Becoming a

teacher
UNISAcustom edition
S Gravett, JJ de Beer, E du Plessis
 Becoming a Teacher
UNISAcustomedition

Editedby:SGravett,
JJdeBeer,EduPlessis

Pearson
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Conte s
Acknowl,edgem,ents vii

Chapter 1 T te cher ti .pr ct tioner • •• • • • ·••- 1

Sarah.Grave and Josefde Beer

lntroduc ion ••• 11!'1iil'••'!'••···· 2

•
Sce,nr10 ••••••• 2
Teac•·i1ngas a1cha l,eng· g .p,,rofession ..........................
. ..
Reflec•I:onand reflective practice. ,. i. 5
Dime·ns1,ons o.ftea,c ing as a reflecti1vep,r-:ct1ce,, ....,.... !!iltl,fl···· .. ••

~heory nd' pra,ctice................... .

Professional values and e
1
..
A teaching philosophy ...... ••

Ped.agog,ical con1ent kno ledge ....... •••• 11 ••

Toolsto g,uide.reflection.... • 12
DATAprocess................ .. ••• •• • .12
Scenario•.................. ••••• il!f t I ii 1111 .......12
Guided reflect·on pro ocol 1
1,4
s.cenario............
,..,.........
~~,,.,
....".,.. ..... 14II,

.Reflectivejou nal • .17

Concl'usion............ ~4- ■ i, ■• 1 •••••••••••1f,_.'tl'l• 1 1<i• ■ l!!I lii-i•••l!!lllli• ■ 11111 ■ ~lliiil ■ 1 ■■ ~4 lo 1111i ••

•
pter2 .er c r g - ro S510 • 2
ad,ine Petersen nd R ksanaOsman
1

In roduct1on• •• ••••• 2
•• • ...22 ,

Sc nario • • i. ,•• ... ••• • •• ....24

Seen io .24
25
Scenar·o..........
.. 27
Criti.cafed ca ion th:eory in •
.A V t ges of cri ic I educatio,n h ory ..... .....29
he 1idea of car •••• ••

! oddings' thin.king on care r •e,du.ca,ion. lllii!li< ■ ll!li!li

Creating a pedagogy of care in the classroom •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 34
The value of participation ..............................................................................................
35
The value of the affective ...............................................................................................
37
The value of problem posing .........................................................................................
37
Scenario........................................................................................................................
38
Benefits of applying a caring pedagogy ..................................................................... 39
Scenario........................................................................................................................
40
Conclusion .........................................................................................................................
42
Glossary.............................................................................................................................
43

Chapter 3 The teacher as educational theorist ............................................ 47

Maureen Robinson and Lilian Lomofsky

Introduction .......................................................................................................................
48
Scenario.........................................................................................................................
48
Towardsan understanding of teaching and learning ................................................. 50
Behaviourism.....................................................................................................................
50
The cognitive revolution and child-centred teaching ................................................. 52
Jean Piaget ....................................................................................................................
52
LevVygotsky ..................................................................................................................
54
Howard Gardner............................................................................................................
57
Perspectiveson teaching and learning .............................................................................58
Information processing..................................................................................................
58
Constructivist perspective on learning ....................................................................... 60
Scenario.........................................................................................................................
60
Classroomdiscourseand knowledge
construction ..................................................................................................................
63
Scenario.........................................................................................................................
, 64
Learning theory in South African classrooms ................................................................ 64
The roles of the teacher ..................................................................................................
65
Curriculum policy ...........................................................................................................
65
Conclusion..........................................................................................................................
67
Glossar,y..............................................................................................................................
68

Chapter 4 The teacher as curriculum interpreter, designer

and implementer .......................................................................................73
Elizedu Plessis

Introduction ........................................................................................................................
74
What is a curriculum?..........................................................................................................
74
Scenario.........................................................................................................................
74
Aspects of the curriculum ..............................................................................................
77
Different curriculum definitions and approaches .................................................. 78
 Tyler,Sten,house,Freireand'the curriculum in Soufh,Africa.................................
8.4
-, .. ••■ •a ■■ I•··

The S,outhAfrican·curriculum·••
Official poUcydocuments
Scenario...........
From CSto CAPS
Summ,ay of curricu1f
1
um changes
1

The correct d ocumentation

1

To ,ards he implementation of th,ec

Teach, r learn.ing- what and how?.................................................................
. •••• ...96
The qu,aUty,ofthe ,c rriculum ................................................................
. 97
Plann1i,nga lIear,ningprogramme/c, ........98
Selection and negotiation .. ••
Phasep I: 'ning ..........................................
1
. 100
Conclusio,n 104
Gloss,ay .......... ... 104

pt 'rS The te cher as a -s,esso • • • • .•

• ... 109
·-·
Vaness·-JeanMerc,kel,andMa,rtynvan der Merwe

lntroducti,on1 110
•
Seen 1r10 110
l'he ,purposeof ass,essment
...............................................................
.. 112
Concepts assoc, ted with assessment ........... 113
Scenar,io, ... 113
The difference be w en sessment nd evalua,·on 114
Formativean summ ive ssessment.... ..
H .. 116
Assessmen rnin,gversusassessmentfor I 117
Genera pr~ ,Cl• ...
Different aiSsessm1ntmo ts nd!app oach •·•... ..121
,etradir ional model 121
The criterion-refere,ncedmodel ..... 122
The norm-refer need model. • Iii i 123
Chall ges to meaningful sses.m,ent........ ....
.., ...... , 123
Teachingphilosophy and p dagogy ••
91111I I I, •• 19 I I~ .. , ••• ,,11111111111■ 124
Alig·nm nt ...........11••···· •• 124
D ep ve,rsu,ssurf ce ppro •chesto I rn,ngr........... . - ~

124
•
1me n timing ,, ...
,,,.,.···•· ........
' 126
Varie y ,ndsufficiency...... 126
Fair,,es ii ■■ i1 ■■• 11. ill 1,26
Ass ssme t pr ctices to d i'lli1,III' ■ 126
Ass,essm,.ntthat promotes mean,i gful le rning ......... . 127
 •
Assessmentthat promotes reflection ....................................................................... . 2.7
Asse·ssmenttha,t is authentic .....~ ..................... ",..............................
__.
.... li...............................,~.... 129 li •• r-9.

130
SeIf- and 1pe-er assessment ...... 1

·········•~l!o·•····
.,............
,......................
-......,......
"....
,,..................
•"!· ......
130, , .............. -a.••
t

Scenari-o..............
".,.................................
,..... 132 '
•j''
I Group feedba.ck..,.. ~
i .................................................................... 1.34 ,. ......... ,........ ••••• ,., ... ,, ..... ,, ... , •• 111
............. , ...................... "····· ..

t Mechan•· . g a.sses.smen·ts
rsI·n ~ i.•••·••··· ........................... . 138
,'! •• ,Ii .................................. ...... II .............. .- .... ,. .....................

' 138
Assessmen and diverse abiHtiesand needsof learners 140
• Conclusion 1143, •
' '
Glossary ,......................
11
......... 144 !lil'••·•

=
Chapter·6 The teacher as an age·ntof ,,nclusivit.y ... 149
H.elenDun.bar-Krigeand Martyn van der Merwe

In,tro,duction ......................
.
150
IncIusiv·eeducation.....
~·•-• ■• ~ 11 •••• 1•••' ....... , .... ,. ........ ,. ................................ ,~, ••• .......................... ,., ........................... ~· ....... . 151
Shortco,mingsof the traditiona'I medical .approach 154 •
Introduction to the socia[ rights approach 155 J
157
An inclusive learning environment .................................................................................
160,
1'60
A transformative approach.............................................................................
..
A.caring pedagogy
Awarenessof intrinsic and extrinsic fa·ctoirs 161
A broader approach 61

Scenario.................
,....... "'11• .. •a;···· 164
Visual barriers 165
Physicalbarriers 166
Disru·ptivebehaviour 167
Socioeconomic barriers ...............................................
. 169

Parental 169
Conclusion ·171
Glo sary 171

Multilingual g'lossary.........
. 174
•

!
• Acknowledgements ~.;
,':
.,::
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adults. In: G.Foley (ed).Dimensionsof adull leorning:Adult Copyright Elsevier(2013).
educationand trainingIn a global era.CrowsNest NSW:Allen Page117:Stiggins R.J. 2002.AssessmentCrisis:Theabsence
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teaching. In: A. Kozulln,B.Gindls,v.s. Ageyevand 5.M.t-.1iller AddressingBarrle,sto Learning:A SourhAfricanPerspective.

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York. 79-100. 12 12 2009.

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 •

Reflection in action

A challenging profession i-► Reflectionon action

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• • Reflection for action
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Theory vs practice •
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• The teacher as a
• •
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reflective practitioner ••
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•
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Developing
pedagogical content
Tools to guide reflection knowledge (PCK)
•
• • • •
• • •
• • •
• • •
• • • Shulman's
• • Describewhat happened. •
• • •
• •
•
concept of PCK
• •
• Analysewhy it happened.
•
DATA
• Theoriseto Improve practice. PCKas part
of professional
•
• Act to test theory in practice. development
•
•
•
•
•
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• What happened?
•
•
•
Why did it happen?
Guided reflection
protocol
What might it mean?

Implications for my practice

At the end of this chapter you will be able to:
• understand the knowledge basesthat are combined in good teaching
• explain what is meant by reflective teaching practice
• formulate questions that are useful in reflecting on teaching action
• understand the code of ethics as per the South African Council for
EducatorsAct 31 of 2000
• discussthe principles of pedagogical content knowledge
• apply the DATAprocessto reflect on your teaching experience
• use the guided reflection protocol to inform your future teaching practice
• know how to use a reflective journal to aid your personal and
professionaldevelopment as a teacher.
 Introduction

Scenario
Ma,rla questions. her decision to become a teach.e,r
Maria has recently qualified as a teacher. She has wanted to be a teacher s;ince
G,rade8 when her own teacher, Ms Jacobs, mad a significant impact on Maria's
life·and inspired and m,otivated her..Maria aspires to do the same for the learners
in her class.
She is not sure tha she has ·made the ri,g,htchoice to become a teacher. She feels
overwhelmed. Some of the ·other teachers in the school are not very welcoming.
When she ries o contribute durf ng subject group mee Jngs, one teacher always
belittles her contribution. The teacher tells her to forget everything she learned
at university - the school is he 'real wor d'f
Some of the lessons she prepared for her school experience (and for whic:h she
received very good marks) fell flat when she pr.esented them ·n this school. S,ome
children are rud.e and unruly. Ms Jacob made teaching seem, .oeasy, so why is
Maria not able to'crack'teaching? She feels a bit de pondent.

Does this scenario seem bleak? It mayappear so, but it is not uncommon. We, the authors
1

of this chapter, have also been school. eac ers.We are passionate abou teaching
and look back fondly at our teach·in,gcareers,despit,e the difficulties we rac d daily.
However, we also strugg.led .a firs witH the very same issuesthat Ma ia,is facing.
1

Novice ,eachersoften enter the profe sion believing that teaching m,erely equires
r . sferring knowledge by implemen ing he methods and. echni,ques lea n d .
university. If these me hods and techniques are implemen ed weU,teaching houl:d
proceed smoothly. W en struggling with the dai;y in ricaci,esof tea h~ng,th • new
. eacher may blame the university for no providing enough teaching' icks'and
'recipes: o claim tha the universi •y d uca.tion was not practic I enough.

Many e · her education programmes try to address studen' -tea h, rs' needs fo,r tips,
tricks, methods and techniques while a so focusing on • .ep .rings ud n - eache s for
the am,biguities they will fac as eache, s.

In our exp,erience,student-teach rs often find i bewil ering o be confron .·d with

wha oughran (2006: 31) refers to as th~ 'messiness of teaching: Student- e che· s

2 I Becominga teache
yearn for simple solutions to give them a sense of control over the uncertainty of
teaching. They may try to dea:Iwith these uncertainti,es,o:ften unwittingly, by drawing
on thei r experiences as learners during 12 years of schooling.
1

Thos,ewho were exposed to weak, or mediocre teachers often hold the view that
anyone can teach - tha teaching is merely the transfer of knowledge from textbooks
wh"le making sure that leairnersbehave. Those who were lucky enough to have had
good teachers may al,sobelieve that teach·ng is simple, because the best teachers
appear to meet the challeng es of teaching: without effort. Student teachers need to be
1

aware that the very act of good teaching masks the skiUsthat. are required to deal with
the problem,s of teachi,ng,.

Teach:ingis a challenging profession, and it requires eachers to think and reflect.

ExceHentteachers do ·ndeed have a set of tricks that they draw on. In fact, they
continua Hyadd new ideas to heir bag of tricks. However, g,oodteachers recognise that
teachi1ngis not simple; they know when to use which trick, how to apply the tricks in
con ext, and how to adapt the ilea.rningcontent to fit the profile of I-earners.These are
1

only a few of the aspects tha • good· ~eachersconsid-er.Also, good teachers realise that
no teacher education programme, no m,a,tterhow firs -rate it may be~can ever fully
prepare a student-teacher for the intr'cacies of the teach ·ng profession. Being a good
eacher requ,res lifelong learning; it implres that you need to take charge of your own
personal and professiona development. With th·s in mind, this chapter looks at the
teacher as a reflective pracUtioner.

We w·11first explore the challenges of the teaching profession. Th,er,eafter,we will deal
wi h the Idea ,of reflecf on and what it means to be a reflective p,ract'itioner.W,ewill then
examine the d'mensions of reflective teaching, and finally discuss some tools that can 1

assist with reflection.

Teachingas a chal-enging profession

We are not overstatin,g the complexity of teaching. Our experience and the research
on teach ·ng confirm that good teaching is not a mechanistic set of welt-rehearsed
procedures. Afters udying teaching for 30,years, Shulm1an(2004: 504)idescribed
classroom teaching as "perhaps the most comp ex, most challenging, and,most
demanding and fr"ghtenin9 activity our species has ever invented'~We would agree,
and we would also add that Shulman is r ferring here to eachers who strive,to be
goad teachers, rather than mere ly reading fr·om a textbook, giving facts to learners or
1

keeping learners busy with activiti.estha requir little intellectual' effort white ensur ng
tha · learners behave.

Shulman (2004· 227) claims that, at a minim1um,good teaching combines the fol owing
knowledge bases:

The eacherasa renectiveprac ·ron r I3

 • content 'knowledge
• general kn,owiedg,e about the teaching and learn1n.gprocess (p,edagogicaf
knowledg e) and strategies ,of cla:ssroo,mmanag,ement and organiisati,on
1

• curriculum knowl·e,dge
• pedagogical content knowledge (PCK),the u,nderstandi'ng of how best to teach th·e
content so th,at it is mean.ingful for learners
• knowl,edge of learners a:nd their characteristics,. ,inclu,ding backgrounds, needs,
existing know,led,ge on th,e topic, misconceptions they m,ay hold, a.nd possi,ble
ba,rriers to learnijng
1

• knowledlge of educa ion ,Icontexts, rangi:n,gfrom the workings of the group or

class,roo,man.d th,e f, cilit,i s v · H ble, to th soc1ocu1tt,ura:I
context •ofthe sch,ool and
t,he pofi,cies th imp ct du tio .
• know,f dg,e o,f ed,uc tio n 1, nd , purpos, s an,dvalues ..
1 1

.AUthese ba:sesof k.nowle.dge sho u,fdcom • into pl y nd i'ntersect during the p.lanning
1 1

and teaching process. Clearly, th,en, good teaching entails m.uch1more than foUowing
"weU-rehearsed scripts and routines" (Loughran, 2007. 3) to trans,mit knowl'edge or
mana.ge J:,earn,er
behaviour and organise the cfassroo,m.Good te,ach1n.galways takes
account of the''complexities, possibihties and nuances"within e,achteac,hing .an,d
lea:rni:ngsitu.ation (L,oughran,,2006: 136).

We s:hare the view ,of 1LaBosk,ey

1 that good teaichers make,thou1ghtful, car,ing decisions
and re.achbeyond· the Um,itations and constraints of their ow,n back:g,roun,dsand
1

their current circu,msta,ncesto "'consider a:lternative inter,pretations and poss.ibUities.

Good teachers are ,c,onstantlymaking decisio.ns and fo,rrnulatin,g rdeas about
ed,ucat1onalgoa,ls,practices, a1nd'outcomes. These decisi·ons ma,ybe made in the
heat of the moment or after qu· et thought, they may be based on ;ntuition or on
systematic reasoning;, and they may b~ made alone or with others. What ma ters
•
most is that they are never c,onclusiv.e... these decisions and ideas are subje.cted to
careful reconsideration in fight of inform,ation from current theory and practice, from
feedback from the p.arti,cu'larcontext, and fro,m·sp,eculation as to the mora,.Iand ethical
co,nsequences of their results" (LaBoskey, 1994: 9). Accordingly, teach,ing is never
just a ro,utine process. A g:ood teacher i:sconstantly observing, inquiring, assessing,
di,agn,osin,g,des,igning ,and redesigning to b,ecome·more effective

Nesbit, Leach and Foley (2004) argue that all g reat teachers show strateg,ic thinkin,g,
1

commitment an1deffectiv,e teaching tec,hniques. Great teachers do not only have the
req,uired skills, but they also think and act on a nu,mb,erof different levels. They ar
reflecti ve practitioners in th
1
it the·yhave a deep understanding of ,both themselves and'
their learners, and ·n that th,ey think both 'on their feet' and a,bout long-term, results
(Nesbit, ,Leachand Foley, ,2004).

4 I Becominga teacher
Reflect·on a.nd reflective practice
·what does it mean when we claim that the complexi ty of the teaching profession demands
1

that teac.hersreflect? Does it meainthat teachers shou·ld be 'reflect~vepractition.ers'?

Re ection can be defined In vario,us ways and fro,m,d'ifferent theoretical perspectives,

d'.epending o,n educationists' bel'i,efs.about what is importanit in education. Loug,hra1n
(2006) .rem·indsus that various interpretations of seemi,ngly fam1iliarterms such as
reflection develop over time Therefo,re, ,t becomes 1necessaryto ( ·e),de'finethe term so·
that its intended mean,i1ngis ma1 de explicit.

fn our understan ding, refl ection means thinkin,g that is focused,. 'i:ntentiona'.Iand
1
1

purposeful, and aim·sto ,deepen und,erstanding an·d to info1rmfurther tho,ught and

actio,n. When we reflect, we look at our inner though,ts and thoug·ht processes a.nd
1
also at the s~tuati1on·we a:rein at t;he time, and th.en devise furt her thou1ght an,d action
1

based on the irnteractio,nof the internal and exte n:al .Ke,mmis(1985) ,caUsthis thJ11 nk 1ing
about th,ink'ing m a...
th:nk1ng,w:hich we·do ·1nsituatio,ns that are ·mpo:rtant and
requiire u.sto consider the relati,onship, betwee ,o ·r thoughts and actions before we
g·o ahead and act.

Korth,agen et a.I.,(2001} define reflection as a type of th:inking that aims at structuring

o,r rest,ru·cturing an experience, problem or existing knowled',ge ,or insights. The notion
1

of structuring o:r restructu,ring implres.thi nking i.n a disciplined manner t!hro gh, for
1

exampl,e, questio,ning, ,e•xamination and analysis to make sense of, or restr,ucture the·
experience to enabf,e improved u1nderstanding:and action.

Referring to a teacher as a reflective pra,ct.itioner im,pUes.thiat teach1ingis a practice.

According to Grossman (,etaL, .2009'):"Pra•cticein comp,lex d,oma1insinvolves th,e

orchestr.at·,onof understan,ding, skill, rela,tionship, and 1den,tityto .accomplisih particular
1

activities withr others in specific envi ronmen ts. Prac ,feeca1n.be understood in terms
1 1

of its goals, ·ts activities, and rts historical tradi Io.n (Chaiklin & :Lave,1996). ·when
people rlearna practice, they enter a histor,ically defined set of a•ctivities that hav
bee·n devel'oped ove time !by others (E,ngestrom, M 1 iettinen, & Punama1ki,••999),.As
members of a.protession,. practitioners have a respon:sib."lityto their c,o,Ueaguesand
their clients (Shulman,, 1998,},re1,nforc1ngthe ,collect:ivemeanin·gs of professio·nar
practice Any coincept ,of practice, must also·inv,ofve the id1entityof th practitioner ,(cf.
Dykstra, 1991; 1P.G,.Miller & Good,n,ow,.1995). P·art-o.fprofessio .al pre.para ·1ioninv,o,lves
the c,onstruction of a professional identity; in the pa:rticul r professions tha • we have
chosen to study, p.ractition.ers use aspects of heir own p rson,alit,ies,as well as, heir
professio,naf identiti-es, as an intimate part of their practice. To par,aphras,eYea,ts,in
these practices, one cannot eas1fy,distin,guishthe practi ioner from thepractice ..

Thete cherasa reflecivepracti·oner 5

"Teachingactivities need to take account of all these dimensions.

