in that school declines as well; that school then has excess teachers and must redeploy these to a school that has experienced an increase in learner enrolment.

Implementation of the teacher recruitment policy in the North West ProvinceThe research indicated that teacher recruitment starts when principals identify school needs. Principals are supposed to examine subject shortages and report these to the district office, which passes them on to the provincial office for publication in the government gazette. The reporting has to be done in September of the previous year. When the department receives the request, it compiles a list of all vacant positions existing. These are advertised in a government gazette, a bulletin and a circular. This is supported by advertisement of such posts through the public media.

It is after the advertisement of vacant posts that interested educators are at liberty to apply. As explained earlier in the section on the official recruitment process, application letters are sent to the provincial education department, where the initial sifting is done. The provincial office passes on five qualifying applications to the school; selection of interview candidates is done by a selection panel at the school level. Schools set up interview committees, which must comprise a departmental representative, the school principal (representing the department), members of the SGB, and union representatives. Among the functions of the SGBs is ensuring that the process is just and fair, and taking responsibility for recommending the preferred candidate/s to the employer. Employing the recommended candidate, however, is the function of the provincial education department. Nonetheless, the employer usually accepts the recommendation of the SGB unless there has been a serious flouting of the policy.

Recruiting a teacher to a schoolThis study took place against the background that has been sketched in this paper – of the meeting of contrasting political and cultural milieus, where questions about the process of democratising schools and the old practices are raised. As a result, the experienced teachers participating in this study tended to refer back to their experiences during the period before 1994. At the same time, it would seem that parents who are members of SGBs are not well-educated enough or assertive enough to play the roles assigned them by the South African Schools Act. One of the duties of the SGB is organising and sitting in on teacher interviews and making recommendations to the MEC regarding suitable candidates for appointment. This has certainly created a terrain where some apartheid practices are imported wholesale, and democracy is sidelined; the research found that serious concerns were voiced by research participants about teacher recruitment and retention policies and processes – in short, contestation, resistance and accommodation plague the environment.

As discussed above, members of the SGB officially have a bigger role to play in the employment of teachers than they reportedly do play. In fact, members of SGBs in the participating schools reported that they feel left out in the teacher employment process because they are not given a chance to voice their opinions. Contrary to the national policy, which requires that they play the biggest role in the process, especially with regard to the selection of candidates, the interview process and recommending of suitable candidates, SGB members told the researchers that they are simply used to rubber stamp a process that is mainly driven by school principals. In one of the schools, SGB members reported that the school principal informs them only a day or two

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before interviews are held. Teachers and education officials agreed with this allegation. They said that most parents who are members of SGBs are not educated and therefore are unable to appreciate fully their role in the teacher recruitment process.

In all the schools visited the teachers reported that only qualified teachers are recruited to teach in the schools. This paper is using ‘qualified’ to mean a teacher with Relative Education Qualification Value (REQV) 13 qualifications and above. REQV 13 qualifications mean a teacher has matric plus three years of professional training (DoE 2007). Most of the teachers were also upgrading but a reasonable number of them were found to have REQV 14 qualifications and more. Some were registered for master’s and doctoral degrees. However, there was a complaint that not all the teachers are teaching subjects they are qualified to teach. In one school the researchers were told that none of the teachers teaching mathematics had majored in the subject. Principals complained that sometimes this happens because district officials redeploy to the schools candidates who are not qualified to teach the subjects for which the school needs teachers. This happens despite the country’s commitment to providing basic quality education for all schools.

When the researchers were doing fieldwork, there were schools with positions that were not filled or positions that were vacant. The shortages were said to be acute in Afrikaans, English, mathematics and science. According to the area project officer for the Rustenberg district, public schools are competing with mine schools for teachers. In subjects where the problem of teacher shortages is already acute, the competition is apparently even tougher because the mines offer higher salaries than the government. In the case of mathematics and science, the researchers were told, the province is trying to attract teachers from neighbouring countries such as Zimbabwe. The researchers concluded that although there are excess teachers within the system there is a shortage of teachers qualified to teach certain subjects.

Further, the researchers learned that some schools are experiencing a decline in learner enrolments while others are over-enrolling. As a result of learner enrolment patterns some teachers are being redeployed, while other schools are experiencing teacher shortages. Teachers from schools with low learner enrolment were said to be waiting for matches as they were in the process of being redeployed to schools with high enrolment. This process has been taking place since redeployment was put in place almost a decade ago. There are schools where participants told us that they have never recruited and employed a teacher because each time they have a vacancy, the schools gets a teacher though redeployment. In some ways teacher redeployment has become the main recruitment strategy in this province.

Recruiting new teacher graduates is happening but at a very low rate. The availability of teachers within the system makes it hard for principals to recruit new graduates. It was found that new graduates tend to be employed as temporary teachers; such teachers complained that in some schools teachers remain temporary for long periods of time. The researchers learned that getting permanently employed is easier if the new graduate is offering one of the scarce subjects.

Everyone, including school principals and SGB members, complained that the teacher recruitment process is open to abuse, particularly by influential stakeholders such as principals, teacher union members and the education officials. These stakeholders were said to be aggressive when lobbying for a particular candidate. One principal informed the researchers that interview questions, which supposedly come from the district office, are known to be leaked to some candidates prior to the interviews. The preferred candidates allegedly come to the interviews ready to recite the answers and even know where the commas are in the memorandum.

Principals were fingered by parents and teachers as influential stakeholders in the recruitment process. For example, the teachers identified the needs analysis stage as one of the stages where principals have a great influence on the process. If principals wish, instead of identifying a need that everyone can see and relate to, principals can identify what they think is a need. Or, if the

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principal is targeting a certain candidate, the requirements can be tailored to suit the candidate concerned. At one of the schools teachers informed us that the school management is trying to change the school into a mathematics and commerce school. As a result, each time a post is vacated, the principal requests a maths educator, regardless of the workload of the rest of the teachers. However, evidence indicates that the converse is also true; principals’ preferred candidates can be screened out by the district or provincial offices.

In some cases the teachers reported that principals who wish to influence who joins their staff opt for temporary employment. This strategy, according to the participants, has the double advantages of being less cumbersome and less time consuming. Principals are allowed to recruit teachers without going through the process of advertisement and interviewing of candidates. They can identify a need and fill a temporary position immediately. Once appointed, temporary teachers are supposed to remain in their positions for three months. If the school wants to extend the contract of a temporary teacher, it is free to do so. This route is not without its own problems. Teachers think that this is not an ideal situation because temporary teachers are not as committed as permanent teachers and thus the quality of teaching gets compromised. When temporary teachers were asked to comment on this they said that principals abuse this privilege as they employ teachers on a temporary basis for as long as 10 years before offering that person tenure, thus delaying the temporary teacher’s chances of getting full-time employment benefits.