Teachingas a reflective practice also implies an active, persistent and careful

examination of teaching actions and the beliefsthat underpin them with the aim of
continuously improving one's practice as a teacher.

In the next section we will focus on some important dimensions of reflective practice.

Dimensions of teaching as a reflective practice

Shulman (2004)reminds us that the experience of yearsdoesn't necessarilylead
to wisdom of practice. A teacherwith 20 years experiencecould actually have one
year of experience 20 times. Experiencedoes not always lead to learning.The focus
in our lives tends to be on doing, and even if we stay aware of our doing it will not
necessarilylead to learning. Reflectionis essentialto convert a life experience into a
learning experience.We need to deliberately make ourselvesawareof our thinking
and ideasabout our experiences,and draw out learning points to help guide our
future actions.

Schon(1983)draws a tvtlpfuldlsc,00100~Lv,e I tfiff~r •nt typesof n:.fl dlQo He

distinguishes'reflection In ::w-,.1r.-in-from
r,e Clbl 01 a(tion'.. Rencc1ion n action
refersto reflection whil Oil(! Ii n~d" pr ccke.ft. good teJCl'H!r oontiNausl)'
engaged in this type of\ nt self t ! Y te.,c '.l, ood tea.ct1L'f~" .:...IJus.1
their plans based on ha.-, t ey re;id the ~ltl-k"!t~: 'Oearly tJ,eydu, 'l .Seem10 gel .
How else can I explain tni,? ls thcni!anotnar ~~impl, I can u~l \ 11 I ~ CiSnI do?'
In this way the teacher dr.w,, on prc•,iauJr.:icpc?tlmr ;ind oo her prt)f~slo,
knowledge base.

Teacherswho are reflec.t,vepr11C11t10neri w1II u~"illly revI ~ d asSt:sstl1t.lilledtl1inig

experience afterwards>u ,·ng to m.ike ~n, af I ilnrl f m from It, Thiscypeof
reflection is reflection o <tiot Ide,-,, reflectian n a ton ind refl•. tlo1\ on
action should interconr..........
Tf)e follbwin.g que~ion,'i nrc t r:fi11
to hclp us r 11'°"'
on action:
• What exactly has hap ~nedr'
• What could be the rb:J«I~ for th g'P
• How did I respond?1/, y I respo,ld In ti W-.Jy?
• What are the key issue~I rtt!ed to b il'A' re.of1
• Do I have the inform. non~ to help me d(l d ff~,~ 1lyor impm'tl rny r.t s
in future? If not, wh~t do I 11eedto find 001.. 1d l~N?
• Who else could/shou J I lrwol'le to ~\Wit mn?
• How would I deal with a ~lmllarslttJatk>flIn futu1~1
Thompson and Thompson (2008: 16) add a third type of reflection, namely reflection
for action. Reflectionfor action refers to planning, being able to think ahead about
what we might encounter,anticipate what is likely to happen, how we may need to
respond, and what we need to do. Thus,when planning a lesson,a good teacher will
be engaging in reflection for action, while also drawing on previous experience in
designing similar lessons(reflection on action).

Theory and practice

Peoplesometimes accuseuniversities of making teacher education too theoretical.
This accusation implies a separation between theory and practice, or formal book
knowledge versuspractical real-world knowledge based on experience.

All professionsare informed by a body of formal knowledge, and we generally accept

and expect professionalsto have engaged with the scholarly knowledge or established
wisdom of their field during preparation for their profession.Our senseis that teachers
and student-teachersdon't doubt the need to explore the formal knowledge of
their field, but that teacher education programmes may be structured in a way that
separatesformal knowledge from experiential knowledge. For example, programmes
may be structured so that students expect to learn theory at the university and then
apply it during their school experience (practiceteaching). Students may then struggle
to see the relevanceof the theory to what they encounter in the school situation.

There is a legitimate concern of student-teachersthat the theory they learn often

shedslittle light on the ucomplexand messyworld of the classroom"(Gordon,2007:xi).
However,this concern may stem from the mistaken view among students and new
teachersthat educational theories are"establishedfacts and/or indisputable truths" they
can apply directly to produce results in the classroomlike "a proven remedy to a disease'~

The problem is,of course,that each teaching situation is unique and complex, and
no single theory is sufficient to inform teaching decisions.It is thus a fallacy that a
theory in its entirety can be put into practice in the classroomwithout moderating
or adjusting It to fit the context. There is no one-to-one relationship between theory
and practice. As Smith argues,"a given practice may reflect severaltheories about how
people learn; at the same time, belief in a particular theory may give way to numerous
ways of approaching instruction" (Smith, in Gordon, 2007:xi).

Furthermore,the idea of reflective practice challengesthe separation of theory and

practice. All our thinking and actions are informed by our own personal theories that
we construct through interacting with others and our environment. Eventhough we
may not be awareof it, we constantly draw on our personal theories when we act and
make senseof our experiences.We have said that experience alone does not lead to

Theteacherasa reneccive
practitioner I7

•
!;earning.Learning from •experience,and so chaHeng·ng and extending our personal
theo ies, equires reflecti,on. However, even if we continuously reflect on what we
encounter in our immediate environment, our learnin9 is limited by the constraints
of our environment. This ·s where formia.lknowledg,e (theory) plays a crucial role: it
gives us accessto a world of knowledge :beyond our immed·ate environment, which
broadens our horizons..A broad a d d'eep understanding of our field of practice is
crucial if we want to function effectively in comp ex situations - and teaching is a
complex endeavour.

The pitfall of the so-caUedtheory-practice divide is the view that formal knowledge
could, and should, be applied directly to practice. This view eleva es theory over
practice. We argue that teachers shou d·conscio sly build their personal t eories of
teaching by integrat·ng what they learn fr,o,m1 experience with what they rearn f. om·
formal the,ory.This requires focused reflection to ensure that practice is informed
by theory and that th,eory is tested by practice. While we should use our theoretical
insights to inquire into and make sense of our teach'ng, we shouJdalso deliberately test
and question the theory to help us get better insight into our practice, and so,extend
and enrich our O·Wn personal theories of eaching.

Doyle (2006) apt y captures the interp.lay between reflection and theo,ry;"Thinking
theoreticaUy without any form of reflection becomes rigidity of thought, which
leads ultimately to unthinking interventi•on, whereas reflection without any sort
of theoretical basis is wool y thii:nking,which a so lead:sultimately to unthinking
intervention. Unth. nking interve tion becomes habitua; intervention, which in turn
leads to ineffective practice" (in Thompson and Thomp,son,2008: 37)..

The complexity of eaching requires teachers to constantly update their personal.

theory of practice. This implies reflecting on practice w•hile usin,gfo,rma1IknowJedg,e
as a liensto examlne and enrich t,eachfng practice. If teachers do this, he theory
becomes "liived practice" and practice, "lived theory 11 (Thompson and Thompson,
2008: 162).

Professionalvalues.and eth ics 1

One of the hallm rks of any profession, including, the teaching profess.ion,is the
commitment of its members to a code of ethics that sets out professional values and
responsibil'ties. In registering with the South African Council for Educators (SACE),a
teacher ,e,ommitsto th,eSAC.E Code of Professional Ethics.

In South Africa the SAC,EAct No. 31 •of20,001mandatesSACEto provide fo th•e

registration of allleducators. According to this Act, no person is perm·tted to practise as
a teacher unless he/she is registered with the C.ouncil.

,ecoming a eacher
This code of professional ethics sets out the ideals of the profession. Some teachers
may take note of this code, but not see it as central to their lives as teachers.We
would claim that teacherswho are reflective practitioners understand that they are
confronted daily with ethical decisions.Thus, the code of ethics, as a living document,
can be very useful for guiding reflection on practice.

Think about it
You,as a teacher:
• acknowledge, uphold and promote basic human rights, as embodied in the
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996
• exerciseauthority with compassion
• promote gender equality
• recognise the parents as partners in education
• behave in a way that enhancesthe dignity and status of the teaching profession and
that does not bring the profession into disrepute
• keep abreastof educational trends and developments.
Think about what the above statements imply for practice.

How would you make these into 'living' statements in your practice as a teacher?

A teaching philosophy
Becausethe practice of teaching is complex, it is essentialthat teachers,as reflective
practitioners, intentionally construct a teaching philosophy. We would claim that all
good teachers have such a philosophy, even if they may never have put it into words.
Ask good teachers what they see as the ultimate goal of education, how they approach
their teaching, what their views of learners are or what values underpin their teaching,
and they can readily answer these questions.

However,the danger with experienced teachers is that some may lose their initial
ideals and enthusiasm and start to seeteaching as a set routine of mechanical actions.
Regularlyrevisiting our teaching philosophy helps us to stay focused as teachers
amidst the many demands of teaching. In the words of Brookfield (1990: 16),"a
distinctive organising vision - a clear picture of why you are doing what you are doing
that you can call up at points of crisis - is crucial to your personal sanity and morale~

The teacherasa refiectivepractitioner I9

•
••
Teachersas professionalsneed to be accountabl,efor their actions.A teaching
philosophy is useful to hel·pyou reflect on whether your actions reflect your ideals.
In doing this, it wiU help you to get clarity on what you did and the underlying rationale
for why you di,dit.

Constru ting a teaching philosophy does not requir you to be a ph'losopher..

1

A teaching philoso.phyis . statemen tha you craft to g,u·deyou as a teacher.It is

not static, but win probab ly evolv as you gain more insight into the teaching
1

profession.A teaching philosophy hetpsyou to ac con,5istentlyand purposefully,

particularly when f, ced with teaching dilemmas and compe ing concerns.

In canst ucting a teaching philosophy you co,uldus, th following broad questionsto

guide you:
• What .remy ultim t aspiratjon , goals and aims s eacher?What do I ultimately
want to achievethrough teaching?
• How wllf I teach to achi,evemy Q'Oalsor aims?H r, you dd r· ssyour conce,ptionof
1

te :ching and ,(ear.ningand1d • ,ri ho 1 c.,.,,,.,.,"'c.o

• Why do I teach this way

approach.
• What values unde pin, .
when facing moral dUerr
y-ourvalues:
- Wha,tar the valu s a
varuesmean o me in
- Wh tar my person I
- Are h-re any conflict
- How can I s fe uard n
threat?
Ultimately, a teaching philo I
Wh kind ,o·fe cher do f w
and:v lues)?

The processof fdent~fyfnga1 , . ,u,.:;:",,1,;-, ....

to clarify your approach o t

and contradict' ons In your •
ph"losophy through teachin
1

,ching.behaviour nd le •
Pedagogical content knowledge
A good teacher hasa strong baseof subject knowledge. However,content
knowledge alone is not enough. We all know very knowledgeable people who
cannot communicate their understanding to others. In fact, their explanations often
leave us more confused than we were before. So,thorough content knowledge
is necessary,but not enough for teaching. Equallyimportant is knowledge about
teaching and learning,which is called pedagogical knowledge.Teachingrequiresa
special mixture of both content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge, a blend
which Shulman refersto as pedagogical content knowledge.

Pedagogicalcontent knowledgemergescontent knowledgewith pedagogical

knowledge so that they are not treated separatelywhen planning and
executing teaching.

Content knowledge Pedagogicalknowledge

Pedagogical
content knowledge

Figure 1.1 Pedagogicalcontent knowledge,a blending of content knowledge and pedagogy

Source:Adapted from Shulman (2004)

Good teachersare generally strong on pedagogical content knowledge.They have

a good understanding of which methods are most appropriate for teaching specific
content. They also have a thorough understanding of the misconceptions learners
typically hold on specific topics, and addressthese in their teaching.

Expert teachersoften do not directly expresstheir pedagogical content knowledge.

However,it helps both novice and experiencedteachersto consciouslydevelop their
pedagogical content knowledge.This requiresthem to reflect on, reflect in and reflect
for practice.

Theteacherasa reflectivepractitioner I 11

..
 The foflowing questions can be helpfu~ in developing pedagogical content knowledge~
• What is the most appropria e way to arrange the content to make it accessibleto
l,ea,rnerstconsidering their diverse interests and abitities?
• What prior knowledge do learners ha1veof the content or concepts to be taught?
• How can I use this knowledge as a base to buiild on? Wha understanding and/or
misconceptions. do they probably hotd about th1istopic? How can I use and address
these views to ensure that they do not interfere with n,ew'learning?
• What I'Sthe best method to teach this conten. to make it meaningful to learners,
consldedng , herr current knowledge and background?

Tools to guide reflecti on 1

llhere are number of tools ,hat you can useto g,uJder,eflectionin your efforts to become,
and be, a reflectiv •practition@r.Th e will be discussedin the foUowin,gsections.

DATAprocess
he DATAprocess •s a four-step refl ction process_m1adeup of description, analysis,
theor"sing and ction (P,eters,1991). You ca,nuse i on your own to, reflect on your
practice, but whl!le you are s ud n·, w r ·, ommend that you invotve a I .·cturer. Once
you become a teacher, you could us a fellow eacher or coUeagueto ass·styou in
reflectingi on your teaching practice.

To explain ,he DATA.process,we wi,11

use the following· c n rfo.

Scenario
P'eter'sfa1iiledlesso:n
Peter had a w H-pre,paredt. so,nplan to, each the Grad. 8 N tural Sci •nces class
how et- ctricity works. He arrrved for his lesson with II his not and knew exactly
wh t he was going to, say.
1
"W ar ,going to, learn1how · lectricity work· and how to build . n: I ctric circuit.
It is not d:,lfficultto build an,electr"c circutt, as long as you follow the r les and ,he
1

step•by-step gu1ide1
which we,are now going to go throug1h:-
Alllithe learners looiked ait hrlmexpectan ,lytwhich he took as · good sign. "Ye ,
1
th y are,an int ,rested.. ,"
"f,irrst,you n d a cell and a c:onduc or. You caInt ke battery and a light bulb ou
o.f to,rch and use th ,conducUngw,lr ,to mak circulrt:'
Pet r carried ,on with his ><p'lan1tionsand air th learn rs werreJott'ng1down notes.
1
This Is going really welt Th learners r Int rested and they s em to b
folilowing my exp,lanations:'
 "Are there any questions?"
o one had any questions, and Pe er, confident tha everybody had understood
h•s clear e pla nat' onsl conclud d the class:"As homework, jus folllow these steps
and rules, and draw a series of parallel electric circui s."
On his way out, Peter was walking behind two of he learn· rs who were a1king
among themselves ithout noticing that Peter could overhear th m: •eusi, d;d
you understand anythin.g of what the eacher said about elec ricity? I have no
idea wha he was saying,,and l cannot do my omework. May I come to you
house his afternoon and we do it togethe ?" Well, I didn't understand anything
either. I think my older brother may be abre toe plain· to me. Or maybe your
father? t have no idea what o · o:'

We are now going to guide you through the steps yo woutd use to refl'ect on the
above scenario by employing the DATAprocess.

e
Peter deliver d wha h thoug was a good lesson.Then he asked the learners if they
had any questions. Becausenone of hem asked a question, Peter a,ssumedthey all
unders ood. When he overheard two learners talking, he was shocked hat they hadn't
unders ood the baslc rules of eJectric'ty that he thought he'd explained so well. Thus,
his lesson wasn't successfulafter all.

•
tep 2· An ly ppe
What fact,orscontributed to the curren situa ion? What u. derlying beliefs, motiv s an
s umptions may have contributed to the ituation?

Pet r cou1dask hi.mself:What exac ly happened here? How did J approach the
eaching? Wha b liefs and assumptions about teaching underlie the approach I took?
Why d'd I think the le son was a successbefore overheard the two ]earners?

Through this analysis Peter could ealise tha he'd as urned that if h prep red w II and
gave learn rs the facts, th y would understand. As a r sul , In preparing he le son he
only focus d on his own role - what he would do. Anothe insight is that if learners
don't ask questions, it doesn' necess rily mean they unders and.

rove o r pract· ce
•hink abou possibl ways to improve he pr ctice, drawing on your own previous
exp rience, ducational theory and the isdom of peers or a more experienced teacher
whom your sp ct. Wh t r •the I ern tives o your t aching practice?
 As an afternative, Peter might decide to approach teaching as med'at·o,n rather than
.as'telling~ He might revise the way he plans his lessons,taking all variabl,esthat are
implicit in the six guid:ing questions into account when plann·ng a,lesson. Fo-rexample,
1

he coul,d realise that not all learners have electricity at home. He might also see that
he assumed backgrou:nd knowledge that learners d'dn't have. Perhaps he would. also
realise that he needs to plan learner activ"ties, not just teacher activiti,es.For example,
after ,explaining the rules, he could ask learners to form groups, and in these groups
explain ,eachrule as they understand it, or to prov.ide an example of how they would
apply the rules.

Step 4: Act.to,test your theory in practice

The DATAprocess could be used to address a specific issue in teachin•g,but is also
useful to use on a continuous basis to help you reflect on your teaching.

Guided reflection protocol

The guided .reflection protocol can be used in a similar ·wayto the DATA.process.

The foltowing s enario shows how the guided reflect:on protocol, adapted from ,Hole
and McEntee•(1999) •an used t reflect on a teaching experience.

Scenario
Maria'steac ing expe e c .1

S ep . What happe e ' 1

Wednesd·ay,24 Sepitember,9~30a.m. J t n f •h I room, aking

' the morning attendance. One child 9 fanc
1
out rh win ow 1n,ds(-IF 1s ,a blue
crane grazing on the playground. Hopping from hi , ......, h . II out and rushes
to the wrnd·ow for a better view of the bird Within m m nt , ix children are
clustered around the win.dow, and others are leaving h i • • ts to join th.em I
caUfor attention and ask them to return to their d ··sk . Wh • none of the learners
responds, I walk to the window and lower the bUnds.

Descri.bingwhat happened is more difficult than it sounds. We II tend to•jump to 1

interpretation or judgement, but it is important to :begin by simply telling the story.

Write down only what happen,ed,without anal:ysingor judging, to create a brief
arrative. Only then are you ready to move to the second step.
 Step 2 Why d,1d1t ha,ppen'
Maria reflects:
It's not hard.to imagiine why the learners reacted to the crane the way they did.
1

As ten-year-olds they a:reincredibl.y curious about their world, Explain.ing my

reaction is more difficult. Even as I was lowering the blinds, 'Iwas kicking myself.
Here was a natural opportunity· to expl:orethe children's .interests.Had I stood at
the window with them for five miinutes, asking questionis to ee what they kn,ew
about thiis bird, or even just listening1to them, I'd be telling a.story about seizing
the moment or taking, advantage of a learning opportunity. I knew that even as I
lowered the blinds. So why did I do 1t?

Trying to understand why an event happened the wa.yit did is the beginning of
1

refl,ection.We must search for explanations within the context of the event.

Searching deeper, we may find that a specific even. serves as an example of a more
general category of events. We need t,o consider the underlying structures within
the school context that mayform part of the event and examine our deeply held
values and our overarching teaching aims. As we search, we often find more questions
, han answers.

Step 3. Reflection
Marta continues:
There are two key things tha1tstand out conce,rning that morning. Firstly, the
s,chedule:On that d,a.yI onl'y had half an hour to s;pendwith them as they were
practising for a school play the res of the day. Secondly, this a very chrallenging
class and I really struggled to maintain good discipHne.The first three weeks of
school had been a constant stru9gle as I tried many -d1ifferentways to hold their
attention lo,ng enough to conduct a lesson. AUthese factors led me,to cosing
he bHnds.

Reflection often stops with answering the 'why' q estion. If the goal is to beco·me a
reflective practitioner, however, we need to look more deep,ly.The search for ·m,eaning
iisstep four.
 •

Step 4: What might it mean?

Maria reflects:
I know I often make bad decisions because of pressure. It would be nice to
believe that I could somehow make the pressure go away, but the fact is it will
always be with me. Being a teacher means learning to live with that pressure,
learning from the decisions I make and learning to make better decisions.
I realise I may be too outcomes-driven and that I might be missing out on
authentic learning opportunities. It might have been a good idea to have asked
the learners whether one of them had a Sc coin. I could have continued to ask
what they see on a Sc coin, which is the blue crane, our national bird. This could
have linked with my teaching of Natural and Social Sciences later.

Assigning meaning to the ordinary episodes that make up our days can feel like
overkill. Is there really a meaning behind all those events? Wouldn't it be more useful to
wait for something extraordinary to happen, an event marked with a sign:

'Important - Pay attention!'

Guided reflection is a way to find the meaning within everyday events. Split-second
decision making is crucial in teaching. Given the daily chaos in a classroom, it is
difficult to consider all the options and consequences. Often, it is only through
reflection that we first recognise what choices we had and that we could have done
something different.

Step 5: What are the implications for my teaching practice?

Maria reflects:

My reaction to the pressure this year has been to resort to methods of control.
I seem to be forever pulling down the blinds. I'm thinking about how I might
better deal with the pressure.
But something else also needs attention. Where is the pressure coming from?
I'm sensing that the administration and the parents feel I should be doing things
differently. I've picked up both subtle and direct messages that I need to pay
more attention to 'covering' the curriculum and finding a better balance between
process and product.

16 I Becominga teac
-- --
 ayb- they're right. What I've been doing hasn't exactly been a spectacular
success.But I think that hat caused the lowering of he bli.nds stems from my
,d·strust in he process. Controlling the class in a fairly tradition·al sense isn't going
to . ork in he long run. I've real'sed hat struggle to maintain discipUne. Maybe
I have he wrong idea of hat effective disc ipli,ne means. Does it mean that
1

learners need o be qui.et and sit at their desks, or does it aUo for 1,earnersto
admire and study . blu,e crane in the school garden?
'I seem to hink tha if t'h ir behaviour lead, o a deviat,o,n from my teaching plan,
they are itl-disciplined I se m o equate good discipline with keeping con,trol. I
also need o be more sensitive awards good lear,ning opportunities ,hat emerge
s·pontaneously. Establishing a process tha, allo s, he class to c,ontrol i se·lfwill
hel·p keep, he 'b'U ds up.

In reflecting on the incid,e·nt,Mar·a moved beyond the incident itself, and created
learning poiints that will inform her future teaching practice.

R flect1.e Jour al
We strongly recommen,d that you k ep a reflective journal as a student-teacher,
particul rty when you do school experience, and when you start off s a novice t acher.
A reflec ive journal will help you gain a better understanding of yours If as a tea her. As
you review . hat ·you h ve written, over a period of time, you will find that your wr·ting
forms a record of your assu.mption·s,pr occupations, successesand common problems.

We sugg,es,tyou write in your j,ournal r gu'I rly for about 20 to 30 ,m·inutesa week. Detail
events that y,ou remember with. particular vividness. Jot down responses to questions
such s the following, which are adapted from Brookfi Id (1995): 1

• In what moment(s) this we k did I feel most connected, . ositive, o affirmed as a

teacher? W'ha worked well? Why :o 1think it worked well:?
1

In wh·at moment(s) th,,swe k did I feel most disconnect -d, disengaged, or bored
as a each r? What di,dn't work well? Why did it not wo,rk well? Wha could or s,hould
I chan,ge?
What situ , io- ca·usedm the g ,. a st anxi.ety, distress or regret? Why7 What have I
I rned from this?
• What event took me by surprise - caught m off gua rd, knocked me off my stride, or
1

m d me unex,pectedly happy?
• Of everything I did in m.yteaching,, wha. would I do differently nex ime? Why?
Wha , o 1feel proudest of in m.yt ..' hing this week? Why?'

The each r as r p a itio r I 1,7

Don't feel limited to th,esequ,estions,but feel free to ·gnore the.m and ask your own
questions. Write about anything that seems important about the week's teaching
1

You may also want to cons·der'double-entry'journaling. With this technique, you

divide your Journal in two columns. Straight after an event or episode, write the date in
the left-hand column a,ndthen reflect on it. A few days later, use the right-hand column
to reconsider the event, again recording the date, and add your new insights.

Conclusion
Being a teacher is both gratifying and:chaUenging.Teachersare often exhUarated
when a.lesson has worked or when they have made a positive difference in a .learner's
l:ife.However, teachers, particularly new teachers, also often lose heart amid'stthe
'messinessofteaching'-The ,complexity of eaching requires teachers to be reflect·ve
.practitioners.Being and:stayin,greflective helps to ke,epthe bigger pi,cture in
perspective when confronted with daUychalfeng,es.Being a refle,ctivepract·ttoner
also implies that you take charge of your own pers,ona.land professional development
as a ,eacher.

Glossary
Pedagogical content knowledge: merges content knowl.edge wi h pedagogical
knowledge,
Pedagogy the method and practice of tea hin,g
Val es· the h,ingsthat you judge to be mos im:po tan in Ufe

f r nc s
Brookfiel'd,S.D.l 990. Tf1eskillful tea her. S n
Brookfiefd, S.D.1995; Becominga crftl ally ref} ctiv t acher. ,n Fr ncisco: Jossey-Bass.
G,ord.on,M. a,ndO'Brien, ,,V; 2007. Bridging,th ory and practicein teacher
education.Rot erdam: SensePublish rs.
Gordon, M. 2007. Introduction. tn: Bridgingtheoryan,dpracticein teachereducation,
M. Go' don and T.V.O'Br1ien (eds).Rotter am: S ns, Publish rs.
Grossman,P.,Comp on, C., fgra, 0., Ronfeld , M., Sh h n, and Williamson, P.2009.
1
•

Teaching Practice:A Cross-Profesion -1Perspec iv . TeacherCollegeRecord,

Volu:m1e111 Number 9, 2009 (ID Number: 15018),Available from http://www.
tcreco d.org. Ac ,essedon 05 03 2009.
Hole,,S. and McEntee,G.,C.1999.Reflection 1isat heh r of practice.
EducationalLeaderhip, 56(8), 34-37.
Kemmis,S.1985.Action researchand the politics of reflection. In: D. Boud, R.Keogh and
D.Walker (eds).Reflection:Turningexperienceinto learning. London: Kogan Page.
Korthagen, F.A.J.,Kessels,J., Koster,B.,Lagerwerf, B.and Wubbels,T. 2001. Linking
practiceand theory. Thepedagogy of realisticteachereducation.Mahaw: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates.Kindle edition.
LaBoskey,V.K.1994.Developmentof reflectivepractice:A study of preserviceteachers.New
York:TeachersCollege Press.
Loughran, J. 2006. Developinga pedagogy of teachereducation:Understandingteaching
and learning about teaching: Values,relationshipsand practices.New York:Routledge. •

Loughran,J. 2007. Enacting a pedagogy of teacher education. In: T. Russelland

J. Loughran (eds).Enactinga pedagogy of teachereducation.London: Routledge.
Nesbit,T., Leach,L. and Foley,G. 2004.Teaching adults. In: G. Foley (ed). Dimensions
of adult learning:Adult educationand training in a global era.Crows Nest NSW:Allen
& Unwin.
Peters,J.M. 1991.Strategiesfor Reflective Practice.In: R.Brockett (ed).Professional
developmentfor educatorsof adults. New directionsfor adult and continuing education,
No. 51. SanFrancisco:Jossey-Bass.
Russell,T. and Loughran, J. (eds).2007. Enactinga pedagogyof teachereducation:Values,
relationshipsand practices.London: Routledge.
Schon, D.A.1983. Thereflectivepractitioner: Howprofessionalsthink in action. New York:
BasicBooks.
Shulman, L.S.2004. Thewisdom of practice:Essayson teaching,learning and learning to
teach. SanFrancisco:Jossey-Bass.
Thompson, S.and Thompson, N. 2008. Thecritically reflectivepractitioner. Hampshire:
PalgraveMacmillan.
 Critical education Noddings'thinking
theory in the South on care in education
Africancontext
•
•
•

Critical education
theories The idea of care

• •
•• •
• ••
•• •
•
• •
•• •
•
•• • •
• •
•• •
•

The te,acheras a
caring professlonaf

••
•

•
•
•

C. ttlln11a pcrdagtt9y
of careIr 11 ch(Jof
.i cl.11 oom

Th • u cl
ti~
At the end of this chapter you will be able to:

• explain how critical theory is useful for analysing education and

educational situations in South Africa.

• list at least four features of Noddings'theory of care and describe the

implications of each in an educational situation

• discuss how critical theory and a theory of care are useful for designing
and practising a pedagogy of care in education

• formulate two ways in which a teacher can show care and two ways in
which a student can show care in an educational situation

• describe how an integration of participation, affective teaching and

problem posing in the classroom can promote a critical and caring
pedagogy.
 ,Introduction
n this chap er we w·11unpack what it means to be a teache as a caring profess·onal in
education and, in the process, help you on your journey to becoming a teacher.

We wif start by introducing you to critical educational theories as a basis for thinking
I

about the foundations on which educatlon•al 'institutions such as schools are built.
Critic.a'!theories can provide al'ternate fenses for view·ng the dominant processes
and arrangements in education that underpin our thinking and practices as •eachers.
It is essential that we question these aspects of our practice if we aim to be caring
,professionalswho bring about change in, and through, -ducation.

rn th second part of th:s ch pter we will show how the foundation of critical, educatr·on
links wi h the idea ,ofcare and aped ogy of car in ducation. Flowing from this
we w·u illustrate how you can us thr sp cine va1lu t,o•Crafta pedagogy of care
and' a caring urri ulum. W hope tha th fr m work we describe will enable y,outo
make,us• of the elements you n ounter in at- r h pter to shape and redesign your
1

pedagogy as a caringteacher.
W,ewill start our discus ion with a· cena:rio to Ufustra e the case we are mak·ng, and
then pose critical questions, for you to work throu,g'h,

Deal1 g wt b llyi, g i a s,choo context

It's a busy riday afternoon at Pandor High School where you are a teacher.
I has been a tough w k with many demand on your tt,ention: ,tsto mark,
new work to st rt wi h th I · rners and a numb r of dminis r Iv tasks for
th school man.agem nt team. ¥ou're looking forward to th week nd .o you
can relax. One of your learners, •onsebo, com s to, ell you th t situation has
developed betwe n wo las m e • t at invol:vesthe infra cf on of school rules.
Nonsebo t 11syou hat on of your learners, Kondi', has been bullying nothe
learner, Eugenia, by hJding her books and notes. As this ma e,rhas been report
to you as he teach r in charge, you hav to r pond.

22 I B comin a ,eache
T,hinkabo I
As the eacher ho has o respond to this s·tuation, ask yourself he following
questions and b.rieflywrite down your responses:
• Wha wiU/should/could my response to his si uation be?
• What ar my personal reactions to bullying?
As a weary eache l.ooking fo ard to the end of the school w k, does my tir •dness
affec how I respond and how ould my response b different If I asn'ttired?
• Whose 'story' will I listen to ft s and ho does his influence my decis'ons in
responding to his a er?

After you have responded to these question , compare what you have written to the
following ideas:

A 'normal' responsefor you as a teacher may be o first analysethe situation and then
plan a responseto the problem. For instance, you may start the processof dealing
wi h this issue by asking a few key questions in ord r to understand the probJem as
objectively as possible. You should try to respond from a position of empa hy with the
bullied learner and project an appropr;iate re. pons,e.You may have identified fac·ors
to.help determine the best responseto he situat·on. Thi could include punishing the
learner who has violated the rul:es.You should b ,concernedabout both the buUyand
th bullied. Before r spondin9 to a situation of bu Hying,you should look careful'lyat
the context and the situation of the rule br akers or bullies, as well as the si,tuation of
th bullied.

I a o t t
id you hi k bout the sta e of he relationship b tween he·buHiedand buUies
b fore y,oud cided on the ac ·on you ould ake?
1dyou cons·d r he stat of th r- la ion ship b L••-=en the le rners (both bull i d and
uUi ) and he tea.cher, fter punishm n ?
•id you onder about who wie:ldsthe most ow r i thi1ssi ua ion, or hos vo·ce is
h f 1
?

fn chool si uation, it ~sno only earners who bully each o h -r. Sometimes, sadly,
h r ca ac like buUiestoo. In manycasesit is probably uninten ion I, but it could
d lib rat . Readthe foUowing sc nar' os nd ask yours ·If ~ow he ach rs'

Th a h r a a caring profe siona I 23

actions could be considered either unintenti,onal or intentional acts of but yin,g.Also
discusshow the teacherscould have acted in a m,orec·aing manner towards the
learners while still fulfilling the'r e,ducatio~aiduties.

I Scenario
Unfair punishment?
rt is Mond y morning and Mrs M,cDonald,who teach,esboth Englishand
Mathematics to the Grade4s, is checking on the assessmenttasks she gave
1

her clas the week before..One of the learners.,Ta,mara,d1idnot comp:letethe

Englishtask but com1pletedthe Mathematicstask.Tamarastruggles with readi.ng
nd writing and tends to, put off her Englishh,omework,but she ,reallyenjoys
Ma hematics and thus usu Uydoes th1ishomework promptly. Mrs McDonaid is
v · ry annoyed as she had given the task to the learn,erswen in advanceof the
due date asthe taskswere part of the learners' con i'n ~Q<~,Pnr -ri.=J

I
 expects her work to be completed and doesn't like her methods or views to
be questioned by learnersor their parents. Shesocialiseswith the mothers
of a few learnersas they all have the same crafting hobby and often attend
coursestogether.
Two of the learnershave parents who are teachers at public schools,and because
they are familiar with the educational demands of the Intermediate Phaseand
with the role of the teacher,these parents have raised questions with Mrs Brown
about the quality of the rubrics and the nature of the assessmenttasksshe sets.
Thesetwo learners,although bright, never seem to be able to get an assessment
grade above 65%, no matter how much effort they put into the work. They also
seem to be written up more for detention for various infractions in the classroom
than the other children. The learnerswhose moms socialisewith Mrs Brown,
however,tend to be the ones who attain very good marks (often distinctions)
in the subjects she teaches,which also means that they are the ones who are
rewarded at the annual prize-giving function for high achievers.

Many opportunities present themselves to show your learnersthat you care about
them. Think about the learner in your classwho was absent from classfor a few days
becauseof illness.You,as a teacher,can show care for the learner by taking time to
explain the work covered so that the learner can catch up. Or think about a learner who
is experiencing the lossof a parent, sibling, family or community member. How does
this situation affect the learner'sschoolwork? Do these instancesalso call for pedagogic
care from you as the teacher?

Think carefully about the kinds of issuesthat arose in the educational situations above:
issuesof power, who is in charge and who makesthe rules in educational situations.
Canyou identify at least one instance where power comes into play in each of the three
scenarios?These issuesare important on your journey to become a caring professional.

Critical education theory

Critical education theory is not one theory, but a set of assumptions and beliefs that
informs your actions.Your beliefs make you act in a particular way and do certain things.
In the context of the classroom,these beliefsabout children, authority or punishment all
influence how you teach and practise in the classroom.Thereare severalwaysin which a
critical theory lens can sharpen the practice of education in South Africa.

I Critical theory, as a set of assumptions,can lay the foundations for alternative

I
pedagogical approaches.These alternative approachesare important for you as a new
\

I
The teacherasa caringprofessional 25

·~~--------------------

..
teacher en erlng the profession. We believe that alternative pedagogies can promote
crit~cal,caring and ransformative teachers and learners.

Think abou'tit
When reading through thfs ect' on of the ,chapte.r,we want you to think caref uUyabout
how the ideas presented relate to;
• your learning as a student-tea,cher
• your rore asa future teacher who can b co,mea caring professional ln a chool.
~

Critical education has always stood alongside movements in education, teachers

who work to bring abou chang in educational contexts, and comm,unities that aim
to improve equ·, y and jus ice in a de,moc atic society..Accord.ing to G'roux, critica,I
education, s moved by a passion to create a just society that''links stru9g,l.eto a
n,ew set of hum n possibilities" (1993: 242). This is often referred to as education for
social justice. Cr,iticaltheory anows us to crit~cally ,nalysethe various elements of an
education system and uncover those practices, attitudes and beliefs that ,•mftthe
pot nti and status of marginarsed groups (Brookfield, 2005).

By marginalised groups, we mean those people who are on the marglns'or edges of
1

society- people who are not regarded as being fiullyintegrated with the way most
peep.le in socilety live. Marginalised groups of peopJ are those who are regarded as less
important or less usefulin so ·ety,or those who do not fl w·th ideas of what' o ma'
peopl do. A good example wou1ldbe horn fess peopre, who are often regarded as lazy
and dirty, and hus unimportant.

Think about it
Provide an ex mpJe of a margina Usedgroup In the area where you live or work.
1

• Whydo you regard these groups of people as marg.inal sed?

Are th re learners in your school who are marginahs d?
• Whyare hey marginaUsedand b,ywhom are they marginalis.ed?

Did you hink about the reatment of different races durin,g aparthe'd? What about
especial'l'y hose who are HIV-positiv ? What about those who do
hose who are sirckl.y,
not speak English as their first language?
 Scenario
Criticaleducation and marginalisationin a school
BrunswickPrimary School is a co-educational school in a suburb in the west of
Johannesburgwith Englishas the languageof learning and teaching (LoLT).It
catersfor children from a rangeof socioeconomicbackgrounds.Sipho is a Grade3
learner at the school as his mother, Daphne,works as a domestic worker for a
family in the area.Daphne herself had never been to school beyond Grade3 •
and could be described assomeone who is functionally literate. As a result, she
does not always understand what the school requires in terms of the notices sent
home and Is often not able to help Sipho with his homework, especiallywith
Mathematicsand English.Daphne often asksher employersor their son who
•
attends high schoolto assist,but this is not alwayspossibleas they often arrive
home long after she hascompleted her work and left for her own home, which is
quite a distance away.As a result, Sipho does not alwayscomplete his homework
assignmentsor bring his notices back to school, properly filled in and on time,
and is often in trouble with his teacher.

Think about it
Usethe 'lens' of critical theory to examine the example in the scenarioabove.
• Who is marginalisedin this situation? Givereasonsfor your answer.
• How is the school systemperpetuating an injustice in this situation?
• Do you think that caring teachershavea responsibilityto find out whether or not
parentsof their learnersare literate?Why is this problematic in the South African
context?
• How could the teacher have addressedthe problem and shown.care in
this situation?

Critical education theory in the South African context

In South Africa,critical education theory is particularly important becauseit provides
a resourceto both critique and change unequal practices related to schooling and
'ioclety (Giroux, 1993).For instance,consider the school children who are shut out of
~choolsbecausethey cannot afford a school uniform or becausetheir parents cannot
,1ffordschool fees (eventhough this is against the law), or whose teachersdo not speak
lhelr language.Laying bare the Inequalities Is important if you are to view yourself as a
tt'acher who is a caring professional.
 Critica.'Itheory thus aims beyond a simple understanding of practices in a school
context to the idea of acti,on towards changing practices. These cha·ngesmust aim to
transform the context i:nw'hich they are situated .
..
Teacherswho have an unders anding of crtticail theory consider differe.nt
,ep1stemologies
and' pedagogies and always search for alternate ways of seeing, being,
doing and understanding For schools and teachers to gain an unders.tanding, of our
roe in ransforrning a society so tha -an learners are able ·Olearn optimally, alternative
approaches to thinkin,g about what underpins our teaching and how we develop our
pedagogies are essential.
1

.. What do s C' itical: education theory mean to you? Critical theories, hat fr· me your
own learning as a student-te •,cher ra·se questions about he very ep·istemologicat
founda ion on which current education sy.stemsare bu'lt. Critical theories provide
alternate views for us as your te cheirs,and for you as students, to vi,ew the domin nt
processe in education tha shape how we practise educa ion (see for examp,le Appte,,
,995; Banks, 199'6;Brookfield,. 1987; Freire, 970; Giroux, 1992; .Hooks,1994; Ki,nchel,oe
and St inberg, •996; Mc aren, 1989; Tiern,ey, 1996).

We beUeve that c itical theories also presen the means for teacher educators and
tu dent-teachers to discern, analyse and critiqu • the underlying power relations and
ructural factors in education; for examp,le, th way schools are organised, what
curricururn is tau ht and ho·w it ls taught (:Leistynaand W,oodrum, 1:996).
1

We trust that ca fur consideration ,of t'hes theories will also hefp you u nd • rstand tha
1

all aspec s of ,education are ingrain d ·n social, ,political and cu,rt,uralsystems. Only ith
such an understanding can you recognis how the p,racticesassociate,dwith ducation
and e·ach·ngreflect this and what thi m ans for y,ourwork s. te cher (Gordon, 2004).
For fnstan,ce,when pplied to knowl' dg , cr.itfcal theories,, sk u to question our
•
accep d1definition of knowledg nd which, knowted,g'ewe r, g:ard1 .valid, and so
exa,mln , h d·scourses associat d with such vi ws of knowledge. This ch.allenges both
us, t h r in higher education, nd you, as students and 1prosp ctiv teache:rs,to
r co .nis , ng g with nd critically assessthe structures and practices th t reprod'uce
nd maintain in qu liti sin schools, higher ducation a,nd society.

Think bo,ut how some knowledg is con,sid r d more impo,rtan, more vaUd
1
d mor
' xp ,rt' than oth r knowl dge.
C n you hin,k of ny pr .ctical xam .fesof th1i ?
 Advantages of critical education theory
Viewing the role of the teacher through the lens of critical education theory could
provide the following advantages:
• It could signal a move for teachers from being mainly usersof knowledge to
becoming creators and co-creatorsof knowledge in conjunction with others (Dewey,
1924;Moore, 1990;Shor, 1992).
• It could prompt you to become "active agents in constructing new kinds of
knowledge and relationships"(Hayesand Cuban, 1997:78).
• It could enable all those who participate in education to define and produce
knowledge according to the social,historical and cultural contexts in which they find
themselves (Tierney,1996).
The key benefit of critical education theory is to alert us to the role of care,and to that
of transforming and changing unequal practices in schools.You may wonder whether a •
teacher can ever bring about change and transformation in a practical, implementable
way. How could a teacher possibly begin to change and transform schools?