Conclusion

Teacher recruitment in South Africa, like other democratic processes, is supposedly accompanied by a shift in power balance from forces that were the centres of power under apartheid to forces that were traditionally excluded from school governance. However, our research indicates that what seems to be happening is a mere change in governance structures – without the necessary or full transfer of power. In this case, the policy is not appropriated properly; some parts are accepted and accommodated, while some are resisted and given a new meaning.

This study concludes that the change of structures alone is failing to bring about the expected cultural change. The power to influence the process of employing teachers has remained with the same old centres of power. Participation of the parent component of the SGBs in recruitment and employment of teachers has become tokenism. Their roles in the process have not been fully reconceptualised; control of the process still resides with school principals and education officials, thus promoting a form of cultural and historical reproduction of parental domination by the said officials. If anything, the culture of authoritarian schools and education officials is being reproduced under the disguise of democracy; and, in fact, attempts to democratise schools are failing to fulfil their promised intentions. Rather, conditions whereby privileged groups are consolidating their power are created. The aims of democratisation are therefore being misappropriated by the more powerful.

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Endnotes1. The EFA movement – a global commitment to provide quality basic education for all children, youth

and adults – was launched at the World Conference on Education for All (1990) by UNESCO, UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF and the World Bank.

2. See www.undp.org/mdg/3. See www.unesco.org/education/efa/ed_for_all/framework.shtml4. To study the recruitment, retention and attrition patterns in the North West Province – which is the

slice of the study on which this paper focuses – interviews with selected participants as well as forms teachers filled in were used.

5. The Public Service Act (No. 103 of 1994) allows educators to resign under various conditions e.g. they can take early retirement.

ReferencesArends F (2008) Understanding teacher demand in South Africa. Teacher Education Series. Cape Town:

HSRC PressDepartment of Education (DoE) (2002) Creation of educator posts in a provincial department of education

and the distribution of such posts to the educational institutions of such a department. Government Gazette No. 24077, 15 November. Pretoria: DoE

DoE (2003) Employment of Educators Act 1998: Notice in terms of section 4 of the Act. Government Gazette Vol. 452, No. 24948, 21 February. Pretoria: DoE

DoE (2005) Teachers for the future: Meeting teacher shortages to achieve education for all. Pretoria: DoEDoE (2007) National policy framework for teacher education and development in South Africa. Government

Gazette No. 29832, 26 April. Pretoria: DoEDoE North West Province (2007) Teacher personnel attrition. Information made available by the office of

the Deputy Director General: Education, North West ProvinceDiko NN (2004) School reform and the education of girls in South Africa. Doctoral dissertation, Indiana

University, Bloomington, IN. Bloomington: Indiana University PressDiko NN (2009) Recruitment, retention and attrition of teachers in selected provinces in South Africa.

Human Sciences Research Council, PretoriaErasmus J & Mda T (2008) Scarce and critical skills: Educators. Report prepared for the Department of

Labour project on scarce and critical skills. Pretoria. Human Sciences Research CouncilPeltzer K, Shisana O, Udjo E, Wilson D, Rehle D et al. (2005) Educator supply and demand in the South

African public education system: Integrated report. Cape Town: HSRC PressSayed Y & Jansen JD (2001) Implementing education policies. Cape Town: UCT PressSutton M & Levinson BAU (2001) Policy as practice: Toward a comparative socio-cultural analysis of

educational policy. Westport, CT & London: Ablex Publishing

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Who are we missing? Teacher graduate production in South Africa, 1995–2006

Andrew Paterson and Fabian ArendsHuman Sciences Research Council

This paper analyses teacher production in South Africa between 1995 and 2006. It synthesises an in-depth analysis of enrolment and graduate data, drawn from the South African higher education management information system, with available literature in the field. The paper first presents an overview of enrolment and graduation trends in initial professional education of teachers and in continuing professional teacher development, thus generating a trend analysis of overall teacher graduate production for the decade. This serves as the platform from which to draw attention to a serious decline in the numbers of African women enrolled in initial teacher education. In considering what has brought about this pattern, the paper draws attention to the impact on teacher production of the closing of the former colleges of education. It also emphasises the importance of understanding the social contexts that inform the movement of potential candidates from their households to teacher education institutions.

Keywords

teacher educationgraduation trendsAfrican womenInitial Professional Education of Teachers (IPET)

Introduction

The delivery of quality learning in any education system depends on sustaining the supply of teachers of quality and in sufficient numbers to meet demand. Changing patterns of aggregate teacher demand emerge as a consequence of the historical development of modern mass education systems. In turn, teacher supply is influenced by broader education and curriculum policy, policy on teacher education, and the social and economic environments in which young people find themselves as they make study and career decisions.

While teacher supply challenges are felt in the present, changes in graduate production affecting current supply may be traced by looking back at enrolment and graduation trends over a number of years.

The aim of this paper is twofold. In the first part, we provide a picture of the features of teacher education enrolment and graduates in higher education in South Africa from 1995 to 2004, with reference to overall change and then with reference to race, gender, qualification type and age.


In the second part, we discuss particular trends in the numbers of students completing Initial Professional Education of Teachers (IPET); age distribution of enrolment; student access to government financial support; and the impact of HIV/AIDS on students in teacher education. These trends highlight different strands of a single story – a significant decline in numbers of young African women enrolling for IPET. We advance two explanations for this unfolding situation that may attract focused research interest.

The main source of data for this analysis is the South African Higher Education Management Information System (HEMIS), the repository for management information submitted by each higher education institution on an annual basis to the national Department of Education (DoE). Until 2004, HEMIS data were structured according to the now historical division between technikons and universities. These institutional types existed for most of the period in question, and the data are thus analysed accordingly.

Part 1: Teacher education enrolment and graduates

Teacher education enrolment

In the period 1995 to 2004, enrolment in teacher education faculties or departments in South African universities and technikons increased from 70 587 to 112 068 or by 41 479. This represented a 59% increase over the course of the decade in question (Figure 17.1). These data refer to numbers of students involved in both IPET and in Continuing Professional Teacher Development (CPTD), which play complementary roles in teacher education.

The two institutional types experienced different enrolment patterns. In the technikons, enrolment increased dramatically from 1 351 in 1995 to 18 169 in 2004 – or by 16 818. The increase in university enrolment over the same period was 24 661.

Figure 17.1: Enrolment in universities and technikons (1995–2004)

Sharp increases in technikon enrolment between 1996 and 1998 and again in 2003/04 had the effect of masking fluctuation in university enrolment. As a result, a somewhat more even overall growth curve was achieved for all teacher education. The overall enrolment pattern based on year-on-year percentage changes revealed a period of decline (1996–98), a period of resurgence (1999–2001) and a period of equilibrium (2002–04).

A comparison of education study field enrolments against total higher education enrolments shows that teacher education dropped to its lowest share (15%) in the period of 1998. In the technikons, education study field enrolments began to grow significantly only from 1999 onwards. Between 1999 and 2001, both university and technikon enrolment grew faster than overall enrolment in each institutional type. Thereafter, only technikons sustained further growth against overall enrolment.