Adopting a critical view of the world createsa spacefor alternative ways of thinking,
teaching and acting. Thesealternate ways are geared towards enabling all learnersto
benefit optimally from our teaching and their learning in the classroom.

On a practical level, one pedagogy we introduce to you in this chapter is a pedagogy

of care, or a caring pedagogy. As you start to wonder if it is ever possible to make the
classrooma fair place for all, whether the teacher can care for all equally, or why a
teacher should have to develop a pedagogy of care for that matter, read our arguments
and then determine if this is relevant for your development and practice as a teacher.

The idea of care

We can define care in the following way:
• If you care about something, you feel it is very important or interesting and are
concerned about it.
• If you do something with care,you do it with great attention becauseyou want to do
it properly.
- According to this definition, care involves more than a concern about something. This
111eans that you cannot simply learn about care in an objectified way. More than just
.,n attitude, it must become a part of who you are. It implies a way of doing and being.
ll l'i this 'caring doing' and 'caring being'that we emphasisewhen making a casefor
,, pedagogy of care.So what does it take to care in a school context? If you adopt a
IH'dagogy of care,you commit to being accountable as a teacher,and you undertake

Theteacherasa caringprofessional I 29
 t,odesign learningenvironmentsin which care ,canbe,,expres·ed in a1responsib,teand
moral way (Tronto,1'993).Ac,countabUity
an,drespon ibUityarethus two i:m,portant
po,intsin the pedagogyof care

Thi1nkab,out,it
• 'Whydo you think we ,em,pha,sisethe accountabilityof a teacherin a1schoolor
classroom7 Discuss,
this quest,i'o,n
w·th a friend or co-studentand iden ify an ,example
wherea te.ach,er
hasnot been aGcounable.
• Whydo you thi,nkwe emphaisiseha the teache,rshoulddesig'na caring learning
environment?With a friend or co- tudent, try to id,entifyan exampl:ewhereyou think
a teacherhasnot managedto designa:learningenvironmentwhere learnerscan
encounteror exper.iencecare.

When we think about thesetwo elem,ents,we see,caringasan essential ing'redient

1

of learninga1ndteaching.WhenteachersestabUshand toster he conditionsfor

1

caring,they set a basi'sfur lear,nlngand teachingthat is fair andjust and a classroom

1

nvir,onmentthat is open a,ndsafefor an learnersto participate to th best of their

abftitles.Caringis n,ot, imply educationalphUanthropy,. or simptythe 'duty' of a teacher.
It is a way of'being' in the teaching,andlearning c,ont xt that givesyou way of eeing
th.ingsdiffe,rently,sothat fssues,ofpower and powerlessne·ss, of fairness.and unfaitrness,
becomevi.stbfethrough your thinking and acti'ons.

A teacheras,a caring,p.rofessionalwho thinks seriousl:ya,nddeepl'yabout carewiHha,ve

to I arn to design.andpractisea pedagogyo,fcare.Su ha teacherwi1IIhaveto learn
how to 'do'carein his or her ideas,expectation and practicein the teaching ,p,rofession.
•
To discussthe ideasof careand ccountabUityin your teaichingand pedagogy,we wiH
draw on th work of Noddi,ngs(1993;199'8),an educ t,ora,ndphUosoph1r who has
1
1

writ, n ,extenIv ly about carein educati,on.

oddings'thin ing on care in education

Noddfngsdo.esnot view c. re purely s a duty~.but sh str •ssesthe importance of
connectionsa1ndrelati'onships(se a.lsoFoos,1998;Gilligan,1993).This mphasison
the importance of rela1tlonships In the teaching:s'tuation,known asa relatio al -thi .,
fo usesall thin king and decisions on the indivl:dualsinvolved and on th -ir exp rienc •s.
1

A "relationa.l,ethfcis thus rooted in ... natural caring',in which the,relationship

betweenthe carer . nd the one who,r c,eivescare ··simpo.rta,n;.lnia,te,achingsituation,.
th teachertakesthe rol of the'one caring,'whois respons,ible ·forcr.afti,nga,,caring
reI•tionshfp W:lththe learner,who,is the~ca,ed-fo,r'(Noddings,,1998,;4).

O I Be oming a eacher
 According to Noddings, the nature of this caring relationship is characterised by two
elements (1998; 218).The first ele:ment is engro sment, in which there is "non- elective
attention to the cared-fo,rfor the duration of the 1caringinterva,I~In other words, in the
.~
ime allotted to me to work with this child at the school, I must focus my attention on
all the, aspects and issuesthe ,child i.sdisplay,ing. I cannot become distracted by my own
issuesor choose to ignore some of the learner's issues.When I work with a child_the
child must feel that he or she has my atten ion ,andcare for the entire time. So care is
really a focus on and ,attention to someone's needs for that time.

lf I'have pedagogi care, it means that I, as a teacher, dedicate m,ytime as my I.earners

need it. This does not mean tha I love a1ndlike all of them.

oddings' second elem,ent is d1spl ce nt of mo i tion, in whi h the "motive

energy of the'one caring'flows in the direction of the other's ne ds and pr,ojects"

- (1998:218-219). This means tha, I mus be aware of the learner's needs and r ·spond
by directing my attentio,n and t,eaching (my in1tentionalor 'motive energy') to what
the learner and have i~dentifiedas the problem area in th child's learning and
11

communic ·tion with o hers.This means that I focus professionally on the learner in
need, and care as objectively as possibl-.

· ut if I aimtoo engrossed in the learners' problems I may,los p rsp ctive. I must keep
1nydistan to b •abre to do the right th'ng. Thus, such a vi w of caring starts with t, .
haring of a feeling - a 'f ling with: a1• c -iving, a communica ion with, a wo king with
- which rs.not only abou an emotional sta e, but i mpathetic. In this r ceptive .mode,
th "one caring ... receive what-is-th re as nearly as possible wjthout evaluaition
or judg ment~ b fore ,dec,idingif th timing is r'ght to begin to identify problem
(N d"ngs, 1998: 30-34). fn oth •r words. it elevates rel ionsh'ps nd rera ionship
l u ldfng into th. ct oft aching and lea nrng.

Noad:ings ays the primary aim of every educational institut' on and v •ry ducational
t must be to main ain and enhan carin "(1998: 72, 173).W cannot sepa t h
n n from the nd jn ducation b ause he desir r suit i part of th process, nd h
"' c rri s with it th idea tha th p rsonsund rgoing it b com om how tter.
....... "J

I tu pply th •e ideas o th earU r scenario of h t ach r who has to d al with a

I· I~ who has be n bulli d (on pag 22), to •how how th y could p ,o t differ n
u tr . ons .
A r sponse arising' from a rela ion 1view of c ring does no start by an lysing the
1

tu tion, bu rath r he relationsh'p. As resul , th teach r star s i h an mphasis

t I tionship b r""e n the ullied and th bul.ly, nd b tw n the each and
0

I of the e l:e rn •rs.

In h s r la i'onshfps,a car ,ng cher w Hb · gin with th sh ring .ofte lings wi h
i t rti s
 • A canng teacher enters the situation as one caring and takes care to establish and
mainta!·n relationships with both he buftied and the buUies.
• Both p,arties,.n. mely the buUfed and he buUies,thus become the cared-for. and the
teaicher'smotiva,Uonis directed to • he welfare, protecti,on or enha n~ement of the
- cared-for (Noddings, 1998: 23).
• Only once this aspect has been properly attended to wifl the caring ·teacher
determine wh,enthe .lmin,g is nght to :moveon to identifying the pro.blem/s.This
waiting to act should no. be mistaken for an inability or unwU.lingnessto act.

A carin,gteacher shourd be ab.leto give the reasoning for this action or inaction, to
show th t ,it is on beha1lfof the 'cared-for' (1Noddrngs,1988: 23}, which includes the
• buJUes,·no der to stop this. kl· d of behaviour. The car1ingteacher 1ishus cautious of
shifting t,oo soon to a ra ionat-obje,ctive,m1odeof thi,nki.ng,and acting, and instead
11
concentr ·teson the necessary ngrossmen i'n those to be cared for",(Nodd.ings,
1984:26}.
-
What we are trying to emphas.isethrough th is example is that the pr,ocessof teaching
s,arts with the teache' prac, i-ing a, pedagogy in which care for the learner is central.
Fro•mthiis s andpoin•, one of the main considera ·ions.for the "eacheras a cairing
profe sional is the reali-ati•on that beln,g or becom·ng a teacher does not sim,ply mean
assuming . protession.alrole.

Noddings argiuestha:: beco.minga teacher means entering a "very speciatand even more
sp cfalfsedcaring" relat,·onship(1998: 173).In his pr,ofesslona:I
relationship, in which
there is frequent contac · with th other a.san ethicailideal, •he teacher is first the one
c ring and only secondly the "enac or of specialisediunctfons, (Nodd,ings,1998: 175).Thi
means hat.··s a teacher, you h ve t,o 'first care genuinely bout your learners; bout their
weffar , their learning and ba1rriersto t arning, the'r Uvesou,t ide of the school context,
and how his influences thetr learning and what th y come to know. ,Italso implie

.
th t thi care infuses how you t ach_your learners about issues 'ha aff ct their l'ves, by
.

tea hing h m o q, e tion, ,cr,itiqueand apprec:iatetheir subject content.

I

h co,ncept of care in education then ex nds beyond am re personaUtytrai of he

teacher, or image of. teacher as nur uring, SU:Pporive, patient,. ki1ndand nice.

Think about it
Th'nk of how th t achers in he second nd third cenarios (p g 24) w n gainst
heir du y o ac i n caring and profess·onal manner.
1

• If you were to give each of th se teach ,rsadv c b sed on Noddings' view of car:e,
wha •would you say o Mr. McDonald and Mr Brown?

32 I Becominga eac r
As prospective teachers we can find encouragement in real-life examples of teachers1
through stories in books and the many examples in the med,ia.There are inspirational
movies in which teachers.motivate learners to go agains the odds and achieve great
things. Three popular movies we can think of are FreedomWriters,DangerousMindsand
TheRonClarkStory.

fn FreedomWriters,a new EngIiish teacher begins her teaching career at a high school in
America.This schoo'Ihas many problems, some of which include racial discrimination
(white, black and Latino lea ners 'figh each o her all the time), gang-related incidents
and drug abuse.This caring teacher encourages her learners to improve their I ves ,a,nd
their futures by taking charge of their S'ituation hrough creative writing and poetry in
the English dassroom.

Try to get together and watch ,oneof these movies with a group of friend:s.Can you
'dentify ins,tancesof how the teachers' actions in these moviesare an example of care
in teaching?

This idea of care in education is in tine with the views of Bullough, who argues that the
b sis of teacher professionalism should be,rooted in he traditions of gre t teachers of
h past, particularly in the ethic of care that underscored thei1rdecisions to become
l • chers in the firs pl ce (1997: 104).He•calls fo the teaching professional o be
reo,ardeddifferently fr•omprofessions such as,for example, law and ,m dicine, wh re
r is Irregular. ChUdrenand youths are in schools for a long im ; teachers affec
I ir liv •s more than many other people they come into contact with. In fac , schooJs
d teachers are children's major experience of contact with the world in fac to-face
r r ction, .nd schools and teachers form an important part of their reaHtybeyond
1

nily nd community. Teaching p,rofessiona.ls are engage with th young for far
I n r than any other professional..Teachersa car'ng professionals are cleariy distinct
r m Hother professionaI , caus they are comm'tt d o th young people hey
1

w k with, and o the ideals of he common good.

, in t ,nc , calculate how much tim childr n spend - school v ry day and how
1 h. r jnfluenc he liv s of young chUdr n. For many children in Sou t, Afri a,who
I n • r have paren to r i them, teachers play a rore in ke ping learners aw y
1

r d ug and teaching th m about ,safesexual practlc s. Some imes ven Just by

I · nln o their problems, each rs have great 1imp ct on chUdren'slfv s Howev •r,
want you to think about how many t chers abu h ir s tus, for exampl , by
r p ring for classes,not being1in school for th r quired im s, not ng'aging with
I rn s, or even by engaging in ill gal prac ·ces,sue as b ating lea n rs or having
w1 h h -m. Car ng acher .do not ngage in •ny of th - p ac ices, but lw ,ys
v I . int " s of their learn, rs a he rt.
 Think about it
• Ho do eachers wh10abuse their posi ion damage the reput,a i,on of the teaching
profession?
•
• Do y,oubeUev,etha students who choose educati,on as· profession niaturally have a
caring character?Why do you1say·so?
• Why do you hink it may b difficu·I to aI ys practise ,care?
Do y,oubeliev,eyo u have h.at
1
r akes to become a caring eacher? hy do you say
so?

Th,1nkabout 1
Do you beli'eveyou know hat ca is nd h,ow to prac i care in yo r fu ure·role as
a t. cher? If not, what do y,ou s ill have •o le rn?
• How ill you . ak suiretha you will care u .Hyfor aI le rners, espe ially hose who
1

,diffi r from you in r; ce, socio,economic st I us, horn I n uage, reUgiousbackgro. nd,
olitical beliefs, nd so on?

Creating a pedagogy of care in the classroom

We will now provide an exampJ• of how a higher educati'O.n acher applies relational

. .
carin,g in the ctassr,oom.We ~ant to ilfustrat how it is possi,b,leto ap,pfythe same
principles. of ,cari'ng,pro~ ssionalism to a range of c•ont xts nd situ tions in teaching.

A higher education t ach rs w ·h,av obs rv, d I

1
1

tu r rs who, s .t th · one for

1

c,ooperativ - form s of dialogue· and sharing from th,. v ry fi st class me,eting. Such
1

l,ec u1rers pp arable to crea,t a caring curriculum a,n class oom ieontex nd maint in
It by starting i1nan inc,fusivemann •r from th:eir first interactions with the stu-denits.
Th,1-u uaHy tarts with, lect,urers.us.in1g,
inclusive and participatory teachings ra egies
(Grav , 2000; Vella, 1995, 2000)

For in t n , t achers may introduce th,emselves to students, first as individu Is

an.d h. n s ubject s_pecialists,and ncourage s uden s to introduce thems tves s
wen.Th s introductions faclUtat ~ 1nvolvem nt and commitment from the very first
enco,unt r. St dents usu Hyrespond by sh.owing ,grea er confidence in the words and
actions of a I - ur r who has in,dicated a wiU.ingnessto take,the lead n•dlcommi to a
relationshi,p of ust and car,ng with st~Jdents.

•
How do· we ap•plythi:sto a school classroo-m?We will UiSe hr e values from the work of
Shor, a ,cri ica1educ t·onaf theoris ·, to illustrate in practice how t,o apply aped gogy •of

4 I B comi g a eacher
care in a school .classroom.You can,read more about his other va[u,esin his .booklisted
in the referenc,eson ,pa,ge44..It is first important to understand the thinking behtnd
his m,ethod.
1

Shor (1992)d'escribesthe fonowing thre _values ,ina earner-centr,edcurricufum:

• participation
• feelings, whic,h he calls the affective component
• probfem posing in the classrooim.

Thesevalues affirm the learnersast'responsible,capabl,eh,umanbeings'' {Shor,1992:21)

a·ndadvance cri ical and caring pedagogy for transfor,m,in,g
e.ducat,io,n
and society.

Particip,ationestablishesthe foundations for an interactive pedagogy from the

very begi.nn1ngof the teach,er'srelationship with t,helearners.The affective value
recognisest e impo,rtaintHnkbetween the learners'emotions and the;irthiinking, or
c,ognitiveprocesses,during l·earning.Problem posjng focus son power relation·sin the
,classroom,·n,learning nstitutions and in th dominance of certai,nforms of knowledge
in society (Shor,1992:31). In combfn tion, these three va.lues- partrclpation, problem
posing • d an -ffirma ion of the affective component - set the basisfor a c ring
cilassroo·m1and a caring pedagog,y that challenges passiv · ducationaf practices and
the bored'om.and inert'a o,flear ers in th· ducat·onal process.

•
h valu .of partic •p 10n
Par icipation . n bles t. chers to stabfis,hand maintain con,ditions in which learners
1

c n en r into •caring educational r-lationship wi,th·,hem and wit,h the other learners
in the c'I ss.l1fteachers start with par ici1patorystr t- gies o communlcat and eng g .
instead of w,ith t,eacher-t tk,th1 y s t th to,nefr.omthe beginning fo er· ting a, cari,ng
· ommunity of !,earnersin th,eclassroom 1•

l,ns,uchan nvironm.ent,each 1.arner first enters . caring rel. tioniship with the
•ch, r as an individual a.nd,th ough th, t, x m,ple,.l,earnsto b. come 'part of c ring
r lationships w1 h ,o her I arners in the wi1de.r,cl ,ssroomcomm,unity. or xampte,one
w y o . nsure th's in .practicersfor teachersto start th - ye r by discussing with 'learn.rs
w .o they are and why·they ar th1_re. l arn rs sh,oufdbe encouraged to sh re thes
pects of their I · rning with each,,other fn .safe and secur environm nt, pr ferably
in roups of two or three (dyads or tr:iads),prior o lar er g:roup ·haring(G.ravett,2000;
V n , 1994, 1995,2000).

In he ·roup-sharing x rc1se,th teacher also rev als so,methings about h rs If

r hims l'f as an individual; first some personal informat ion, such .sfood lik s -nd
1

i lik s, ·c.,then her or hrs identity as a profi ssion-1sp cialist, by sh ring ex:pertisein
1.dingthe.ir.lear,ning
..Through th,isway of te ching, le rn rs come to s e th t ach -r

e t • che; a,sa caring profe ional I 35

 as more than just a subject speciafist, but ats,oas a person with ,hopes,weaknes.ses
an,dexpectations, as someone who has a Iiifewith aHits different parts. Thi'Ssh,aritng
- givtng an,dtaking - creates a,workable and fle,xible structure for ,establis,h~ng
• participatory r,efationships,for communication and engag·ement that is grounded
•
,,ncaring withi:n the classroom, This aspect, lin our view, is missing from schools.
We hope that establishing care as a foundation for teachi.n,gand learning ca,ntransform
classrooms into coop,erative and:coUaborative learning spaces where .learnerscan
work together to realise their h,opesand dreams despiite their d1ifferentcultures,
languages and reU,gions.

- The i,deaof participation is linked to the, view of active learning promot.ed by D'ewey
as,early as 1924. He argued that"education is not an affair of'tel'lin,g'and being tol,d,
but an1active and constructive process" (,D'ewey,1924.:46)..When you invite lea,rnersin
yout classroom to participate in anmaitters r,elating to their learning, you give the,m a
•
hopeful :mes a,geabout their worth and their ability to co ntribute t,o the,ir own lives
1

and society {Shor, 1992).They are encouraged to, take charge of their :learning,and take
a1nactive role in the ed,ucational process and1in transforming society through their
thoughts and actions.

This particip,ato,.ryapproach is typical of the teacher who is 1nflu,ence,dby Nod,dings'

- views of carin,gdiscuss,edon p,ages30-33. Such a teacher shows learners care by
considiering the fearne:rs'needs and Jl'oints of view fro•m th,e very beg.inning. An
exam,pl',ewould be inviting' f.earnersto first define the concepts.particular to an ar,ea
of s udy in their own terms, language and words befo e introducing th,e acad'emic 1

discourse Th,eacademic disco,urs.ecould then be introduced by indf,cating how the,

particular area of stud'y con1nectswith the leairners'world a:ndUves,and by giving
exa:mplesfr,omth,e,lived1reafity ,of learners, S·Othat they can identify with it. These
interact,ive dialogues betwe,e,nlearners and teachers,a,rethe starting point that then
becomes the basis on which to bui:ld and ,extend cari,ng relationship with others,
both in ed,ucation and in the greater society.
1

For example,..before discuss,i'ngth,e topfc of heal hy eating, it would be effective to let

1,earnersshar,etheir knowf,edge,and experience of eating or buyin,g diffe;rent fruits. The
id,e,ais to begin w,th what ts famUiar to th,e·lea.rners,rather than ta,tking only from the
p,erspective of the teacher. SimHarly,if there is .aconflict between two, learners, it is
important to enab,lethe learn,e·rsto, engag.e in,a dialogue a.bout the conflict, aUowin:g
them to identify the source of the ,problem, and then to bring the, pr,oblem to the
att,entiion of the whole class with1out ,naming the two children invo,lv,ed.The teacher
could th,en,e p:lore with learners the differ,ent ways in w.hich the conflict could have
,been olved.

36 I B coming e che
The value of the affective
Valuing the affective means recognising the link between learners' emotions and
thinking, or cognition. Dewey (1915, 1924) stressed that learning is a social interaction,
involving both thought and feeling. This suggests that teachers show students that
they care for them by becoming familiar with "their languages, their themes, their
conditions and their diverse cultures" (Shor, 1992: 23). In South Africa this does not
mean that a teacher should know all 11 official languages, but that she or he will at
least know who speaks which as their primary language.