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Teacher education graduates

In the decade in question, 210 432 graduates completed degrees and diplomas in the field of education. The number of graduates per year increased from 17 823 in 1995 to 28 756 in 2004, or by 61%. Overall, the lowest annual output of graduates was in 1998, when university graduations were in decline and before technikon graduations began to increase in volume (Figure 17.2). The technikon share of education graduate output rose from 2% in the late 1990s to levels between 8% and 16%.

Figure 17.2: Graduates from universities and technikons (1995–2004)

Education graduates as a proportion of all graduates from the universities varied within a range between 23% and 35%. In the same period, education graduates as a percentage of all technikon graduates rose from 2% to 13%.

Enrolment and graduates, by race

Throughout the decade in question, African students constituted 4 in every 5 education students enrolled, followed by white students, who represented 1 in every 10 education students, followed by coloured (3%) and Indian (2%) students. The consolidated enrolment data for universities and technikons (Figure 17.3) reveal that the major shift in enrolment proportions favoured African graduates from 1999 onwards.

Figure 17.3: Enrolment numbers at universities and technikons, by race (1995–2004)

African graduates contributed the most to graduate output in the period under review, reaching 82% in 2004 (Figure 17.4). The proportionate share of white, coloured and Indian graduates declined correspondingly.


Figure 17.4: Graduate numbers for universities and technikons, by race (1995–2004)

Gender distribution of enrolments and graduates

In 2004, females constituted 72% and 66% of enrolments in universities and technikons respectively (Figure 17.5). In 2004, at the end of the period under review, 7 in 10 teacher education students enrolled in higher education were female. The representation of male students declined from 36% in 1995 to below 30% (29%) for the first time in 2004. Gender representation amongst graduates was very similar to the pattern for enrolments, with representation of male students declining from 35% in 1995 to 28% in 2004. The data clearly attest to increasing female dominance of graduate output with teaching qualifications.

Figure 17.5: Female students as a percentage of all students enrolled in universities and technikons (1995–2004)

Gender and race (nested) of student enrolment and graduates

Between 1995 and 2004, the numbers and proportion of African females who enrolled in universities for education programmes increased substantially (Figure 17.6). Concurrently, the proportion of African males who enrolled for teaching programmes declined to below 1 in 4. This proportion determined the parameters of the gender share amongst newly-qualified teachers entering the labour market. The shape of graduations from universities, by race and gender, reveals a similar pattern to that of enrolments. If anything, the trend is more sharply evident. Nearly 6 of every 10 university graduates in 2004 were African and female.

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Figure 17.6: Enrolment in universities, by race and gender (1995–2004)

Enrolment and graduates, by qualification type

Over the 10-year period, the majority of education enrolments in higher education were for undergraduate certificates (abbreviated to UG Cert in Figure 17.7) (45%) followed by an almost even proportion of enrolment for postgraduate certificate and honours degree qualifications (PG Deg/Cert) (26%) and undergraduate degrees (UG Deg) (25%). This was followed by master’s and doctoral enrolments at 4% and 1% respectively. The presence of education as a study field in technikons is relatively recent, with enrolments beginning to grow substantially within the period of analysis. The key source of enrolment growth in these institutions was undergraduate degrees (UG Deg), which accounted for 61% of enrolments by 2004, followed by moderate increases in undergraduate certificates (UG Cert), while postgraduate higher diplomas and honours qualifications (PG Deg/Cert) declined. This shape contrasts with the universities, where undergraduate degrees (UG Deg) suffered the sharpest enrolment decline and fastest growth took place in postgraduate degrees and certificates (PG Deg/Cert).

Turning to graduations, based on the above intake the following can be observed in the decade under review: the largest proportion of graduates (49%) completed undergraduate certificates (UG Cert), while postgraduate certificate and honours degrees qualifications (PG Deg/Cert) accounted for 30%, followed by undergraduate degree (UG Deg) holders at 18% (Figure 17.7). Master’s and doctoral graduates accounted for the balance of 3%. A steady upsurge of postgraduate certificate and honours degree qualifications (PG Deg/Cert) after 2000 is particularly clear from the trend lines. The bulk of this increase must be attributed to rising participation of practising teachers seeking further professional development, rather than to increased IPET graduate production.

Figure 17.7: Graduates in higher education, by qualification level (1995–2004)


These profiles reflect the presence and graduation of the following types of student: unqualified and under-qualified practising teachers seeking professional qualifications; qualified teachers returning for Continuing Professional Teacher Development (CPTD); and would-be teachers registering for IPET programmes. However, it was not possible to separate out these groups from the overall counts within each qualification level.

Part 2: The declining participation of young African females in IPET

Enrolment, by age

Students who enrol for study in the education field are distributed over a wide age range. The purpose for which students enrol for study in the education field is usually related to the point they have reached in their career paths. For example, most people who enrol in IPET programmes will do so prior to initiating their careers, and their age range will usually extend from late teens to late twenties. As teachers accumulate experience, they will engage in professional development by enrolling for programmes to raise their skills in particular curriculum fields or in the field of education management. Mature, senior teachers or managers may seek to enhance their expertise further through pursuing higher degrees either in a professional domain or in research.

Notwithstanding the de-linking of qualifications to rank and salary promotion in the 1990s, the DoE’s emphasis on continuing professional development, the desire of teachers to improve their own practice, and competition between institutions all contributed, in the period under review, to a healthy stream of teachers enrolling in teacher education programmes – for CPTD purposes in particular.

In considering what the desirable enrolment across age groups should be, we argue the following: First, the share of enrolment in the 25-and-under and the 26-to-30-year age groups should be equal to or slightly exceed the expected number of vacant educator posts in the system – for the moment leaving aside issues of subject speciality and so on. This assumes that most people preparing for a teaching career would fall within this relatively young age group. This is a required size, which relates to a specific need for new teachers in the workforce.

Second, an enrolment size drawn from all age groups greater than 30 years is desired in order to sustain the academic and professional qualification needs of the current teacher workforce. Increases in the proportion of this group in relation to the teacher workforce should be encouraged, because practising teachers who seek to improve their skills and qualifications can improve the quality of the system.

To examine the age–enrolment relationship, data on age of students for the five-year period 2000 to 2004 were employed. This variable was not available before 2000. Bearing in mind that the analysis of age-related data is affected by the selection of intervals according to which the data are described, it was decided to set categories in five-year intervals, up to the age of 40. Thereafter a single category was created for all teachers in the mature phases of their careers.

Looking at aggregate enrolment by age, the 41-and-over age category was the largest group, accounting for 34.5% of enrolments in the five-year period (Tables 17.1 and 17.2). The next age groups were the 31-to-35 and the 36-to-40 age groups, which accounted for 22.0% and 21.3% of enrolments respectively. The age groups with the lowest enrolment were the 25-and-under and the 26-to-30-year groups. The larger size of the older age groups was expected, because the number of qualified teachers enrolled for CPTD purposes should be larger than the number of prospective new entrants doing IPET. Furthermore, we have observed that over the decade enrolment in CPTD increased substantially.

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Year-on-year analysis reveals changing participation by age over the period (Tables 17.1 and 17.2). Enrolment in the 25-and-under and the 41-and-over age groups grew. The age group 36-to-40 retained a steady share. The proportions of the 26-to-30 and the 31-to-35 age groups declined (Table 17.2 and Figure 17.8).

Table 17.1: Enrolment in universities and technikons, by age group (2000–04)

25 and under 26–30 31–35 36–40 41 and over Total

2000 5 530 13 361 21 514 18 800 26 150 85 355

2001 9 304 14 712 25 481 22 668 33 045 105 210

2002 10 563 12 202 23 415 23 192 40 329 109 701

2003 13 390 11 038 21 993 21 718 38 744 106 883

2004 14 666 10 555 21 792 24 025 41 033 112 071

Total 53 453 61 868 114 195 110 403 179 301 519 220

Table 17.2: Enrolment in universities and technikons, by age group in percentages (2000–04)

25 and under 26–30 31–35 36–40 41 and over Total

2000 6.5 15.7 25.2 22.0 30.6 100

2001 8.8 14.0 24.2 21.5 31.4 100

2002 9.6 11.1 21.3 21.1 36.8 100

2003 12.5 10.3 20.6 20.3 36.2 100

2004 13.1 9.4 19.4 21.4 36.6 100

Averaged % of enrolments

10.3 11.9 22.0 21.3 34.5 100

This research is particularly interested in the younger age ranges spanning 25-and-under (<26) and 26-to-30 years of age, assuming that this age range captures most people who are enrolled in IPET. The enrolment share of the 25-and-under group rose from 6.5% to 13.1%, whereas enrolment in the 26-to-30 group declined from 15.7% to 9.4% in the period 2000 to 2004. How does this information contribute to our understanding of the claimed shortage of enrolment in IPET? To make sense of this apparently contradictory pattern, one disaggregates the 25-and-under and the 26-to-30 age groups according to race and gender and according to institution type.

Figure 17.8: Enrolment in education study field, by age group (2000–04)


The patterns of enrolment for technikons and universities are discussed separately. This is because the latter institutions enrolled nearly 9 out of every 10 education students between 2000 and 2004. Furthermore, with rising age, the university share per age group rose to 89% of the 41-and-older group (Table 17.3).

Table 17.3: Enrolment in technikons and universities respectively, by age group in percentages (2000–04)

Enrolment % share

Technikon University Technikon University

25 and under 41 936 53 453 21.5 78.5

26–30 52 778 61 868 14.7 85.3

31–35 97 739 114 195 14.4 85.6

36–40 96 078 110 403 13.0 87.0

41 and over 159 534 179 301 11.0 89.0

Total 448 065 519 220 13.7 86.3

25-and-under age group enrolment in universitiesLooking at the 25-and-under cohort, total enrolment increased from 4 627 to 11 197 in five years. We see that enrolment was dominated by white females and that enrolment of this group rose to 50.0% in 2004 (Tables 17.4 and 17.5). By comparison, the proportion of African females, which in 2000 constituted 27.6%, had dropped to 17.4% by 2004. In real terms, from 2000 to 2004 African female enrolment increased by only 666 students, whereas white female enrolment increased by 3 648 students. This confirms observations from teacher education units that there was increased enrolment of young white females. The changing conditions or motivations contributing to an increase in this group’s participation in teacher education are worth further consideration.

Table 17.4: University enrolment, by race and gender, for age group 25-years-and-under (2000–04)

African Coloured Indian White Unclassified

F M F M F M F M F M Total

2000 1 277 712 48 18 235 38 1 966 236 74 24 4 627

2001 1 607 956 142 53 281 45 3 456 554 169 65 7 328

2002 1 346 848 165 73 402 65 4 463 880 104 53 8 399

2003 1 746 1 094 243 102 553 111 5 308 1 042 121 66 10 386

2004 1 943 1 359 298 131 674 135 5 614 989 37 16 11 197

Total 7 919 4 969 895 377 2 144 394 20 806 3 700 506 225 41 936

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Table 17.5: University enrolment, by race and gender, for age group 25-years-and-under in percentages (2000–04)



2000 27.6 15.4 1.0 0.4 5.1 0.8 42.5 5.1 1.6 0.5 100

2001 21.9 13.0 1.9 0.7 3.8 0.6 47.2 7.6 2.3 0.9 100

2002 16.0 10.1 2.0 0.9 4.8 0.8 53.1 10.5 1.2 0.6 100

2003 16.8 10.5 2.3 1.0 5.3 1.1 51.1 10.0 1.2 0.6 100

2004 17.4 12.1 2.7 1.2 6.0 1.2 50.1 8.8 0.3 0.1 100


18.9 11.8 2.1 0.9 5.1 0.9 49.6 8.8 1.2 0.5 100

Such a decline in the proportion of African females in this age group is counter-intuitive, since African women are the wellspring of teacher supply for the majority of South Africa’s school-age learners. In 2005, 79% of all educators employed in public schools were African and 66% female (Arends 2007: 13). There is clearly a major disjuncture between the proportions of practising African female teachers and the proportions of African female students enrolled in the 25-and-under age group.

African male participation in this age group also declined, which meant that in 2004 the total African contribution to enrolment in the 25-and-under group stood at 29.5%, while white enrolment was 58.9%.

26-to-30-year age group enrolment in universitiesThe relatively low numbers of African students in the 25-and-under category could be explained with reference to the disadvantaged school and socio-economic environment that large numbers of young Africans must overcome to enrol in higher education. As a consequence of a variety of factors (e.g. older completers of Grade 12, time spent in seeking funding, taking care of household responsibilities and so on) it is possible that African women who register for a teacher education programme are older than their white classmates. On this basis we may expect higher proportions of African students in the next age group.

The enrolment pattern in the 26-to-30-year age group seems to lend credence to such an explanation, because African females constituted 56.4% and African males 28.1% of that cohort in 2000 (Tables 17.6 and 17.7). However, the share of African females and males in this group had declined to 50.0% and 24.9% respectively by 2004. In numerical terms there were 1 728 and 898 fewer African females and males enrolled in 2004 than in 2000.

We must also recall that the overall enrolment in this age group declined from 11 131 in 2000 to 8 965 in 2004.