Furthermore, in order for teachers to recognise and affirm learners' emotions in the
•
learning process, teachers have to know their learners as individuals. A teacher can
only achieve this by carefully observing and listening to learners, by reading their texts
carefully, and by searching for clues hidden in what they say and present. Learners will
also only become aware that their teachers know them and care for them if they realise
that they are not being treated superficially, but are regarded as people with thoughts
and emotions, each socially and culturally distinct from the other. We believe this is
best achieved within a caring relationship in which the teacher receives the learner as a
whole person by becoming involved in the child's reality (Noddings, 1984: 177-178).

The value of problem posing

A participative, problem-posing classroom is one in which all learners feel safe to
express their feelings and ideas (Vella, 1994, 2000). According to Shor (1992), it is in this
safe space of sharing that learners can begin a critical study of themselves and their
society. Under these conditions, a pedagogy of caring is set in motion, in which learners
are encouraged to be curious, open, hopeful and responsible, and to enjoy learning in a
cooperative and critical classroom environment.

The caring teacher who employs a problem-posing pedagogy and promotes critical
reflection on academic subject matter, undercuts the dominance of certain forms of
knowledge and offers the subject matter for comment and critique. Problem posing in
a caring classroom is thus the direct opposite of transferring or'pouring in' information
and skills in a teacher-centred classroom (Dewey, 1915: 37; Dewey, in Shor, 1992: 45).
In a caring, problem-posing classroom, the role of the teacher is clear. The key to
transforming topical and academic themes into worthwhile and rewarding subjects for
learners is through first forming a relationship of trust with learners, using themes that
emerge from the learners' conversations.

The teacher who operates with an agenda of caring then determines when the time is
right to introduce topical and academic themes into this framework through dialogue
with the learners. This requires a sophisticated and complex understanding of the

Theteacherasa caringprofessional[ 37
 subject matter and an in-dep _hknowl'edge of the learners. In this way, a teacher
operates as the 'one carin,g'and "meets the studen di.rectly but no equaUy ... , bu ]
is capable of inclusion ... The teacher works with the student - he becomes her
appren ice and gradually assumes greater respons~bility for the tasks they undertake"
• (Dewey, in Gil.esand Eyter,1994: 79).

EstabHshing,and developing a caring, empowering curriculum thus requ·res great

courage on the part of teachers i . persevering in the fac,eof disinterest, disUkeand
resentmen from, e ,rners and their pas ible failur . ft also requires that such teachers
ca, e enough to put he educational·, moral and social needs of ·earnersfirst. If teachers
do not first care in the wayNodding; describes, how can they be observan enoug,h to
•
notice and respond to th,e cues of d.isengageme t and boredom learn rs send them?
Noddings points out that authentic caring occurs when we are able to put ourselves in
the shoes of others and see hings from their perspect ve (1984: 24-26).

Think about it
To sh,ow care a a teacher you have to be i·nterested in more han a learner's acad'emic
and school performance .
•
·Canyou identify th,ree·aspects from the section above hat you would have to care
about to be considered a caring te •cher?

Scenario
Implementing_: caring pedagogy 1in the classroom 1

Two teachers, Mrs Khanyi and Mr O'Brien, have been teach,ing at Khaya High
• School for a long time. One day they meet in the staffroom and start tal.king
about a new, young teacher, Ms J mfe, who has recently joined the staff a the
chool. Mr O'Brien tell . Mrs Khanyi: "I have heard from he ,learners,that Ms Jamie
tarted her first class by , elling them about herself and asking them to share
om thing ab,out themselves with each other in the cl'ass.She also thanks the
learners for their re ponses when they answ,erquesti,ons in the classroom. I don't
• 1
und . t nd why she does this. What purpose does this serve?The learners are
not our fri nds a.ndthey should be grateful that we teach them. Why should we
1 thank th m fo •participating in class?"
M,rsKhany,ipipes in: "The ,other day when f was passing her classroom, I saw that
, the learners were working in small groups and discussing the content What a
• waste of time! ThesechUdren must be kept busy anthe time with individual work

38 I B coming each r
 h
h

so that they learnto concentrate.Group work is just another fancy method of the
department of education that doesn'twork. I also heardthat she asksfor their views
about the learning content when she startsa new section of work and that she tells
them that shealso learnssomething new about the content from them when she
teachesthem. My view is that I am the subject expert and that meansthat I have
•
to impart the knowledge to them. How else are they supposed to learn what we
want them to learn?Why does she haveto ask for their views and question what
we are teaching them? It's hard enough getting them to learn the material I do
give them. I do not understand why she hasto do things so differently!"
•

Think about it
• How does Ms Jamie implement the valuesof participation and problem posing in her
classroom?
• How does Ms Jamie'spedagogy give attention to the affective?
In the above section, you have learned about the values of participation, the affective
and problem posing.
• Explainto Mrs Khanyiand Mr O'Brien how Ms Jamie'smethods/techniques are linked
to establishing a caring pedagogy in her classroom.
To show care as a teacher you haveto be interested in more than a learner'sacademic
and school performance.
• How does Ms Jamieshow this in her teaching/pedagogy?

Benefits of applying a caring pedagogy

This chapter has focused on enabling learnersand teachersto become part of caring
relationships in education. Learning about a pedagogy of care and how to implement it
hasthe following benefits:
• It can help you to step outside your usual and practised ways of knowing and
teaching and respond differently to your learners.
• As the cornerstone of an education practice it forcesyou to consider the issueof
socialjustice in teaching the curriculum.
• It can guide you to find your own voice and a different way of engaging your
learnerswith the learning material.We seethis as a transformative approach to
teaching and learning that can challenge the routine of automatic acceptanceof the
traditional roles of teachersand learners.

I
Theteacherasa caringprofessional I 39
-
• It can bre,ak the r,outine ,ofthe traditional ry acce·pted1
curri.cu<lumand offer you .a·nd
your learners greater a.utonomy by defini'ng how learning is related to issuesthat
affect lives, includin,g th,e fives of marginaUsed'gr,oups In society.

A pedagogy of care,fra.med by critical educational the·ories asksyou as aIstudent-

teacher to l'ink the process ,of learning with th,e tocation in whi,ch :ittakes place.
1

l't is also an invitation to cross borders in the way we view and c,reateknowledge in
education. A pedagogy of care thus .asksa teacher to consider knowfedge that fa Us
outside the noirmat boundaries (Gi,roux,1993). Such 'bor,der .knowledg.e'Is often created
1

by those on society's margins who are most influenced by issues such as cfass,race,
gender and,sexual orientatio1n,and also by .illnessessuch as Ai,ds.

An examp,le may ,bea knowtedge of famUy life that some learners may bring to•th,e
cl1.assroom
that differs from what is consi,der,e,dthe norm. For instance•,a learner bei'ng
brought up by a grandmother on an ojd~age grant win have a different percepti,o•nof
'home,.f.rom a leamer growing, up with a mo,ther and a father wh,o ha1veweU~pa:ying
jobs. Such bord.er kn,owledge becomes a resource in yo,ur studies an,dy,our· eachin·g,
becaus,eit encourages· he questioning of right and wrong, reaf and unreal, be t and
worst, and fair and unfair p.ractic.esfn tea,ching.

Think a·bout how afternative sources and for1msof knowledge, such as ind,igenous
knowt.edge systems, can be vaUd'form1sof ikno,wledge.These are generate,d outside
the traditionaHy accepted fo,rms;of knowledge, su·chas scientific research written
down in acade,mictextb,ooks and journal articles ..For example, think a.bout how some
traditi1onal h,erba·Iremedies ~.reeffective in fightin,g certain aUments, but be,ca1use
p

they were not deve·foped by scientists in raboratories,they may not be ,consid,er,ed

.fegit'mate ..

A ca1r·ngpedagogy·n ct10 •

MrsPilla.yteaches Enghshi1.nGrades4 and 6 at a Johannesburg primaryschoot

1

As part of the curr.iculum fior these grades sh1euses fables for te ching language.
Fablesar - short stori·es,usuany with animals .asthe ma·n ,characters,wi ha
moral lesson in the·story. Part of the specificaims of th lang·ua,gecurriculum
the le rners a•bou he structure ,of a fable·as a r,t .r ry g,e.nre.As an
1is1each1in9
.ccompUshed teache-r,Mrs PHlaytries to establish a caring relationship with·
her I arn rs. Sh is firm bu kind .and speaks o the learners in a g n I nd
 ,.
calm manner.She also believes in positive reinforcement and is against
any punishment that humiliates learners.When her learnersdo not follow
the rules or do not complete their homework, she usually speaksto them
quietly about the consequencesof their actions and tries to make them
understand that complying with the rules and doing their homework is for
their own benefit.
As an experienced teacher who understands how to teach young learners,
she usesmany different instructional strategies in her lessons.Shealso
•
believes in leading by example and often brings additional learning and
teaching material to support her lessons.Other instructional strategies she
usesinclude getting her learnersto write their own fables as an expressionof
creative writing. As there are many learnersfrom different cultural and racial
backgrounds in the classroom,she asksa few of them to share the fables they
are most familiar with with the class.Mrs Pillayalso sometimes invites parents
to come to classand participate in storytelling and talk about fables from their
own cultures.Thesemay not always be stories that are captured in writing in
published books, but may be fables that have been passeddown from one
generation to another. In this way, Mrs Pillay both makesthe lessonslively and
interesting, and integrates informal knowledge and indigenous knowledge
systemsinto the school curriculum.
Mrs Pillay believes in providing opportunities for learnersto work in groups to
'unpack the story: determine the moral lesson and envisagealternative endings;
she usesclasstime to encourage this interaction and tries to vary the racial and
language compositions of the groups. Shethen askseach group to dramatise a
fable in class,allowing them to write their own scripts based on the original fable
and to dressup for acting out their parts.The learners love this section of the
curriculum and Mrs Pillay has had much positive feedback from parents about
how much their children are learning about responsibility, caring for others,
patience, what it means to be South African and about the importance of putting
effort into their school work. The learnersthemselveshave told Mrs Pillay how
the active learning methods she usesmakesthe lessonsenjoyable for them.

I
The teacherasa caringprofessional 41
•
 T,hinkabout it
• Provid,ean example from the scenario whe .oc1aljustice has been c,on,sideredin
• the curriculum .
•
• How does this scenario help you in responding to your learners' learning needs?
• Mak ,alist of the various ways rs PiUayprovides for learners to engage with the
learning materi I.What are the ,advantages of h se me hods?
• C n you add ,one new instructional strategy o help learners engage more • ith the
maiterfail?Why have you chosen this strategy?
• How does Mrs PiUaysh,ow th ('earnersthat, al hough she is the teacher, she is not the
•
only authority on f ble in the lassroom? Name a, lea two wa,ys·n which she does
this. What lesson do you think learners are learning I ere?
• How are indigenous knowledg systems accommoda ,ed in M.rsPiHay' classroom 1
•
• Identify hree examples of how ·the values of particip .tion, problem solving nd the
aff c iv are cons·dered in he seen . rio.
• Write a sh,ortess yin which you expta·n how rs PiHayis ·mplemen ing a p dagogy
of care framed by critical educational theories in her classroom. Try •o dra . on he
• vario,u subsections of h • chapter in ord r to answer th q,u s ron.

·-----------------------------------------;
Conclusion
In •his ch p,ter we ha1v di cussed a1pedagogy ,of ,care,intea,ching and learning.
W,eh v pfac d our discussions within the •oncept of crit:ical theory to aUow you to
• vi'suar se ,he change from a knowledge of facts and proce ses to a knowledge that
addresses the question •Of why knowledge matters in the Uvesof your I arners. Such
knowl,edge can be described as condi, iona1or reflective. We argued that a pedagogy
of care Is import nt for teacher who pr paire learners for life and c reers in today's
so i ties. We are reminded of the powerful role te ch rs can play in bringing about
ociat chang,e. According to Nyerere (l972), t,eacher have the power to shape what
•
the country will becom1e.

42 I Becominga c er
 ' Glossary
Epistemologies: philosophical theories of knowledge
I Indigenous knowledge systems (IKS):informal traditional knowledge that is culturally
I •
specific and has been passeddown from one generation to the next
I
Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT):the language used for teaching and
learning in the classroom
Philanthropy: much like charitable work and means doing things for others who are
'
' lessfortunate, either becauseit makesyou feel good or becauseyou feel pity for them
'
and want to help

References
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I
Brookfield,S.D 1987.Developingcritical thinkers:Challengingadults to explorealternative
waysof thinking and acting. Milton Keynes:Open University Press.
Brookfield, S.D.2005.Thepower of critical theory:Liberatoryadult learningand teaching.
San Francisco:Jossey-Bass.
Bullough, R.V.(Jnr). 1997.Becoming a teacher: Selfand the social location of teacher
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- teachersand teaching,(Volume 1). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Dewey,J. 1915.Theschooland society.Chicago:University of Chicago Press.
Dewey,J. 1924.Theschooland society.Chicago:University of Chicago Press.
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Freire,P.1970.Pedagogyof the oppressed.New York:Continuum.
Giles,D.E.(Jnr) and Eyler,J.S.1994.The theoretical roots of service-learning.In: John
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Learning,1(1), 77-85.
Gilligan, C. 1993.In a different voice:Psychologicaltheoryand women'.sdevelopment.
Cambridge,MA: Harvard University Press.
Giroux,H.A. 1992.Bordercrossings:Culturalworkersand thepolitics of education.New
York:Routledge.
Giroux,H. 1993.Living dangerously:Multiculturalismand thepolitic_sof difference.New
York:Peter Lang.

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 Gordon,. M. 2004. Teachers.as Phitosophers: The purpose of Foundation courses in
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Grav tt, S. 2000. Adult {earning:Designing.and.implementinglearning,events.
A dialogic
approach.Pretoria Van Schaik.
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H_yes, E. and Cuban, 5. 1997. Borde pe.dag,ogy.A critrcal frame ork for service-
learning. MichiganJournal,ofComm·unityServiceLearning,4:72""80.
Hooks, B. 1'994.Teachingto tronsgress:Educa,tionas thepracticeof fre.edom.,NewYork:
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Kinche•loe,J.L.and Steinberg, S.R.1996. A tentative ,description of post-formal thinking:
• The critical confrontation with ,c,ognitive he,ory.In: P.Le·styna, A. Woodrum and
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S.A.Sherbfom (,eds).Breakingfree;Thetronsformativepowerofcriticalpedagogy.
Cambridge, MA: Harva~dEducatio•n.alReview.
Lei.syna, ,P.and Woodru1m,.A. 199'6.Context and Culture: What is ,critical pedagogy?. In:
P.Lei tyna, A. Woodrum, and S.A.Sherblom (eds}. Breakingfree.Thet.ranslormotive
powerof criticalpedagogy.Cambridg,e,MA: HarvardEducatio.nalReview.
McLaren, P.L.l 989. Lifein .schools:
An introduction to cririaJ'Ipedag,ogyin the foundation
of,education New York: Longman.
Mela en, P:L.1995.White terror and op 1posi iona1Iagency: Towards a crifcal
•
.mul icuf urah· m. 1ln:C.E.Sleet-rand P.L.Mclar n (eds). Multicultural education,cri.tical
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Drscourse as critica,Ieducation. tn: J'.C.•KendaU(ed).
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Raleigh, NC: NSIEE. ;
Noddin.,gs,N. 1998. An ethic of caring and its implic tion for instructional
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Nodding·s. N. 1984. Caring:A feminist approachto ethics,andmoral ,education.B rkeley:
• University of Ca:llforniaPress.
Nod'dlngs,.N. 1993.·Caring:A feminis,t perspective. l n: K.A.Strike and RL.li •rnasky (eds}.
1

Ethicsfor profession.a.ls
in educarion:Perspectives
for prep.orationand practice.New York:
Ti ·achersCollege Press.
Shor, I. 1992. Empoweringeducation:Cri ical teachingfor socialchange Chicago:
Un1i:v,ersiy of ChtcagoPress.
•
Tierney, w.,G.l 996. Academ,icfre dom and the para.metersof knowl dg . l,n:P.Lei,styna,
A. Woodrum and A.S.Sherblom1i(eds).Breakingfree:Thetronsformotivepower of
,criticalpedagogy. Caimbridg!e,MA: HarvardEducationalReview.
Tronto, .C. 1993. Moral bound:aries:
A political argumentfor an ethic of care.1Ne York:
Rou ledge .

omi g teac e
 •

. .

Jean Piaget
Assimllatlon and
LevVygotsky
Howard Gardner
accommodation Zone of proximal development
Multiple
• Scaffolding
Intelligences
•

The cognitive revolution and

child-centred teaching
BFSkinner
•
Positive and negative
reinforcement •
•
•
•
• •
•
• •
•
Behaviourism •
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•• •
•• •
•• •
•
•• •
•
Towards an
•
understanding Classroom
•••• •• The teacher as discourse and
of teaching and • ••••
educational theorist knowledge
learning
construction
•
•
•
•
•
•
•• Cognitive
•
• construction
lnrormatlon
processing
Perspectives on Contextualism
Constructivist teaching and learning
perspecuve on learning
• Social constructivism
•
' •
•
•
•
•

Learning theory
In South African
classrooms

Curriculum policy
r

At the end of this chapter you wiU be abl to:

• evaluate the usefuln_ssof theories of learning, nd give ex.ampfesof how

1

they hav - influenced educa ional methods

• explain what beha;viourism is and the effect it has had on teaching nd

leairningin South African cJasr,ooms

• di, cuss the eff c that th cognitive theori s have had on teaching1and
learn1ingin schools

• explain the thre phases of the info mation processing mod I

•
• ,de,sc1ribe
the first four cri1teriaof m diated learning expert nee (MLE)and
give examples of how you would appfy them in your teaching
• compare the interacth,e n rure ,ofthe constructivrst approach to hat of
rot learning

xplain the princip,les in ,h CAPSthat are referr d o in his chapter and

how th NCSlinks to cognitive learning theory.
 •

-. lntroduc.tion
·Canyou re.m:em,ber when you were a learnerat school, watching y·ourteacherstea,ch7
1
1

You proba.blyrememberthat they used differ-entm·ethods.So,.me ta,ughtby stain,dingin

•
front -ofthe classand giving you the information, whHeothers aske-dyou to work.more
independently and explore the i!nformationyours-elves.

As a teacher,you win find yourself work,ng1with coUeagu·es

who teach in d.ifferentways.
H,erersan ex.a.mpleof the kind o.fscenarioy,oumight encounter.

..

• D~ffere t teac ing methods

Lind· are havi.n1g
Piet a-nd1 tea in the staffroom They are discussin,gth,edifferent
1

• teaching methods t.he•yuse t,oteach their Grade8 class.Piet is of the opini,on

1

•
that the classle·arns better whe,nhe expla.insthe work in a step-,by-step ay
1 1

and gets the classto repea what he has explained.fn his view, this helps his
classto remembereach step of the wo-rk.L1in,di, however,prefersto a,sk h,e
class q:u stions so that they ,c n ,explorethe subject and'come up with answe,rs
•
In P.iet's.
t,hem:selves. v:iew,Lindi is not doing her job properly.He fee(sthat she is
not taking responsibiUtyfor teaching the clas,swhat they are supposedto know,
•
• and so wasting ,classti me Lind,1,however,feels that P1·etisn't encoura,gingthe
1

learner to,think fo.rthemselves.

As a learnerat schoo.lyo:uprobably enjoyed ,oneki:ndof cla.ssm-orethan,anoth,er~

,airperhapsyou f'ked the variati,onin t,eachingm,eth,ods.But did yo,uever think about
the th,eoriesbehind the difffrent teaching 1methods?Did you kinowthat teaching
styles, :nd methods are i'n.fl,uen-ced
.bydifferent explanationsof how teaching and
learning:ha-ppen? 1

Some people think that teachin•gis an easy job. Theythink that· he teach.ermust just
make the lessonsfun an·den ure tha the work is ,explaine,d.1,ear,ly.
1 But if teachi,ngwas •

th.at simple, almo,stanybody could be a teacher. We could go a,ndfind people who

spoke loudly and clearlyand,who had an enga,g.in19 personaHty.Wec.ouldg·ivethe work
to the te,acherthe nighit before and say:"M1ake
sure y,o,uexplain it clearlyantdthat he
11,earners
are listening to yo.ul"

But teachersusu.aiUy study fo,rtl1reeor four y •ars to becomequalified. So,what do

they do during t:hattime? Partof what they study concernsthe processesof teaching

48 I Beeom ing a teach r

and learning. Understanding these processeshelps them to design lessonsthat are
effective, interesting and suitable in a variety of learning situations.

This chapter shows how teaching styles and methods are influenced by the frameworks
the teacher usesto understand how teaching and learning happen. Theseframeworks
influence the relationship between how the teacher teaches and how the learners
learn, and are called theories of learning.

Theories of learning try to explain how knowledge, skills, values and attitudes develop
in learnersas they grow older and passthrough the schooling system.This chapter
works from the belief that teaching is not a simple, practical task that anybody can do.
Only by understanding what happens in the relationship between the teacher teaching
and the learner learning can we understand how to become excellent teachers.