Table 17.6: University enrolment, by race and gender, for age group 26-to-30-years(2000–04)



2000 6 278 3 128 129 66 191 34 642 121 335 208 11 131

2001 7 433 3 436 148 108 221 44 847 208 141 159 12 745

2002 5 537 2 909 200 109 282 69 968 244 129 159 10 607

2003 4 463 2 466 213 98 318 78 1 080 225 203 182 9 325

2004 4 550 2 230 208 101 312 84 1 103 259 60 58 8 965

Total 28 260 14 168 898 482 1 324 309 4 640 1 056 868 766 52 773

Table 17.7: University enrolment, by race and gender, for age group 26-to-30-years in percentages (2000–04)



2000 56.4 28.1 1.2 0.6 1.7 0.3 5.8 1.1 3.0 1.9 100

2001 58.3 27.0 1.2 0.9 1.7 0.3 6.6 1.6 1.1 1.3 100

2002 52.2 27.4 1.9 1.0 2.7 0.7 9.1 2.3 1.2 1.5 100

2003 47.9 26.4 2.3 1.0 3.4 0.8 11.6 2.4 2.2 2.0 100

2004 50.7 24.9 2.3 1.1 3.5 0.9 12.3 2.9 0.7 0.6 100


53.6 26.8 1.7 0.9 2.5 0.6 8.8 2.0 1.6 1.5 100

Age groups older than 30 years enrolled in universitiesDeclining enrolment trends observed in the younger age groups are not replicated amongst older university students. In the 31-to-35-year age group, the proportion of African women remained securely above 60.0%, with an average for the period of 62.5%. Similar stability was evident in the next two age groups. Clearly, our concern must be with declining enrolments among young African female students aged below 30 years.

Age and enrolment in technikonsBetween 2000 and 2004 enrolment numbers in the technikons were comparatively much lower than in the universities. African students constituted more than 90% of enrolment in all age categories, and enrolment of African women never fell below 50% – with the exception of the 25-years-and-under age group (Tables 17.8 and 17.9).

In that age category, even though their enrolment numbers increased each year, the proportion of African females and males declined. In particular, the share of African females aged 25-years-and-under declined sharply from 60.7% to 38.6%.

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Table 17.8: Technikon enrolment, by race and gender, for age group 25-years-and-under (2000–04)



2000 547 293 22 8 2 0 23 7 0 0 902

2001 854 441 54 15 7 1 516 88 0 0 1 976

2002 800 498 92 31 11 2 609 121 0 0 2 164

2003 1 245 681 118 39 9 3 745 162 1 0 3 003

2004 1 338 789 210 72 39 4 841 177 0 0 3 469

Total 4 784 2 702 497 165 67 10 2 734 555 1 0 11 514

Table 17.9: Technikon enrolment, by race and gender, for age group 25-years-and-under in percentages (2000–04)



2000 60.7 32.5 2.5 0.9 0.2 0.0 2.5 0.7 0.0 0.0 100.0

2001 43.2 22.3 2.8 0.8 0.3 0.1 26.1 4.4 0.0 0.0 100.0

2002 37.0 23.0 4.3 1.4 0.5 0.1 28.2 5.6 0.0 0.0 100.0

2003 41.5 22.7 3.9 1.3 0.3 0.1 24.8 5.4 0.0 0.0 100.0

2004 38.6 22.7 6.0 2.1 1.1 0.1 24.2 5.1 0.0 0.0 100.0


41.6 23.5 4.3 1.4 0.6 0.1 23.7 4.8 0.0 0.0 100.0

What needs to be asked is: Why does the participation of young African women in teacher education appear to be dissipating in the post-millennium period? The data extend back only as far as 2000, but the trends identified were at work in the ante-2000 period.

The researchers suggest that some young African women who hitherto would have enrolled for a teaching qualification no longer perceive this choice as attractive, and where they have the financial means will enrol for career training in other professional fields. Alternatively, young African women from poor households who would otherwise have registered for teaching qualifications are not able to access higher education, due to social, health, financial or other factors in their household environments.

Having raised the question of financial support, we now turn to an analysis of the extent to which the largest public source of financial support for teacher education has served the population of those seeking to take up teacher education.

Financial support through NSFAS

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) provides financial aid through loans and bursaries for academically deserving and financially needy students to meet their own and South Africa’s development needs. It seeks to impact on South Africa’s racially skewed enrolment and graduate demographics and is funded primarily by the national DoE.

How have NSFAS disbursements contributed to teacher education within the overall NSFAS remit? Between 1996 and 2004, the numbers of education students supported by NSFAS and


the total disbursements to education students by NSFAS fluctuated. Table 17.10 shows that the teacher education share of all NSFAS funding dropped from a high of 11.0% in 1996 to a low of 3.3% in 2001.

Concerns about the low numbers of candidates entering teacher education prompted the DoE to allocate R60 million per annum ring-fenced NSFAS funding for teacher education between 2003 and 2005 (Kruss 2007). The allocated amount was only fully expended for the first time in 2004 (Table 17.10), but did not bring the teacher education share of expenditure on a par with the 1996 level; despite this increase in expenditure, the allocation to teacher education as a percentage of all NSFAS disbursements in 2004 (5.8%) was substantially lower than the 1996 allocation (11.0%).

Table 17.10: Expenditure by NSFAS on teacher education students – R000 000 (1996–2004)

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Total expenditure by NSFAS

335 354 398 447 534 646 747 914 1 029

Expenditure on teacher education

37 29 32 24 20 21 32 48 60

Teacher education expenditure as a percentage of all expenditure

11.0 8.2 8.0 5.4 3.7 3.3 4.3 5.3 5.8

Source: Extracted from DoE (2005b) Table D1.

The number of teacher education students funded suffered a similar decline to a low of 2 535 in 2001, thereafter rising to 5 216 in 2004 (Table 17.11). The trend in student numbers receiving funding mirrors the expenditure trend discussed above, revealing that the 2004 count of students funded was well below the 1996 level of 8 509.

Table 17.11: Students receiving NSFAS funding (1996–2004)

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

All students funded 67 709 63 433 67 598 68 416 72 080 80 593 86 194 96 605 98 856

Teacher education students funded

8 509 5 230 5 967 3 875 2 813 2 535 3 577 4 336 5 216

Teacher education students as a percentage of all NSFAS students

12.6 8.2 8.8 5.7 3.9 3.1 4.1 4.5 5.3


If we look at the group of NSFAS students as a proportion of all education students enrolled, there is evident a clear decline in the latter, from 1 in 10 to less than 1 in 20 over the course of 8 years (Table 17.12).

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Table 17.12: Education students receiving NSFAS funding (1996–2004)

Year All education students enrolled

Education students receiving NSFAS funding

Education students receiving NSFAS funding (%)

Education students not receiving NSFAS funding (%)

1996 63 825 8 509 13.3 86.7

1997 61 949 5 230 8.4 91.6

1998 59 760 5 967 10.0 90.0

1999 69 500 3 875 5.6 94.4

2000 85 347 2 813 3.3 96.7

2001 105 206 2 535 2.4 97.6

2002 109 697 3 577 3.3 96.7

2003 106 880 4 336 4.1 95.9

2004 112 068 5 216 4.7 95.3


If the population of teacher education students receiving NSFAS funding is disaggregated into those engaged in training to teach in the primary phase and those training with the intention of teaching in the secondary phase, it is immediately apparent that a different dynamic is at work in each group.

Headcount numbers of primary phase students rapidly declined from 3 294 in 1996 to 348 in 2004, which was 90.0% down on the number funded barely 8 years earlier. Until 2000, primary phase student teachers represented roughly half of all NSFAS teacher education beneficiaries. Thereafter, the proportion of students enrolled for primary teaching with state assistance plummeted to 6.7% (Table 17.13). Not even the ring-fenced NSFAS conditions that provided for an increase in overall numbers of funded teacher education students between 2002 and 2004 could bring the primary share upwards. By 2004 NSFAS was largely funding secondary education students at a ratio of 9 : 1 (secondary : primary).

Table 17.13: Proportions of primary and secondary phase students receiving NSFAS funding (1996–2004)

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Primary 3 294 2 185 2 600 1 832 1 476 1 127 1 062 379 348

Secondary 5 212 4 045 3 367 2 043 1 337 1 408 2 515 3 957 4 868

Primary phase students as a percentage of all teacher education students

38.7 41.8 43.6 47.3 52.5 44.5 29.7 8.7 6.7


Table 17.14 reveals how education graduate numbers dropped to a low of 3.9% of all NSFAS graduates, with only 1 130 graduating as teachers in 2004.


Table 17.14: Teacher education graduate share of total NSFAS graduates (1996–2004)

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Total NSFAS-funded graduates

13 041 14 025 15 448 13 056 12 435 14 876 12 891 11 648 28 766

NSFAS teacher education graduates

2 723 2 552 3 141 2 503 1 685 1 108 915 620 1 130

Teacher education graduates as a percentage of all graduates

20.9 18.2 20.3 19.2 13.6 7.4 7.1 5.3 3.9


In summary, between 1996 and 2004 education students receiving NSFAS funding declined as a proportion of all higher education students receiving such funding, and declined as a proportion of education students. The numbers of education study field recipients of NSFAS did begin to increase after 2002. However, this increase was evident almost exclusively amongst students enrolled for training as secondary school teachers.

The analysis draws our attention to the alarming fact that the numbers of NSFAS-supported students enrolled to train as primary school teachers continued to decline. The NSFAS recently changed its eligibility criteria, through lowering the threshold household income level below which young people would be eligible for financial support. This was implemented to focus the NSFAS opportunities towards lower-income households. Yet the enrolment numbers of would-be primary school teachers who received NSFAS support – mainly young African women – have dwindled.

This leaves the question: What has led to this decline? If there are lowered impediments to students accessing NSFAS financial support, then the implication is that potential primary phase teacher-students either would rather not enrol for teaching even with financial support available or are not able to take up the opportunity.

Later this paper considers what social and economic circumstances may be contributing to the changing demography of IPET enrolments and graduations.

In the next section, IPET graduate production is located in its broader institutional context, which must take account of the dissolution of the colleges of education.

IPET graduate production from higher education and colleges of education

Attention recently sharpened on the role of IPET and its contribution to teacher supply. The flow of IPET graduates from South African higher education institutions into teaching is one of several potential sources of teacher supply, but it is potentially the most reliable in terms of quality assurance and is therefore of critical importance.

There are serious difficulties – discussed at length in Paterson and Arends (2009) – with extracting IPET output from data from the HEMIS database maintained by the DoE. To the knowledge of the authors, there is as yet no official mechanism for obtaining separate IPET enrolment and graduation data from education departments in higher education institutions. The first publicly available IPET information was published in the report of the Ministerial Committee on Teacher Education (DoE 2005a).

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The data from the Ministerial Committee indicated that enrolment in IPET – though missing data from five institutions – was 21 748 in 2005 and expected graduations were 5 322 (Table 17.15, column c and column d). More recently, Morrow, who served on the Ministerial Committee, produced a set of data on enrolment and estimated graduate numbers for 2006 using the same method. The data were obtained from deans of education, and in Morrow’s view could be deemed ‘reasonably accurate’ (Morrow 2006). These data, covering all institutions, indicated IPET enrolment to be 27 393, with an estimated 6 029 graduates.

Table 17.15: Enrolment and graduation of education students in IPET (1996–2004)

Year (a)Education students enrolled1

(b)Education student graduates1

(c)IPETenrolled2

(d)IPETgraduates2

(e)Undergraduateteaching degreegraduates3

1995 70 587 17 823 2 830

1996 63 825 19 060 4 023

1997 61 949 17 065 3 814

1998 59 760 17 027 3 851

1999 69 500 19 056 4 336

2000 85 347 19 079 4 613

2001 105 206 23 873 3 114

2002 109 697 23 383 3 019

2003 106 880 25 310 3 621

2004 112 068 28 756 6 0004 5 153

2005 105 826 29 348 21 7485 5 3225 4 134

2006 27 393 6 0296

Notes:1. The HEMIS data for 2005 became available after the bulk of this analysis was already complete. The data are included in this table to add

value to the discussion of IPET.2. Data on IPET are drawn from DoE (2005a) and Morrow (2006).3. NSFAS data are drawn from DoE (2005b).4. Self-reported data from the Deans’ Forum suggest that of an estimated 9 000 graduates in 2004, 3 000 were probably already practising

teachers (Peltzer et al. 2005: 60–61).5. This is an underestimate because data from the University of the Free State, University of Venda, University of Zululand and Vaal University

of Technology were not available.6. Morrow (2006) notes that of this group, at least 179 were already in teaching posts and 1 138 in learnerships. This means that these

numbers must be deducted from IPET graduate numbers to obtain the real number of potential new entrants to teaching. Morrow (2006) also observes that some higher education institutions may have interpreted ‘learnership’ to mean ‘teaching practice’, which can obscure the meaning of the data.

These data reveal that the location of IPET enrolment is distributed unevenly across the institutions. The 10 largest contributors to IPET graduate output account for between 86% (2005) and 80% (2006) of all graduates (including UNISA numbers). This suggests that quite a number of institutions engage in IPET on a low-key basis.

The data confirm that across the teacher education sector, the undergraduate degree qualification serves as the biggest conduit of IPET students, constituting between 79.3% and 83.8% of enrolments in 2005 and 2006. The next largest group was the Postgraduate Certificate in Education, accounting for between 16.3% and 15.4% across the two years. The smallest contribution derived from pre-graduate diplomas, which are being phased out (Morrow 2006).

The purpose here is to place IPET within the broad parameters of overall graduate production in teacher education programmes in higher education in South Africa. The data have their


limitations. With IPET enrolment and IPET graduate data for only two consecutive years we cannot reveal trends. But if the data for just two IPET years are juxtaposed with other trend data, it is possible to add value to our understanding of the terrain. Table 17.15 (above) therefore assembles several pieces of data in order to generate a picture of IPET as a component within overall graduate production.

First, the overall enrolment and graduate numbers are included as the basis for comparison with IPET numbers. Taking overall enrolment from 2004 (112 068) to 2005 (105 826) (Table 17.15 column a) and IPET enrolment data given for 2005 (21 748) and 2006 (27 393) (Table 17.15 column b), we can estimate that IPET enrolment as a percentage of total education enrolment for 2005/06 was 20.0% to 25.0%. This importantly demonstrates the current size-ratio of IPET output in relation to all other education programmes. Turning to graduates, the IPET cohorts constituted between 18.6% and 20.8% of total graduate numbers in education in 2005/06.