It is important to bear in mind that what happens in a classroomdoes not only depend •
on the day-to-day actions of the teacher. Many other factors influence the classroom
situation; for example, the background of the learners,the socioeconomic environment
of the school and the diversity of the class,such as in language, race, religion, and
physical or learning abilities. In considering these factors, the teacher draws on
theory from various disciplines, such as economics, history, sociology, philosophy or
psychology.

Thesedeeper meanings and lasting explanations are created by theorists who have
observed and researchedthe work of many teachers,often in different parts of the
world. The experiencesof teachers all over the world make the work of teaching
Interesting and remind us that we are not alone in the problems we encounter.

In this chapter we are not able to go into all the theories that can help us understand
11clucation. We will, however, show how the various aspects of the classroom interlink
with the theories behind them, so that learning theory does not stand apart from the
different classroom realities under varying circumstances.In this way we will try to give
11holistic view of what lies behind the challenging task of being a teacher.

Ihis chapter begins with a brief discussion of intelligence and the developments in
llylng to test intelligence. It then introduces you to some important learning theorists
f111111different fields of psychology.The work of these theorists has influenced how we
1111clerstand learning and, therefore, how teachers plan and teach lessons.

I hlr.chapter is only an introduction; if you want to know more about these theorists,
vu11c.anfind ideas for further reading in the referenceslist on pages 69-70. The chapter
11d•,l>yraising some questions about the link between learning theory and the South
Altle,,n national curriculum for schools.

Theteacheraseducationaltheorist I 49
 •

Towardsan understa ding of teaching 1

and lea,rn·ng
You ·may have h.e rd teach.ersreferring to their learners as being more or 1less
intel.ligent. What do you thin.k they mean by thi,s?If we rea,dabout re.arningth,eories we
fi1nd out that not everyone und. rstands the concept o,f intelligence in the same w y Let
1

us look at some different ways.in which intelligence has been conceptualised and think
about what this mig.ht me n for teaching an,dlearning.

The 1950s and: 1960s saw th rise of the powerful psychometric m.ovement nd th
evelopm nt ,ofthe intelligenc quotient (IQ) , est. IQ t•est·ng became, an,dstill is, .
m jor tool of asses men· and p,redictor of academic and occupat·onar outcomes
1

Thus,.people talk about som,ebody wi ha h,i -h IQ as being clever and hkeiy o achiev
· ucc ss in choot, at unive.rsity o in th,e world of work.

• A significa.nt ar,gument ag fnst IQ testing,, how v r,.is hat It canno predict adapta,bUi y
to real-life contexts. Furthermore, he scor s ca1nlead to he idea hat tnteUig nee is
fix d nd unch .nge bl: , and ignore th underlying cognitive pro ces.s•es of individuals
1

and th," ir, otentr I to row nd ch nge. li · c.h rs who v:iew intelligence fix dare
likeiy to h v limited xpecta ion of th i1rlear .. rs' capacity to I arn .and be pessimistic
•
about th ir pro r ss.A mo 0·pti.misticvI w is the beHef hat i ntelligenc an change
1

and b sh· ped so h t ev • ryon, has the pot n,tial to, become a mor ffective .I arner.
•

You und rs .n.ding•ofth ,dev,e·,lopmentof cogn tive process· s nd th.· notion of

in Hig· nc will infiu .neeyour t chin,g style. Sine - •·<=>~ct
rs. re he key tom king
I arning possibl , their.~ ttitud · s, b Ii· fs nd fe lln,gs out wh th ns in he
classroom are crucj ,I (Lomof ky, Ro erts and Mv . bi, 1999}. In outlining .h th or1. s
:.bout how ch ldr n I rn, this cL,a,pt r aims to provi you wi I h.eth ore 1caltools to
t ach a v.ari.ty of I ..rn rs to th ir fulf pot n i I.

Two heo etic I fr meworks for I . rning .r discuss d in his ch .pter, namel,y
1

beh viourism nd cognitivi .'. W hav provid d grea r discussion on the cognitive
h, ori s b- c use of th 1nflu nee they h ve h don our und,erstan ..in,g,of thin,king
proc ss ·s nd subsequ nt a preaches tot chin,g and le rning.

Be aviourism
A· ti g.innin of the twenti th centu y, the b aviou rfstic p •ro _chwas prominent
1

in the fi Id of sychology n edu,c ,tion. Stron ly influ · need by he work of s· Skinner

(1904 1990), the .b haviourists xpl -i,n,edbehaviour as being le rn d. The focu w s on1
1

external event a th· cau e ,of chang sin observabl beh viour.

Beh vjourists believed hat an new human behaviour is le rn d r ther than inn,.. e,, nd
1

th· ir emphasls was therefor ·on the· ol e of learning. Howev r, th y recog·nised only
1
outward beha.vio·urrather than inner psycholog1ical
,p ocesses.Their view of learni1ng
was based,ona stimulus to w hich the ind·ividualmakesa respo,ns,e.
1

The outcome of the initial responseinfluencesfurther responses.If the behavio,uris

rewarded,t'h1sreinforc,esthe ch,anceof a similar be'h,aviourin futu e; if the responseis
1

,punished,this ten,ds.to prevent simi'larbehaviour in futur,e.

Behaviouriismhasbeen cri icisedfor ,beingtoo sim,,plistic,.

aspeople do not ·simply 1

respondto rei forcemen and punishment.Vygotsky(1978),for exa,mple,argued.that

.hebeha,viourism•ethodwas not dequatefor the study of co,m,pl,x psychological
rocesses.Howev,er,behaviourismhas infl'uencedclassroomteaching.and schoo:I
organisation,n m ny w _ys,p-articula,rly through the us of reinforcementto,help modify
haviour.Differe ,ts imuli can ither ncour ge or suppressbehaviours.Thisc n occur
•I,rough rew rd or posit·ve reinforceme -t, but lso thro,u:ghnegativ reinforcemen.t.
g ,tive reinforce en occurswhen a personi's voidanceof doing:somethi·ngis
r iinforced,such aswhen arlearnerg.ets headach1e beiorea test and is reward d by
·, Ing allowed t.ostay ho:meand not wri,teth,etest. Punishm,entc n alsotake two forms.,
It . n b •given,for exampledetention after school,or it ca·n ea remo·valof privH ge ,
i ·r x m·ple,no being al1owed to go ,on schootouting. Reinforcem nt an .alsobe
wl·hhe:ld,aswhe,n,the teacherig,nor s th, disru,ptjvebehaviourof a le rner until th
l haviou,rdisappe.ars. Thisis called exti ction.

, h skilful t ach r or p r nt learns.tor,· wa d children for good b havi.o.u.r

rath r th n
unIs ing for bad behaviour (Skin-n.er, 1973).Suchate cher or p rent beli -ves it is
t r o r,einforcedes,lr-d behaviours th n ,op·unishundesirableb -haviours.

, •x ·m.le of reinfor,cinggood beh viou:rin the classroomis a token systemfor learners

·u up th i hands instead of calling:out in class.Eachlearn1er's
1
d sk could h v •
1

1 , mpty cup.Everytime learnersr memb r to put up heir handthey couldbe positively

i . ore d with a,token in the cup C lling out would resul in a tok n bein ~ removedfrom th ·
, 1 (p nis,h ment). he t _ach r co'uId initi te an agr ement th a c rt fn numb r of tokens
U . d1, eekwould resu in the 'le rner • rning a rew rd,suchasa long r b~-aktim-.

bo ti
k f ~-,.., examplesof posi iv nd ,neg, ive reinforcemen of ehaviour fro, -,your
ho Ung.01.vid h s in o behaviou h t as ncouraged v rsus eh viour tha
1prssed.
, .. 'di,· ....

, I i ·k of ex mpl s of punis'hm.ents,.nd divid them in o, hose th.a wer,egiven

os ha in1volvedloss of privileges.
y h:i:nkbehaviourism is,a use~ulth ory for underst ndi1ngle rning? Why do you
1 1

y i ?
 •

• •
The cognitive revolution and c,h.ld-cenitred
teaching
0
The cogn i ive app .oach to psychology influenced the development of ch ld-ce tred
teaching where teache,rsseek to develop va1riedand stimulaUng l'earn·ngenvironments
from wh'ch children can derive·cha lenging experiences (Pollard, 2002: 139).

The work of the cogni .ive psychol.og1stscontrasts ith behaviourism, which was,
interested in s iimulus and response rathe han the mental processesin between.

The stimulus-response •.,pproachcannot satisfa torily exp~a·nmore complex forms of

human learning. However, .he ,eis no single,cogn i•ive model or theory of learning that
•
rep.resentsthe whole field .

The cognI iv revol,u ion 1inlearning theory and educationat psychology can b
•
attributed to two great psycho.logists,Jean Piage of Switzerland and Lev Vygotsky of
Russia.Both made thetr significant contributions in the 1920s,but recognition came
in English-speakingcountries only when their work was transta ed into Eng.lish:for
Piaget after he 1960s, and forVygotsky ·n, he 1980s.Other important contribu ·orsto
cogni ive psychology and our unders nding of fearning include ReuvenFeuerste,in
and Howard Gardner. In this chap,ter e focus on three of these theorists and the
im,plications of heir h or"es for teaching.

Jean Piaget
J.eanPiaget (1896 1980) studied the cogn,ltive pro - ssesof chlfdren. He agreed wi h
he eigh eenth-century philosopher, Jean-JacquesRousseau,that a child is not a
mini ture adult, and th the mind of a chUd is no th mind of n adu ton a,smaH
cale. Instead, he held the view that · child's beh v.iour is quaUtativ fy different fr,om
that of an aduf . Piage 's con ribut'on gave insight in o the unique and self-important
cha,racterof childr n's thought.

The ne •t s ction provid s a bri f oudine of Piage 's theory of learning.

·,he natur- of ructure

Pi ;g t wa a btologist who began his r searchwith sea creatures. He b lieved that th
organism is ctlvely involved in d termining Its own development. He th·. n ca rled on
his ,res ·rch on the na ure •Of· • ructures by apply ng i to ch.fdr n.

Young child en tend o order . heir actions or thinking into systems or structures c Hed
schemes (sometim s referred to as schemata).The ch m • hen becomes ,Internalised
•
a,sa mental r,epresen•ation •Ofobj c s •nd ev •nts from exp •riences in the e nal
world. The me ta. 1epresenation of.a scheme is termed am ntaf o. eration, which is

52 I Becoming e c •e
now a more comp 'ex structure that obeys certain log:cal aws or rul:es.An examplle of
a child's scheme,for animals could be a mental picture of a fu ry four-,leg,gedcreature
1

that is not yet clearly defined. When the child reaches the stage of being abl to ,classify
1

animals into groups according to certain rures he or she is performing the mental
operation of classification or categorisatton.

In developing psychological struc ures, chi'ldren also tend o adapt to their environmen .
The two basic adapta •ion processes are ,ermed ass·milationand accommodation.
Assimilation involves trying to understand something new by fitting it into our exis.ting
schemes.Chitdren who see -catfor the first t1,mew·11try o ma ch it o what they already
know, and may can i a doggie. Accommoda ion occurs when they ,changethe'r existing
schemes because something doesn't fit An example is when a child I arns o distinguish
the category cat from that of dog and can see he sim' a i ies and differences be ween
the two. Changes tn th 'nking take place hrough a process of equiiliibration, which •s
the act of sea.rchingfor a balance b tween assimil ·on and accommodation, Eachnew
I arning e perience causes a,ni1mbalance or disequiUbrium. This cognitive conflict
1

r corrected by fo·ming new nd more complex sch m,es hrough. ssimila ion and 1

ccommodation in a dynamic p ocess of adaptation to at ain equilibrium.

l get believed that the develo·pment of hinking oper; tions, such as the abHi,y to
mpaireand categorise, is th· sup eme charac eris i of intelligence. He saw this
f vetopment as unfolding i,'na serie ,ofs.tagesfrom infancy o adol, scence, volving
f m automa c, or reflexiv behaviour to logical, abstract think ng. He argu d hat the
p-cific timing of the stages may vary b n chil'dr n, but hat afl children move
nJU ......

I ough th m in he same order. Th underlying cognitive struc ures are disti,nct fo ach
t e. Pi,age id n ifl d four developmental st g s of cogn'itive grow h (Woolfolk, .2016):

Sen ori motor st g (0-2 year ): Thi:sstag is t the I v I of ac ions a,nd;languag •

d velopment. Intel igence akes th form o motor ac ions, and children exp r ence
h m,at.athrough mov •ment and activity. Object perman nee develops when th y
n e tha an object xists ven when they cannot s, I .
Pr §op r t1on I t ge (2-_ y · rshTh's is known as h • • uitive s ag b cause
• ildren reach concl'us ons b sed on vague ,m res ions and perceptua judgemen s.
h y cannot thin logic Uy,and exp rienc conflict b tween perception nd me ta I 1

J o sses.Thinking i still self-cen red, and chUdren can only see things from th i
wn point of view. For exa,mple,while d riving in a car they mayask why he moon is
1

!lowing them.
, rel oper t,io I st g (7-12 ye 1rs):A he age of abou s v n, children arriv
1

, I threshold of logical thinking and be om ·able to compare, cat go i e and

heir thinking ..Th y c n, for ,exampl , und rs and that 3 + 5 I the sam as
. Thinking is stUI link d to dir ct expe ience. Int ,liigence becom s logica I bu 1

-nd on concrete ac 1viti s; hey s i11cannot hink in abs racts or hypotheses ..

T e , ach r e Kation I t eor s I 53

 •

• Formal operational stage (12-15 years): This is the period where thinking
becomesabstract. Children can organise information in many different waysand
engage in hypothetical 'if-then' thinking.
• In Piaget'sview, children's learning is not dependent on interaction with an adult.
Hebelievedthat childrenshould be in stimulating environmentsto interactwith objectsand
the socialworld and develop matureforms of reasoning,asdescribedin formal operations.

Piaget'snotion of developmental stageswith qualitative changesin intelligence

resulted in a new picture of how learning happens.Instead of a stimulus-response
approach to learning, Piaget stressedthat mental processesare the key ingredients of
development and that in order to learn, children have to understand (Stainthorp, 1989).
The focus fell on how children solved problems, rather than merely on the content they
produced (Lomofsky,1994).

Piaget'stheory hasa number of implications for teaching:

• It facilitates teachers'understanding of the maturing of cognitive development.
• The teacher is in a better position to know what to expect from learnersand how to
structure learning tasksappropriate to their level.
• The theory views learnersas actively engaged in their own learning as they develop
• cognitive concepts.

There has,however,been criticism of Piaget'sstagetheory, indicating that certain

aspects,suchasthe sequenceand ages,should be treated with caution (Donald,Lazarus
and Lolwana,2007:84-85). Piagetdeveloped his theory in a socialcontext that is very
different from our South African society.Thus,there may well be much variability in the
way in which children/lean1ers move through the different stages.On the other hand,
Mwamwenda (1994:84),who investigated researchon children in different settings
acrossAfrica,concluded that Piaget'stheory can be validated cross-culturally.He refers,in
particular,to the contribution of formal schooling to cognitive development.

Lev Vygotsky
WhilePiagetfocusedon the inner restructuringof a child'sthoughts,Vygotsky(1896-1934)
emphasisedthe social context of learning. He attributed to the social environment
a special role in cognitive development. As the child acquireshabits of thought and
judgement largely through interacting with others, the interactions with people in
• one's own culture are specifically important to a child's development. According to
Vygotsky,all psychological processesare initially shared between the child and an
adult or a significant other. Cognitive activities, such as problem solving, are first
learned in interpersonal settings, and then become internalised,self-regulated skills,
so that the child can think and work more independently and no longer needs
assistancefrom others.

54 I Becominga teacher
Minick (1987; , 24) explains that the basis of Vygotsky's theory is the idea that
"adva:nced1 menta'I processes have their origin in coUaborativ,eactivity that ·s mediated
by verbal i1ntera tion'~W'hat c1hild,renneed help to ,d,otoday they will be ab,leto do
by them,5elveslater. The adult, ,or significant other primary caretaker, determines
two things: (1) the learners' actual developmenta1 l,evelof pro,blem solving without
adult help, and (2) what they can d.o with adult guidance. When children, work at their
own l1evetwe see the actual ,develo:pmental'level of the learner. When they work in
coUaboration with an adult, we see their potential development as they tearn with a
competent nurturing med1,ator.The difference, between these two levels of functioning,
is called the ,zoneof proximaldevelopment (ZPO').(Vygotsky, 1978: 86-87)

The process o,f instruction d.uring which :1earne,rs

move from theiir actual to their
potential level of deve,opment is caUed mediation.Since the 1.970s, educationists
h. ve also developed th.e term scaffotd·ngto describe the act,ivities the teach,er
constructs to help rearners learn. Although mediated learning is central to Vyg1otsky's
theory, he did not fuUy e'laborate on the role of the human mediator. Feuerstein's
theory and practice of the mediated l,ea.rning experience,(MLE)fills this gap 'by
. ssigning the major role to a human mediator, such as a teacher.

Vygotsky's notion of th,e social context of learn;ing has a number of implications

fo edu, ation:

tt emphasises worki ng together with others in co,llaborative tearn,ing.,

1

It attri butes a s·ignificant role to t:he parent, teacher or other educator.

1

• It shows how ,learnerscan learn and progress to new levels with guidance
from others.

Vi sily Davydov further developed Vygotsky's ideas into a theory of learning known
activity t heory (1986, in Kozulin, 1990).Activity theory understan,d.sactivity as the
1

r era. tion between people and the world vta symbolic psychologic I tools, such as
writing. A.ctivity theory argues that peop,le behave actively towards the dtfferent as,pects
f their wodd, thereby changing these aspects and.changing them etves in the process.

xpla,n how higher mental processes ,develop,Vygotsky div ded the concep,ts
I, rne s acquire into two types, namely spontaneoiu ..and scientific. Spontaneous
nceptsemerge from the ch'ld's everyday experiences, and are empirical and
n ystemati'C.Scie,nt"fic concepts are theo etical ideas that are,systematic; logical and
1 •' boL nd. These develop th,ro,ug:hstructured activity in the cla sroom. It is scientific
I rntng that promotes cognitive development. Scientific concepts are not limited to
1 ntifi ,learning areas bu include literature, art, history and languages. The ,purpose
1

t f rmal,schooling i to, provide opportunities for cognitive devel.opment throu,gh

y t at·c scientific learning (Kozulin, 1995}.
0
......

h eacher as educational heoris I 55

 Th,,eZPO can1be viewed as a zone 1nwhich sci,entificconcepts introdueied by the teacher
interact with the ex.isti:ngspontane·ous concepts in the child. For example, children1in
Grade 5 have some everyday spontaineous knowledge of the animal and ,plant world.
They r,eceiveinstruction in biological classification about d ifferences between plants,
1
1

animals, vertebrates and invertebrates. T1heythen ma,ygo on a,nouting to a ,nature

reserve where they may be give.na problem to solve by 01bservingplants and animats and'
by applying th1eirknowledge t,o create their ow,n classificati,ontabl,e.In doing this, they
move from theoretical sctenitific concepts to spontaneous concep·tsthat are a necessary
basis for a h1ighertype of 1,earningat school (Ka,rpovand Bransford, 1995).

We ca1ns,eein ,heabove exampl1e how the each1erhas offered g uided discovery 1

learning as op posed to 1unguideddiscovery learn ing. Using Vygotsky's id'ea ,of a zone
1 1 1

1le·arne.rsbetween
of p,r,oximaldevelopment, we can see that the teacher is mo:vin1g
different developmental zones. Th,ef0Jlo,wi1ng
1
steps a1pply(Giest ,and Lompscher,
2003: 272): 1

• The teacher creates conditions for learning in1the zon•eof actuat perfo.rmance by
stimul'ating a problem situation, or cog nitiv,e conflict, to find out what th,e learners
1 1

do no,t y •t kn1owor can1n,otye,t do, what tihe,ycan do weH,an,d'Why

• Guided a,pplicatio,nand systematic rearn·ng in the ZP'Dhel ps learners acqui.rewhat
1
1

they need t,o know ,andbe ab,l,eto do in or,der to solve th problem ,and reach th,e
1

.rearn1ng goal.

• In:the third phase of developmental teaching the ZPD becomes a new zone of
1

actual performance. Then w phase of teach,ing starts at a higher level' and a new
ZPDopens.
Gutded le,arnin·gcan teach people new ways 0 move beyond their take:n-for-girante,d
1

way of looking at th,e • orf,dar,o,undthem and ope.n them to new possibUities. Guide dl
1• 1 1

learn,ing may a:ttimes also.include .a,neleme,nt of ,confUctasp ople fa,cenew or difficult

••

situations De Beer ain,dHenning (2011) described1th,e .fearn,ingthat took place wh,en

st1ud nt-teachers spe,nttime together in the m,ountains, away from •heir usual pe,er
group, where they learned more about the values nd fanguages of different groups in
th c,ountry and got to know their fellow South Afr,fcanciti,zensand university peers ai
I

littl,e bet er.Through this interacti,on,,stude,nt-teachers.becam,eexposed to issues tihey

1

m,aynot have,experienced before,,s,uch1as raci· I bia1s,HIV and .Aids,-nd the 1povertyand

1

m ,r,gina,Usat1io.n experi. 1nced.by s.omeof 'the1i1r

fellow st.udents.In Jearn·ng to appreciiate
th,e lives of ,others,,studenit-teachers,w re taken out of their comfort zone ·nto a zone
of development. The d,iscomfort that the,y xperience ,bec,om s,part of thei1rpe,rsonaf
,g,ro,wth1, s future teach1ers.

56 I B coming,a e c er
The learn.ing theorist Hio·wardGard,ner(1943-) is associ ted with the c,oncept of
m,ultipleinte .ligences This theory argues tha different people have strengths in
,differen areas ·of learning, and that teachers mus not base th•e1rteaching only on the
domjnant inteUigences used ·n schoolt usua ly verba1/H1ng:ulst·c (langua,ge),and fogi, af/
m,athematicar (numbers), as some learn,ersexpress themse ves better through o he
forms of inten·gence (Gardner, 98,3;Howfe, 2011).

he teacher needs to plan lessons in ways that e.ngage learners with varied
inte1ligences, or else some fe rners wil( not ,get ·f ir opportunity to do wel'I at school.
• ome learn,ersmight even think they a e not inteUigenit, when, in fact, they have
ifferent intelligences to those b ing tested t that tim .

dr w her on Gardne.r'soutline of the different intefligences (1'983) to provid some

>< mpfes of how t achers might think about lesson planning:

Logica-mathe_ at1c I How can ,Iinclude num·bers,cla ..sification, critical thinking

nd calculations?
Verb·a-l"'ngu1st·cHow can 1inclu·de reading, writing
1
nd sp aking7
us c I. How can I 1includemusic, sounds, rhythms and d nee?
t ·,r•r t c. How can t include the stu,dy of naitur sp i , such plants
nd nimals7
·-=-•"'-"""'t1
I~How can I include vlsu .Is,colours, art, graphs a d pictures?
• y ki ae thet1c.How can I include movement, exercis , dr ma nd er fts?
ntr p rson I. How ca,n f include privat · fe rnlng tim and I a n r choice?
I erperson. I:.How can I ·nclude group work, p r sharing nd discussion?
1 x1 t,e i I Wh ,t can we I arn from this to h rp us build b tter soc~ ty?

1 o,ntributton of H'ow rd G 1rd'.nein,1multiple intelHgences (G rdn ,r, 1983, 2006)

w en ion to th, f. ct that c1hildrenmay d'lff r in h:ow th y l,ea.n through differ nt
Utiesth t represen h I -arn rs' str ngths nd,weaknesses Teachers need t,o
ar of how tom diat,e to the differ,en modalities.

m le, whe s tting up le rning centres ,inth cl ssroom th r, ,hOU!.ld

b space
1 n .uaae .and Ute , cy, art and er a.tive h. ndwork,. buHd,ingblocks for models,
1

ic pt y, m ths and science, and so on. All oft 1:isw:ill le,adto ff c ive I - rning
t'viti s r prep r din a structured way so s to b mediation1 I. n . th, m •
H ·rd , fo ex mpre, a, d1isp,lay
1 tabl in the clas room could show prctur of
, ird's, ont in birds' nests, feathers an,deggs, and ai Uv ,pet bird. h children
• o compl te sentences rfps, starting with, 11Describe a bi1rd'that yous e .... '~
i . ur .of hat bird .... ", "How would you compare this with . noth -··bird ....?"
 On c,ompletionof these activities the learnerscouildreceive·ieedbackffom,the teacher
and discussth,eirvaried responseswith othierf,,eairners.

l:nsummary~of all th,ea,pp.roach,es,discusse,da,bove,cognitive·theory informs

.approachesto teaching,and learni,ngand is ab,out.howf,ea,rners ,und'erstandthe
material or conten,tthat is pres,entedin the classroom1.Without med·at,edlearni;ng
by a, more knowledgeab.leperson,childr,enar,eunilikelyt,olearn or d,evef1op a deep
understandin,g,through disc,ov,e.ry,expo ure, activity an,d.trial-a,nd-erro,rapproachesor
intrins1'cmotivation.

Think abo,utit
• How does·theidea ,ofmultiple intelligences differ from the psychometn'Capproach
tha asdiscussedat the begi.nning of this chapter?
• Canyou rem,embr any lessonsa . schoolwhere I arnersweregiven .anopportunity to
use their d1ffere.ntintelligences?What was y,ourex,per,inee of these lessons?

Perspectiveson teaching and learning

The·key th,.eoriesdescribedabove have res,ulted in a n umber of perspectiveso,n
1 1

teaching a,ndle rni.ng.Cogniitive·psychiol'ogyportrays people as f,n,fo,rmation

processo,rs,and there are differi,ngmoders to sh,owhow this mechanismworks. Below
we provide a ,generaliseddescription1of how ·learnersprooessinforma,fon1to help us
un,d· stand t•hephasesof learning.

Information processing
Information processingi .•.. general te·rmand refers to a cogn1itiveperspe,ctivewhich
•
assumesthat •he human mind acti,velyreceives,stores.andusesinfo m ti•on.The process
in1volves
in,put,processand output. lnformatI,onprocessingdescribeshows nsory inpu
i perc,eived,.
tr nsformed,r duced,elaborate,d,stored,retrieved,usedand expressed.The
following diagram illustrates.the sequenc of stagesin which learnersp.rocess, or learn
informati,on.Keep·1nmind that these pro,cesses are hig.l ly inter ct1ve.

58 I B co,minga eache
er
METACOGNITIVE PROCESSES
Planning and monitoring thinking

INPUTSTIMULI
- ...
r PROCESSING OUTPUT
Vision Perception Expressedthrough
Hearing Concept formation action, speech or
1'. J-..
Tactile y Memory storage '
movement
V
Kinaesthetic Retrieval

Feedback

Figure 3.1 n,esequence in which information is processed

Source:Adapted from Woolfolk (2016:292)

l)uring the input phase,the sensory register takes in information via the senses.
fhis can occur via hearing, seeing, touching and kinaesthesia(muscle movement). If
Information received by the sensory register is not transferred to the short-term or
working memory within a few seconds,it is lost. To help the sensory information enter
l~drners'short-term memories, the teacher aims for active attention rather than passive
1cception.Think of the familiar phrases:"Are you listening?': or "look carefully at this!"
I he teacher needsto ensure that the learnersfocus on what is relevant, as the short-
lC'rmmemory can only hold a small amount of information.

the processingphase,the images in the short-term memory are perceived or

111
Interpreted to become meaningful, and problem solving and decision making take
,,lace. If the information becomes elaborated, organised and processed in this stage, it
1-.more likely to be stored in long-term memory.

I luring the output phase, ideas or actions are expressedeither through movement
(11.<J.
gestures,dancing), singing, music, speaking or writing. The output should not be
••xpressedimpulsively or by trial and error, but should be self-monitored or thought
ll11ough.This is where feedback is important, as teacher mediation is essential to
1~11courage learnersto become autonomous, independent learners (Stainthorp, 1989)
o that they can expressthemselves adequately.

Another important element of information processing is metacognition, which

tt11'1111sthinking about your thinking. The teacher can play an important role in making

I i1t 11C'rs
aware of how they are learning and using strategies for self-regulated learning.

The teacher as educational theorise / 59

 •

•
With this general background on in,Jormati,onprocessing in mind, we wiU now briefly
describe a particular perspective on learning, namely the constructivis perspective.

Constructivistperspect,iveo.nlearning
Th . constructivist perspective is grounded in the research of Piaget, Vygotsky a,nd
Feuerstein, as we.Uas Dewey and Bruner.The,reis not a ingle constructivist ·rheor.vof
learning; rather an emphasis on the active role of the learner in building understanding
and making sens,eof information. The focus is on making mean·ng and constructing
1

knowledge,, not ,merelyon memorising information ..Ma1nyalso co.nsiderthe s,ocial

- context a major fac·or in ,determining what one comes to, know about o,nesetfand
• the w,odd.
•
Many o'f he key concepts ,of,cognitive psychol.ogy,including schema theory and
,info.rmationprocessing,.are constructivist ideas..

•
Cogn1t1veconstruction
From a constructivist pers.pective,tea chi n9 aims not to transmit information, but rather
- o e·ncourageknowledge formation and d,evelop m,etacognitive processes for judging,
orga nisin,ga,ndacqui ing new inforimatio,n. Learnersa,reencouraged t 0 b active rather
1 1

than passiv,ein their learin.ing.Th· y a,retaught to plan and,direct the,ir own l,earnrngas
much as possible, and I e ch,ersact as mediators, fa:ciliitatorsor coaches.
•
As you can s,ee,this contrasts with the tradf ti on al :mode,oft,eaching in many South
Afr,icanclassrooms.The empha,s.fshas been on the t,eachertransm,itting facts.to learne,rs
who are expected to memorise them by ote learning

A e m,y,le.rn1ersle.arning?
Sch1oolA
The·silenc,e1ln he class oo,m asre ssuri,ngto Mrs MofeJ The ch "fdre,n re seated
quietly a their desk· wh,"fe,copying th,e History notes that she,wrote on the
board. She,·s satisfied that. he ,classis w Hbehaved and the childr n a,relea ning.
She willteHthe,mto take th notes home and I -a,rnthem, for a t,es sh has ,settor
1

th nx d y.

•
y
School .B
There is th- constant cha er of children·'svoices and much activity as the learner:
or'k individually or in sm Hgroups. • r Bonga, the cl,assteacher, i:smoving
betw en group·s of learners to observe, ques ,jon and make suggestions. This
·,san interactive classroom i1 h the learners doing experiments or surveys and
ng recording the resutts.They are engaged in discussions and problem-solving tasks.
The classroom a mospher • is encourag ing,the learners to use new stra egies to
1

1 explore and discover ne infor,mation.

What d'o you noti,ce a,bou he two differen approaches to learning? Use the scenario
bove to expla in in wha ways cog,nitiv,epsychology has influenced constructivis ,ideas.
1

11 re a,resome ways o apply the constructivist approach 11nthe organisation of

h crassroom:
Select instructional ma erials that learners can manjputa.te or use to interact with
their environment.
Choose activities that encou.rage learner obs.erva,ti,on,data gather ing, hypo hesis
1

sting and field trips.

U e processesand methods such as cooperative learning, debating and discussing.
Integrate curricula or subjec, s, for example, d vetop long-term th. matic ,proj cts
in a pr imary clas·sroom,and integrate maths, scien,ce,re,ading and writing (ada.pted
1

from Bruni,ng,Schraw and Ronning, 1995). An example would 'b to use he context
f sust. inab[e tourism in Sou·h Africa to teach ourlsm, geography, history and
•
onomIcs.

t x al m
11i is the view ha.tthought and experience ar,eintertwine,d with the context 'in
w i h th y occur. Aschildren and adults int ract, there is an interaction between
1

I th internal and external factors. Vygotsky emphasised the external social

r vironment. •ofI ·arn ng. The context or externat environmen of the learning
r • ts with· he lea·rners'inte nal schemata: the expectations they •bring to the
I , ning situ tion.

Th ah s uc ion I h o ·s I 61
 •

• Teachers can set the context tor tearni.ng ,byarranging tihe ,classroom in a pa1rticularway·
or taking the learners on .anexcursion to, a particular place.Theyalso need to act.,ivate
learners' prior k.nowledge (schemata) that influenc,es how th,ey look for, perc,eiveand
•
in·tegrate new kn,owiedge For exa1mple,rural and urban learners may have differe,nt
1

ideas abo,ut the sources of water. Rural learners may teU you that water c,o,mesfr.om a
r,iver or dam, and urban learners m.aysaythat it c,omesfrom a tap.

The context ,of the origin,aI learning affects the abiUty to transter kn1owledgeto
other situations. People may learn in1one context, yet fail to, ran:sferknowledge
to other contexts. They can be made consciously aware of the need to transfer
011itranscend what has been learned .rnone situat,ion to a different s:i1t,uation. Th~s
1

re,quiresthe sk1iU
of compar'ng similarities and differences by using c,ertain
1 1
thinking
criteria. Such co mi,paris0:ns.req.u,irethe .appHcation oif 1higher~o.rder
ski1Ussuch as analysing, categorisin1gor classffying, and making ded uctions by
1 1

1meansof syllogisms. We .andraw comparisons iindail'y hfe. An exampl1eof this

would be when we compare products. in a •upermarket in terms of their quafi y,
s.ize,weight and price .
•

B,yunderstanding th e steps involve,d in drawing systematic ,comparisons, l,earners

1

ma-yuse certain knowledge, concepts or principles to .brid,getheir u·nders anding of

•
other su·bjectso,r•Cont,exts.
Th.iswou:ld help them to, for ,example,compare different
periods i,n h1istory,climates in1geograp.hy, or th customs and festivals,of various
•• cultu:ra,fgroups. The question underpinning such comparisons would' be: 'Where
else,can,I a,pply this knowledge, concept or principle?" It is 1notthe, con e.ntthat
is transferred to other conitexts, but raither the process or steps used 1n ,drawi'ng
1

systematic c,ompa1risonsi

Socialcon tr- 'Cti ism

Cognitive theory places great ,emphasis 0 n social infl'u,enceson cognitio.n. Social
1

in·teractions are i1m1portantfor con,structing kn:,owf,d,ge,and social exchang·es1betwee,n

in,dividuals are seen as the primary s.ourceof cog1ni ive growth. This leads to the use of
9ro,up projects to aHow coHabor.ativel,earn·ng with peers.
1

An exa,mp,leof sociailconstriuctivism is Rogoff 's app,ren1ticesh1ip

in th1n1kingmodel
1

(1990), wh1erea novice works cil·oselywith an,expert 1n joint problem-sotvin,g activities .

•
.S.ude·nt teacihers make us,e,oft.his m odel duri'ng tea,ch.·ngpractice, when the
1

experlence,d te·a1cherd,i1s.cussesis ues,with the new teacher.

ReflecIve practice c 1nalso be seen .asan xample of social c,o,nstructivlsm,as group of

people, share ideas .a·ndconisi,d,erissu,esfrom different points of view .

62 I B comi g a e cher
Classroom discourse and knowledge
construction
Discourseis a general term for any coherent, structured sequence of language, such as
a conversation, discussion,essay,short story or novel. Classroom discourse here refers
to discussion in the classroom, either between the teacher and the learners or among •
the learnersthemselves.

The quality of classroom discourse is considered to be one of the most critical elements
in effective schooling. This is the primary means by which teachers mediate in order
to guide, organise and direct their learners'activities. It is the key to how learners
construct meaning. Discoursein most schools used to be dominated by teacher-talk or
chalk and talk (Bruning et al., 1995: 226). However,since the drafting of new curricula
that started after the end of apartheid, classroom discourse and interactive lessons
have become more common in South African classrooms.

In traditional classroom discourse,the pattern was usually as follows: the teacher

11sked a question, the learner responded and the teacher gave feedback. The questions
were usually about content they had studied. While learnersdo, of course, need to
Ile familiar with content, many teachers still do not encourage learners to talk to one
11notherand share perspectives on what they are learning. A noisy classis, in fact,
often perceived as negative, with teachers constantly asking learners to 'keep quiet'.
/\ constructivist viewpoint does not call for a classroom where there is chaotic noise,
hut supports the kind of noise that displays purposeful collaborative interaction.

( onstructivism is not without criticism. Critics argue that it is very Iimi ting to ask
l1•1lrners
to draw mainly on their personal experiences or local knowledge. The
,11cJument is that one cannot investigate, question and debate what one does not
,1lreadyknow and understand. By focusing on learners'prior knowledge, it is argued,
111,cmay not be introducing learners sufficiently to the logic of the subject itself, thus
1111,lting
the development of new knowledge.

The teacheraseducationaltheorist I 63
 •

Scenario
he value of existi g k ow,ledge
Jen,nIwas somewhat n,ervousabout her ne job as ,aScience e cher. On h,e,one
hand, she was excited about teaching her learners , he scientific principles that
underpin much of our everyday Ives. On the other hand, she was not sure how
she would expla:in these prinoi,ples so ha they were,recognisable to learners.
What ifthey had different ideas a • out how science orked in daily life, and could
,not und,erstand the princ'ples sh was trying to teach?
•

Can you think of si uations in which learners' exi,sing knowledge ,hi1nderedtheir abi'fity
to understand scientific knowl dge?
•

Learni,ngtheory in South Afr,icanclassrooms

•
Now that y·ouhave read about some ,of the ideas and concepts that have been deveto,ped'
o ,explain how people le,arn,you are probably asking: "But what about my own
cl ssroom' How can this help me to, be a better teache:rin a South African context?"

.
Let us approach this question ,b,y,using one of the theories discussed in this chapte ,
• .

nam,elysocial ,co ,structivism. Remember, this approach works from the, bel'ef that you
w:11I .rn b st when you find: the work meaningfu,I, t · relates to your own exp rience
and you c n xplor it togethe wi h othe s.t lk o another student-teacher or t cher
about the quest,lons in the box below:

·nk about i
Which h ori s of due tio had you h rd bou before r ding, his chap r?
Do any of th I arning h orie in this ,ch p r hel you o b· nar unders and your
0

xp rienc s learn r or as a each,er?W y do y,ou ay his?

• Are her ,nyth ori s ha you find par ic I rly tn esting or useful? hy?
• Are th r any heories tha you fi'nd not a II us ful? Why?

l rning theory has had a tre •. ndous inftu nc ,on South African curriculum poHcy
and classroom practi·ce.We wUI now xplore two ex mpl s of this, n m ly the rol s ,of
t acher and pol'cies on curric.ulum.
The roles of the teach
The minimum requirements for teacher education qualifications (DHET,20111)outli,ne
the different roles that teachers collectively shou.ld display. This does not mean that
each teacher must be ab'le to car y out ,each ro'le all the tim,e, but .·ndividual1~eachers
should be a.ble to carry out the roles that are appropriate to their positions.. These
roles are:

• sp,ecialist in a phase, discipline or practice

• learning mediator
• interpreter and desig er of learning programmes and materi1als
•
• leader, administrator and manager
• scholar, rese,arche,rand lifelong learner
• assessor
• com mun ty, citizen sh·µ nd pastoral role.
1

(http·l/www.dhe.gov.zarreache 20Education/Natlonal%20Qualificatio,ns%20Frame ork.%20

Ac 2067_2008%20Revisedo/o20Po1Icy%20fo 20li acher<'A>20Education%20Quilifications.pdf)

You will notice that a number of ideas here Uinkto the concepts already discussed
in this chap er, such as the focus on the teac'her as a lear .Ing m di tor, responsible
for construe ing app opriat learning envi ronments. We notice how teachers will be
1

scaffolding lear1ningin their role as interpreter and d.es:igner,of !'earning programmes

nd materials. The role of assessor reminds us of dynamic assessment, in tha
ssessm,entis seen as an integral part of teaching and tearnin.g, and teachers are also
ex;pected to be sensitiv to the particular context an,d level of the learner.

Cur 1cuum policy

In the early 2000s in South Africa, the National C:urriculum Statement or NCS (the
official school curriculum) was based o,n a system known, as outcom,es-bas d ducatio
(QBE).In 2012, OBEwas further develop d, and the Curriculum and Assessmen,tP'oUcy
tateme,nts (CAPS)r p,I ced the NCS.

The NCS,as well s . he la es CAPS,are b sed on a number of princip1es, thr e of which

r sona w'th what we have discussed ·n this chapter. These three pr1inciplesare:

• A v nd er 1c I lear I g ThI principl'e encourages an activ and critical

approach to l,earning, rather th n rot ,nduncritical le rning of given ruths.
High no_.I d e n •h·g s I I h miinimum s andards of knowledge and
skills to 'be achi ved at . ach grad r specifi d nd s thigh, achievabl standards
in all subj c s.
• The content and context of e ch gr d shows progression from simpl,e
• Progrt=~~.i,o
o complex.

Th cher a uca ion I h oris I 65

 •
•

One can see how this links ,directly to cog,nitive learning the,ory.There is an interest in
devef.op·ingtearners' thrnkrng skins,the teacher is seen as a facilitator of learning, an•d
the emphasis ,ison progression and integration of the content to be learned.