While we have a sense of the current IPET share of graduate output, the critical question for the decade is: Did the IPET share decline relative to overall graduate numbers?

In an attempt to address this question, the authors have elected to include graduate numbers of students completing undergraduate teaching degrees (from Table 17.15 column e). These data are used as a proxy for IPET, given that undergraduate teaching degree enrolment constituted more than 80% of IPET enrolment and between 40% and 60% of all IPET graduate output between 2005 and 2006. The relationship is presented in Figure 17.9. It is clear that the general trend in IPET graduate output from all higher education institutions – expressed as UG degree graduates – maintained a flat profile over the period. In contrast, the trend line for overall teacher education graduate output rose steadily. This suggests that in the universities and technikons CPTD grew substantially whereas IPET did not.

An additional concern regarding IPET graduate production relates to the skills mix within each IPET cohort. Preparing students for working with learners in the General Education and Training band requires them to focus on specialties in the Foundation Phase, Intermediate Phase and Senior Phase and then Further Education and Training-band teaching. Morrow (2006) draws our attention to the fact that many higher education institutions do not have separate programmes for these levels.

Figure 17.9: IPET graduate production and all graduate production in teacher education

In particular, Morrow (2006) highlights the low numbers of Foundation Phase students currently enrolled in only 12 of the 23 higher education institutions. This dire situation was identified in the National Policy Framework for Teacher Education and Development in South Africa (NPFTED) (DoE 2006), which observes that the teacher supply situation is

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especially serious in the Foundation Phase, where learners require teachers with mother-tongue competence. Of the 6 000 new teachers likely to graduate in 2006, fewer than 500 will be competent to teach in African languages in the Foundation Phase. (DoE 2006: 12)

The closure of the colleges of education, and the IPET big picture

A discussion of the recent history of IPET graduate production is incomplete without taking into account the closure of the colleges of education. The colleges no longer exist, so there is no institutional memory or institutional base from which to assess whether the populations from which college student numbers were formerly drawn found IPET programmes offered exclusively from higher education institutions after 2001 to be attractive. This question draws attention to the problem of explaining continuity and discontinuity of access to and graduate production from IPET in South Africa.

In order to obtain the ‘big picture’ of graduate production over the last decade, the distribution of IPET graduates from the universities and technikons and from the colleges of education must be looked at together. The researchers suggest that the institutional incorporation of the colleges should have redirected a flow of students – who would otherwise have registered at a college – into the universities and technikons.

The data elements that complete a picture of what transpired in this transition period are introduced below.

First, the declination of the trend in IPET graduate production in universities and technikons before 2004 cannot be established with confidence. However, one proxy measure, the trend of undergraduate degree graduations, which provided the major share of new teachers, fluctuated between 3 000 and 5 000 (Figure 17.10).

Undergraduate degrees in teacher education are by far the largest contributor to total IPET graduate output. Comparison between the trend lines ‘Higher Ed Undergrad teaching degrees’ and ‘Higher Ed IPET graduates’ in Figure 17.10 confirms that in the past few years IPET production has consisted mainly of output from the undergraduate degree level.

If we turn to the colleges, graduate production reached a peak of over 25 000 in 1997 (Jaff et al. 1996: 12). The data clearly delineate a sharp downward trend thereafter. The drop in graduates was foreshadowed by sinking enrolment. According to Vinjevold (2001: 8, citing a January 2000 report by the Committee of College Rectors of South Africa), enrolment in contact IPET programmes declined from 70 731 to 10 153 between 1994 and 2000.

The rationalisation of the colleges continued into the millennium. Reliable data on education graduate outputs for all institutions could not be obtained for this transition period. In her research for the Education, Training and Development Practices SETA, Vinjevold (2001: 8–9, 16) reported that at the end of 2001 there were approximately 14 400 students enrolled in IPET, with the expectation that about 5 000 would graduate in the same year.

We do know that post the various institutional mergers and incorporations impacting on teacher education, IPET production was of the order of 6 000 in 2005/06 (DoE 2005a; Morrow 2006) (see Figure 17.10).


Figure 17.10: Trends in IPET graduates for higher education and colleges of education (1994–2006)

Sources: Crouch & Perry (2003: 482); Jaff et al. (1996: 12); Vinjevold (2001: 8–9, 16)

Note:Crouch and Perry (2003: 482) put the number of full-time students in the colleges of education at 64 051 in 1993 and 19 665 in 1999. They counted 31 200 students as distance/part-time students in the same year. Jaff et al. (1996: 87) indicate that there were 71 000 students in IPET in 1994.

When the various pieces of data are assembled, a clear trend line emerges of bottoming-out graduate numbers and thereafter a flat profile (Figure 17.10). The heavy line drawn in Figure 17.10 shows that graduate numbers seemed to flatten at a level that was – and still is – not much higher than higher education IPET graduate production on its own. It looks as though there was hardly any overflow of enrolment from the colleges of education into higher education after the former institutions were closed. Had this overflow been more substantial, enrolment and graduate numbers in IPET may have been sustained at a higher level.

The outstanding feature of the period is that the contribution of the colleges to IPET dissipated to a small fraction of the peak in numbers of college graduates recorded in 1997. How can this be explained in relation to evidence that there was strong demand for entry into the colleges? In 1995 there were 370 159 applications for places – in 79 colleges – 25 272 of whom were admitted (Jaff et al. 1996: 53).

The issue is not only about overall numbers. Also pertinent are the demographic characteristics of the student population at the colleges of education. In 1994 most students (78.0%) were 29 years of age and younger, the majority were African (89.1% African, 3.5% coloured, 1.4% Indian and 6.2% white) and 65% to 80% were female. In pre-primary and junior primary courses, 98.0% were female. This means that the colleges, even more than the higher education institutions, were the base from which young African women entered the teaching profession as primary phase teachers.

Furthermore, an estimated 35% to 45% of students were accommodated in residences (Jaff et al. 1996: 51–52, Table P) in the mid-1990s, suggesting that the colleges served an important institutional role in making teacher education accessible to young rural students. One may ask: Were rural communities in the catchment areas of the former colleges left stranded once teacher education opportunities receded towards the towns? Why did the impetus of teacher education established in the hinterland of over 90 colleges not generate a secondary wave of education students who pursued teacher education opportunities in numbers after the closure of the colleges? Is the propensity to study teaching very sensitive to the impact of distance and cost on households?

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The researchers suggest that given the dominant urban location of current teacher education facilities, young rural people, especially African females, were cut out of the graduate production process.

We now turn to discuss the possible impact of HIV/AIDS on people enrolled for teacher education. The discussion draws attention to social, economic and health issues that may be constraining would-be teacher education students from enrolling for such programmes.

HIV/AIDS and teacher supply

South Africa is fortunate to benefit from a large-scale study funded by the South African Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC), which addressed educator supply and demand in the South African public school system. In the integrated report emanating from this empirically rich study, Peltzer et al. (2005: 112) report finding a high HIV prevalence rate of 12.7% amongst South African teachers.

There are three ways in which HIV/AIDS probably influences the demographic profile of those who are in a position to access and complete IPET. First, the impact of HIV/AIDS on parental death and more generally on adult mortality – especially those employed – affects the availability of resources in households to absorb the costs of keeping a family member at school (Bennell 2005) or in higher education. These circumstances can restrict or rule out would-be teacher trainees from accessing higher education opportunities and increase the chances that once enrolled they will be forced to abandon their studies for financial reasons or care-giving responsibilities at home. These pressures may already have played a part in restricting students from registering for IPET and may account partially for the downturn in enrolments observed in this paper.

Second, a proportion of teacher-students themselves may be HIV-positive and illness and absenteeism may have affected their academic progress or curtailed their studies prematurely. Third, a proportion of HIV-positive teacher-students will qualify and, with appropriate ARV medication and support, will live healthily and work productively for a long period.

In a key component of the ELRC study, Shisana et al. (2005) investigated the health of South African educators and teacher-students, including their HIV status. Shisana et al. (2005) collected data on third year (n=905) and fourth year (n=147) teacher-students. The sample covered 25 higher education institutions, excluding UNISA. A convenience sample was taken at each institution, and response rates and weights could not be calculated. For these reasons, the sample may not be representative. Nevertheless, the indicative findings are useful.

At 8.2%, the proportion of education students who were HIV-positive was much lower than for the sample of educators (12.7%). Within the teacher-student group, females were found to have a much higher HIV prevalence than males, and prevalence amongst African students was at 13.2%, compared with less than 1.0% for coloured, Indian and white students combined. Peltzer et al. (2005: 69) observe that HIV prevalence amongst students was highest in the 25-to-34-year age range at 14.7%.

Shisana et al. (2005) present evidence that socio-economic status is related to HIV amongst educators. The same relationship was examined amongst teacher-students. Peltzer et al. (2005) cite results to the effect that ‘those with a perceived low socio-economic status [have] a much higher HIV prevalence (13,1%) than those with a perceived higher status (3,7%)’ (2005: 69).

The data strongly suggest that in the sample African female students had a much higher HIV prevalence than other race and/or gender groups. In combination with the findings on


socio-economic status and age, the picture that emerges is that young African women who are of perceived low socio-economic status are most at risk. Could the impact of HIV/AIDS on individuals, households and communities have lowered the propensity of young African women in poor rural areas to take up teacher education? The impact of HIV/AIDS on the households and families of aspirant teachers seeking IPET opportunities is difficult to assess.

Conclusion

Key trends in teacher graduate production in the period have been identified, including:• significant increases in enrolments and graduates from teacher education overall;• increased participation of African students, especially after 1999;• increased share of graduates produced from technikons after 1998;• teacher education participation dominated by large-scale expansion of CPTD; and• stagnation of IPET.

The researchers also confirmed what has long been suspected – that there has been a decline in the number of African women aged 30 and younger entering teacher education programmes. Given that African women constitute the majority of South Africa’s teachers, this decline is a matter of serious concern. A critical question is: Why is the demography of young women who enrol for teacher education changing? There are four key interlinked trends that need to be taken into account:• a decline in numbers of young African women enrolling for IPET programmes;• a decline in numbers of students applying for NSFAS bursaries to enter primary phase teacher

education;• low numbers of students with mother-tongue competence in African official languages

enrolling for training in Foundation Phase teaching; and• higher HIV prevalence amongst African female students of perceived low socio-economic

status who are currently registered for teacher education.

No attempt has been made to establish causal links between these trends. The intention was to expose the four trends as a contribution to improving understanding of the declining numbers of young women enrolling for IPET. In conclusion, the researchers advance two tentative hypotheses for this situation:1. Numbers of young African women who might have enrolled for teacher education are

instead electing to pursue careers other than teaching and to that end are enrolling for higher education qualifications in other fields of study.

2. Numbers of young African women who might have enrolled for teacher education are not enrolling for teacher education or for any other education programme at higher education institutions because of insufficient personal or household resources.

In the first case, it is hypothesised that there are new social and economic conditions that are providing opportunities for previously disadvantaged women to break into new study or occupational fields. It may be that young women able to access these opportunities are mainly from urban households, from which higher education is physically accessible.

In the second case, the hypothesis is that those young African women of the social groups that might otherwise have enrolled for teaching find themselves unable to access these opportunities. These young women may be from urban unemployed, urban working class or rural poor households. Their enforced withdrawal is influenced by low or unstable household income levels, which may or may not be associated with the impact of HIV/AIDS.

Where young rural women could qualify for education bursaries such as through NSFAS, they cannot leave their homes to take up the bursary in the urban area because of increased care-giving responsibilities. The NPFTED observes ‘…the unusual mortality rate, especially amongst

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women teachers, which varies considerably by province’ (DoE 2006: 9), may also be affecting the proportions of young African women from rural areas who could seek access to teacher education.

Under these general conditions, ‘inaccessibility of educator institutions to black students from rural areas’ (Peltzer et al. 2005: 61) probably reduced participation of rural African women in teacher education. After the closure of the colleges of education, no other sufficiently powerful policy or accessible mechanism was put in place to secure the link between graduate production and rural teacher supply.

NSFAS financial support was available throughout the period, but there was a steady decline in NSFAS applicants for primary teacher training – a form of training traditionally female-dominated. This strongly suggests that social or household conditions are constraining the capacity of people to use the financial assistance.

The two explanations advanced here provide the frame within which one can consider social class and rural–urban differences within the social category of young African women aged 30 years and under. The overall decline in numbers of young African women entering teacher education may therefore have its origins in more than one set of social conditions: aspirant young women who seek other careers and life prospects, and survivalist young women whose immediate personal and household circumstances prevent them from making choices about studying in far-flung places.

The scenarios sketched above raise important underlying questions: What is the social class base of teacher-students, and has this base changed since 1994? What labour market characteristics or signals inform the decisions of young women to go for – or not go for – teacher education?

The last questions relate to the DoE’s newly-implemented bursary scheme. In 2006, the Ministry of Education began a programme of implementation based on the NPFTED, which included a national teacher education bursary scheme (DoE 2006: 23–25). The Funza Lushaka (‘teaching makes a difference’) Bursary Campaign made R700 million available for bursaries in priority subject areas and Learning Areas across a range of qualifications (Tyobeka 2007: 7). Those awarded bursaries are obliged to teach in a provincial education department post for one year for each year that they received their bursary (Tyobeka 2007: 10). In 2007, 3 000 bursaries had already been made available and allocated. How successful will the bursary scheme be in countering the trends discussed above? In particular, how will the scheme fill the gap in delivery of teacher education opportunities left by the dissolution of the colleges of education? Critical to the success of the scheme will be how well bursaries are targeted and supported.

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bureaucratic compliance and academic coherence: curriculum restructuring in teacher education

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