• In.stead,of only det veri,ngcontent in a transmis ion style, the teaicher is expected.to
design learning.tasks that cha.U'enge, stimulate and motivate learner to think criticaUy
about their work. In s·odoing,,it is intended that learners wHI learn the skiUsof working
.independently and discovering new knowledge for themselves,,

OBEa,san approach and the NCSfocused more on outcomes and integration of

c,ontent from different subject areas than on t,eachingcontent of specific subjects
•
per grade. This focus on 'ntegration led to a critique of OBEas inadequately
•
specifying essential tear.ningin e-a1ch grade. It was felt that insufficient a tention
•
- was be' ng paid to wh,at !'earnersneeded to know from one level of learning to,
another. In addition, theme-driven teaching was seen as drawing too much content
• 'from everyday life, thus not sufficiently •eaching learners the formal knowledge
•
of the su.bject.
- CAPSwas therefore introduced as a way of res,toringt,eachers'authority as subject
1

specialists. Greater ,guid,anceis,given ,oncontent spec,fication, ,clearand concise

assessmentrequir,ements,are provided and' more attention is given o specify'ng
•
progre sion ,n subjects ove,rt'me. It is for this reason that he motto of CAPSis:
Structured.,Cleat.
Practical:helpingteachersunlock.thepoweratNCS.
.•

hink about it
.•
There , re ho e who argue that sp cifying cont,en and assessmen undermines
te cher profe sion Ii m, in that i gives tea her less scope o decid wh. , ho . and
1

'Wh n hey each.

• What is your v1iewon this?

• How would you promote an In egra •ed approach o le. rning whe the content of
subj .C rsh s been sp cified?

Th influence of learn.ing theory on policy in South Afri -a has not been without
p oblems For,exampfe,some duca lon·sts in South Afr1icah v understood
constructivi. m to me .n that the a her shou:ldnot be the,centre of the learning
proces . Wo,rd Uke'tea her a fa Uit tor' and 'learner en red ,eaching'h ve m1itakenly
been taken ,_omean tha he teacher does n·ot have much o do,,and that th · chUdren
l'earnwha they tfke .· their own pa, e. We argue that this is a:nincorrect. interpre1ation
of fea,ning th,eory.tn fact, concepts such as mediation and scaffolding tmakeit clear
•

66 J B coming a •each r
 that the teacher is extremely important. It is the teacher who, by carefully designing
appropriate learning tasks,createsthe conditions for learnersto move beyond what
they already know.

There are also those who argue that active and critical learning can only happen in
small classesand in schoolswith well-equipped libraries,laboratories,computers and
•
resourcecentres,aswithout these facilities it is difficult to set projects and assignments
that require independent learner activity. While we agreewith this to a certain extent,
this chapter has shown how teacherscan scaffold meaningful learning in a variety of
ways.Evenin a big class,the teacher should be able to discussa point of view with the
learners,ask challenging questions, or relate concepts to everyday issues. •

Another misunderstanding is that collaborative learning requires that there are few or
no face-to-faceexplanations given to the whole class.Teachersexplaining concepts to
learnersis mistakenly argued to be too teacher-centred and to offer too little time for
group work. But nowhere in learning theory is there a view that learnerscan only learn
through group work! We have shown various ways in which learning can be mediated,
for example,through helping learnerslink what they are learning to what they already
know. In fact, if group work is poorly organised, then lesslearning takes place than if
the teacher had explained content to the classas a whole. The key questions should
be:"Do the learnersunderstand what they are leaming?'"'Do they know more after
the lessonthan they did before?"If they do, and the information learned is lasting and
meaningful, then the teacher has taught well.

Conclusion
Having read this chapter,we hope you will be able to use some of the theoretical
concepts to discussyour work with colleagues.Remember,teacherswho draw on
lheory to talk about their work will communicate differently from teacherswho only
I draw on everydayexperience.Teacherswho use everyday experiencewill tell stories
about daily events,shareexperiencesthrough conversationsand discusswhat works
and does not work in the classroom.They will mainly refer to what is easilyobservable
'I
., In a particular situation. Teacherswho draw on theory will not only refer to their own
experience,but also look for underlying and implicit ideas behind what is immediately
observable.Referto Moll, Bradbury and Winkler (2001: 197)for an elaboration on the
differencesbetween everydaydiscussionsabout learning and theorising learning.

Somepeople are suspiciousof theory. In their view, we learn best from our everyday
experiences.They seetheory as too abstract and too removed from the real challenges
of everyday life.There are also those who think that to ignore theory is to be too inward
looking, too focused on one'sown issuesrather than on the broader perspective.
Perhapsthe best way of looking at the role of theory In learning to be a teacher is

Theteacheras educationaltheorist I 67
 •

• t,o remember tha we cannot learn everything trom either theory or practice alone .
Theory gives us tools 1inthe form of words and concepts that he,lp us to talk a,bout our
practice,but it cannot g,iveus answers to ,everychallenge we face in a real situation.
,over tfme, based on years of trying and testing different approaches in the ctassroom,
•
teachers ,build up "cra:ftknowled,ge" (Lefrancois,.1994: 111).Th.isis ,knowledgebased
on practice that also •drawson the experienc,esof other teachers in differentsettings.
Such e.xperiencecan even,be the stimulus to develop new theory, as we can see in
the teacher-as-re ea,rche,rmovement, where teachers i,nvetigate the,ir practice and
devefo,pnew ways of thinking about their experiences.

• A giroup •Offina,t year student-teachers.w,ereinterviewed for this chapter and asked

whether they had ~ound theory usef;uJin learning to become a teacher. This is what
•
• they said; 1'Thes,eideas make you think out of the box .... now that we are in our final
yea,rwe realise the impact of theories .. theory helps you to deal with certa:inthings ...
• f need the theory to und,erstandthe p,ra,cticaf:'
•

•
Gl,o,,ssary
Empi',rical'·based,on what W'esee or experie.n,cethrough experimenting, rather than
through theory
•
Outcome: what we want learne.rsto demonstrate a the end of a significant learn:ing
,experience
l'earning: lea,rning1
,R,ot,e through repetition and m.em:o,risation,
rather than through
understandi,n,gthe inf orma,tion
Schemata:so,metimesused in place of 'schemes'asthe plural'of he word.'scheme'
•

•
References
Bransford,J.D.,Brown, A.L.and Cocking, R.R.1993.How PeopleLearn.Washington D.C.:
National Academy Press.

Bruning, R.H.,Schraw,G.J.and Ronning, R.R.1995.CognitivePsychologyand Instruction.

2nd ed. New Jersey:Merrill.

De Beer,J.J.J.and Henning, E.2011. Retreating to a Vygotskian stage, where social

'dramatical collisions' are played out by pre-service teachers.Acta Academica,
43(4):203-228.

Donald, D., Lazarus,S.and Lolwana, P.2007. EducationalPsychologyin SocialContext. •

3rd ed. CapeTown: Oxford University Press.

Gage,N.L.and Berliner,D.C.1992.EducationalPsychology.5th ed. Boston, MA:

Houghton Mifflin Company.

Giest, H. and Lompscher,J. 2003. Formation of learning activity and theoretical

thinking in scienceteaching. In: A. Kozulin, B.Gindis,V.S.Ageyev and S.M.Miller
(eds).Vygotsky'sEducationalTheoryin Cultural Context.Cambridge, United Kingdom:
Cambridge University Press.

Gardner,H. 1983.Framesof Mind: Thetheory of multiple intelligences.New York: Basic

Books.

Gardner,H. 2006. TheDevelopmentand Educationof the Mind: Theselectedworks of

Howard Gardner.London: Routledge.

Howie, D. 2011. Teachingstudentsthinking skillsand strategies:A frameworkfor cognitive

educationin inclusivesettings.London: JessicaKingsley.

Karpov,Y.V.and Bransford,J.D.1995. L.S.Vygotsky and the Doctrine of Empirical

and Theoretical Learning. In: G. Salomon, J.P.Dasand B.Gindis (eds).Educational
PsychologistSpecial Edition Lev 5. Vygotsky and contemporary educational
psychology,30(2):61-66.

Kozulin, A. 1990.Vygotsky'sPsychology:A biography of ideas.Exeter:Harvester

Wheatsheaf Publishers.

Kozulin,A. 1998.PsychologicalTools:A socioculturalapproach to education.Cambridge,

MA: Harvard University Press.

Kozulin,A., Gindis, B.,Ageyev,V.S.and Miller, 5.M. (eds.).2003. Vygotsky'sEducational

Theoryin Cultural Context.Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.

I r.beer,J. 2002. TheArt of CognitiveBricklaying.Feuerstein's

StructuralCognitive
Modifiability and Mediated learning Experience.Project Inside. Portsmouth:
DownsEd Limited.

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 • •
Lefrancois,G.R.1994.Psychologyfor Teaching.California:Wadsworth Publishing.

Lomofsky,L. 1994.The effect of Instrumental Enrichment, a thinking skills programme,

on the cognitive abilities and attitudes of pre-serviceteachers in a college in the
• Cape.M.PhilThesis.CapeTown: University of CapeTown.

Lomofsky,L.,Roberts,R.and Mvambi, N. 1999.The InclusiveClassroom.In: P.Engelbrecht,

L. Green,S.Naickerand L. Engelbrecht (eds).InclusiveEducationin action in South
Africa. Pretoria:Van Schaik.

Minick, N. 1987.Implicationsof Vygotsky'stheoriesfor dynamic assessment.In: C.S.Lidz

(ed).DynamicAssessment: An international approach to evaluating learningpotential.
New York:Guilford Press.

• Moll, I., Bradbury,J. and Winkler, G. 2001.Learnersand Learning.CapeTown: South

•
African Institute for Distance Education and Oxford University Press.

Mwamwenda, T.S.1994.EducationalPsychology:an African Perspective.Durban:

• Butterworths .

•
Pollard,A. 2002. ReflectiveTeaching.London: Continuum .

Rogoff, B. 1990.Apprenticeshipin Thinking:Cognitive Development in SocialContext.

•
New York:Oxford University Press.

Seifert, K.L.1999.Constructinga Psychologyof Teachingand Learning.Boston,MA:

•• Houghton Mifflin .

Skinner,B.F.1973.BeyondHuman Dignity. England:PelicanBooks.

Stainthorp, R. 1989.PracticalPsychologyfor PrimaryTeachers.London: FaImer Press.

Woolfolk, A.E.2016. Educational

• Psychology,13th ed. Boston:PearsonEducation, Inc.

Woolfolk, A.E.1995.EducationalPsychology,6th ed. Boston,MA: Allyn & Bacon

70 I Becominga teacher
Websites
www.dhet.gov.za
www.education.gov.za

www.icelp.info
www.lctaweb.org
www.lriinc.us •

The teacheraseducationaltheorist I 71
 ••
Theoretical framework:
Tyler (objectives I instrumental
product approach}
• Objectives(educationalpurposes)
• Content
Curriculum • Methodsand sequence
development: • Assessment
Why? • • • •••• •• Stenhouse (processapproach)
What? • Descriptiveprocess
How? • Educatoras researcher
• Learnerparticipation and Individuality
• • Educator-learner-teaching material
•
• relationship
•
• • Professionaldevelopment
•
•
Freire (pragmatic approach with
The concept'curriculum': sociopolitical purpose}
• Curriculum/syllabus • Intellectual,socialand political
• Intendedcurriculum liberation
• • Focuson rationaleand purpose
• Enactedcurriculumas practice
• Covertcurriculum • Negotiatelearningwith learners
• Hidden curriculum
•
• Assessedcurriculum •
•
•
•
•
•• • •
• •
• •
• ••
•
•
• .• •
•
• •
• •
• •
• •
•
•
•
•
•
•
Official policy documents •
•
• •
NCSto CAPS •

Universalprinciples:
• • Experientiallearning
•
•
• • Clarityof focus
• • Expandopportunities
•
•
•
• Definedoutcomes,aimsor objectives
• Knowledge,skillsand valuesare
important
Curriculum change • Evidenceof achievement
and context •••••••••• • Individuallearning
• Whatand whether we learnis more
important than when we learnedit
At the end ,ofthis cha,pteryou will be able to:
• descr,ibewhat curricul'um •s (asplanned, as practised and as ex,perienced)
• ,comparedffferent approachesto cur.ricul'umstudies, referring t,oTyler,
Stenhouse nd Freire
• discusshow the thinking about the curriculum changed ,overtime
• interpre the curriculum and adapt it in pra tice
• discussthe nature, characteris ics and key issuesof the,school curricutum
in South Afirica
• interpret policy documents that are important for the South African
sch,ootcurricurum, with specific referenceto CAPS.
 lntroducti,on
Variousfa.ctoirs'nfl,uencethe desiignof learning programmesor curricula..Fof
effective teach.ing to·take p,lace,teache,rsneed to und'ersta1nd
the theoretical
approachesthat influ,encecurriculum interpretation an,dbe a-bf,e to ;interp,.ret
exi,stinglearning programmes.The teac,heralso needsto ,befamiUarwith,th:e
prescribedpolicies of the ,Departme,ntof Basic.E,ducation: (DBE)and ,usethe,ir
knowledge to,devel,op(.earning·programmes/curric,ulawith t,eaching,lear1nrng
and assessmentin mind.This chapter wfll1help you to better u,nderstan,d, i1nterp·ret,
,des,ignan,d:imp.le1ment the,curriculum.

Understandi.ngthe theoretical backg,rou.ndof a curri,culum1 is essentialfor being ab.le

to inter pret it and fo,rdevel,opinga tearn,ingprogra.mmeor curricula.,In,thiisbook, we
1

usetiheviews ofTyfer,Ste,nh,ouse and Freireto ,encourage a d'eeperund,erstanding•of

1

the teacher'srole of interpreter an,dimple·me'nterof the curriculum and 1howtihisrole

can 1be,influ.encedby social backg·ro,u.nds,
1
,personalviews an,dattitudes. Linking with
this, attention wnl also ,begive,nto curriculum change in South Africa.
•

What is a curriculum?

,Scenario
Curriculumdiscuss,1ons
Thireeteachers,m,eetat a workshop h,etdby the Department of BasicEducati,on
(DBE),onc,urriculuminterpretation and design. Phumi Dlami1niis an e,xperi,enced
teacher i1na prim .,y sc1hoolin an urban townsh,ip.JanePh,akedihas ta ugh
in a s,econdaryschool for the past 13 years in a rural school Abi,ganDavisis a
s,e,eonda,ry
schoo.lteach,ertn a townshi,Pand sta,red'teach1in,g
1
in 1994.
,P,humi'" Sowhat is,tihe curriculum about?
Jane,: ,Idon't kno,w,~curriculumframework' ... 'classroomcurricltlum' ...
'curricut,umst.atem,ents'
... 'CAPS'... there se,em ,obe an sorts of ways
of using this 'curriculum' wo,rd 1
•

Abiga1d· Yes,but isn't it lik a syllabus?Do you follow exa:ctlywhat ,isin the
offi cial curr1icuJum?
1 1
Is the curriculum p .lanned,or are you a1Uowed
1
to
use it in a flexible w y?
Ph· mi: 11 th·ink it's simple.The curricul,umis a list of ,everythingth,e Education
Department wants us to tea,chO'Ur learners.

7 I Becominga teach r
Thi , k about it
Is a cuirricuum a syllabu•s?
Do you have o put the ,DBE'splan into practice?
Is the curriculu:m the official plan o,fwhat you, as the teacher, actually do n,the
classroom,?

When askin·gthe question what the concept'curr'culum'means, one would get different
1

. nswers according to the views,backgroun,d and' experience of th,e respon,dent.

•
he concept curric,ul'um has its origi,ns in the Latin currere,which mea.ns'run:'and
with fu:rther refer,enceto the running/chariot tracks or a cour ,e.According to the
Netherlands Institute for Curriculum Development (SLO)(200·9:1), a curriculum can
brie-fly be defined as a ''plan for 'learnin,g'~as used by the .American H·ildaTaba in 196·2.
I is reflected by related terms in many languag.es,including the classical D'utch term
I rpJan,the German Lehrplan,.
and the Swedish /aroplan.T'histerm sh;ould not be
onfused with what is und,erstood to be a su.bjec 'syl'la.bus:because the d.•efin1tiondoes
r necessarily narrow the perspective, but perm,its all sorts of elaboratio·n for specific
urr1icularlevels, contexts and representations.
When looking at the concept curric1ulum in1broader terms, it refers to anthe learning
f tis planned and gu·i·ded:
as a .body of knowledge in order to achieve certa,in
nds (outcomes) in a teaching-learning processas eaUsedin praxis.The curriculum
I cument should incf ude he rationale, ai.ma.nd purpose of th"e p·articular cours,e
w: h reference t,o the related subject methodology, teaching methods and guidance
rding assessm,entpractices, wh,ich wiUan be 1basedon particular ap·proach.

1f concept syllabushas a Greek origin and means a concise s,tatement or tab,le of th,e
··cso.f a discours•eor the 'Ust of contents of a ubject~ Such a.document holds a series
f h ad'ngs with some additional, notes which set out the areas that may be examined

A yUabus"win not"· generall'y indicate the .eiative importance of its topics or the
r in which th,ey·are to be·studied. Those who compile a syllabu·stend: to follow the
r itronal textbook approach of an "order of contents': or a pattern prescribed by a
I i ally seque·noedapproach to the subject.

m like Eisner (1985) will defin,e a curricul.um as a series of ,planned events that are
1

n,ded to have e,ducational consequences for one or more learners..Fraiser(1993)

r to a much wider interpretation of curriculum as the interr1el'atedtotality of aims,
·ng content, eval'uation procedures and teach ng-I,earning activities, opportunities

Th eache as curriculum in erpreter,designer and impleme er I 75

 •

• I

and experiences whi,ch guide and Implement the di,dactic activities in a p,la· ned and
ju stifie,dmanner.

The o,fder,narrower definition says that when we·want to study a curriculum, we must
took at the curriculum p,lan;th.at is, the document, the written intenti,on of what, how
and why someth.ing shoul,d be taught This defin,es'curriculum' actua:Uyas a 'course of
study' or'study programme~ wherea,sa broad definition is a more inclusive co·ncept
comprising, all the, opportunities for [,earning, and viewed in historicalp,erspe,ctiv,ein its
sociopoUtical context. Narrow definitions are likely to foster a conc,eption of curriculum
change as a litnited a.ndlar,gefytechnical exercise.
•
·Goodman ( 988) highlights that the struggle over the ,definition o'f curriculum is a
•
matter of socii,al
and politi.c.arpriorities, as wen as intellectual d,iscourse.Othe·rwisethe
study of schooUng will' leave unquestioned and:unanaly ed assumptions that should
be at th,eheart of intenectuaf understanding and practicaloper,ation ,ofschoo1ing. Such
a ,broader definiti,on ,of curriculum is that of the Nation.a.IE,ducation Pofi:cyInitiative
'
(NEPI)aind reads as foHows,:"Curriculum refers to, the teaching and I.earning activities
j,
and experiences which are provided by schoofs11 (Du Plessis.and·B,ooyse,,,
2008: 3)
The definition incfu,des:

• • the alms and objectfvl~Sof the e,ducation.system,as ·weHas the specificgoals of

the school.s

•• • the selection of content to be tau,g,ht,how it is arranged in o subjects, pro,grammes

and syUabuses,and what skiUsand processes are included
• ways of teachin:g and fearni,ng, and relationshipsbetween teachers and learners
• the forms of assessment and ,evaluation that are used.

ft is clear that this ,de.finition

is more than the stated aims and syllabus documentation .
•
lt also inv,o,fvesthe consideration of the foftowing:

,. Actualclassr,oo,m
p,ractrces
and experiences.This refers to th,e curriculum in use,,
• Havi·ngthe same curriculum on pap,er doe,snot mean that anschools/lear.ning·
instituti,ons experience the same curriculum in use,.This is profoundly affected by
resources (such as laboratori:es .and,Ubraries),and miateriafs,to support the fearnin,g
pro,cess(e.g.a,ccessto textbooks). tt i:safso affected by experiences of disruption o,r
continuity, and by the quality (e,.g,.the subjec knowie,dge and teaching skills) and
1

.morale of teachers:
• The pe,rspective,
of teacher·s,'
work· Th is refers to im1provingt,eachers'knowledge
1

and skills as part ,of the curriculum p,oHcy;

• Implementation of the ,curriculumpolicy:Thi'srefers to teachers foUowin,gthe
curriculum, which is curirently fn So,uth Africa the Curriculum and Assessment Policy
Statement (CAPS).
•

76 I Becominga teacher
If ,he curriculum includes the activities, oppo tuni ies and experiences, think about
whether the foUowing would be part of curriculu1m:
the attitudes that l,earnersdevel'op about history because they do,ntt rke their tea.cher
• the prJncipal locking the gates at 8 a.m,.,because she wants to force the ch;1rdrento be
punctual
,. the laughs and fights that r,earnershave during breaks
1

• the re Hty that Maths lessonsare never scheduled for the last period ,ona Friday,but
Life Orientation lessonsoften ar,e •

eachers teach,ing subjects that they never studi:edthemselves

classesthat co.nsistmainly of weak learners and r,epea,ters.

The above-mentioned are·all examples of the experience of curriculum, the lived

urriculum which can serve as exptanation why the same prescri'bed curriculum can
nerate ve:rydifferent results.

his 'ti,vedcurriculum' illustrates the im,portance of teachers and the contex and ha.s
I-e characteristi that it is implicit, which means that it is not taught ex;plicitfy 'but can
b intentional, unintentional or hidden.

Aspects of the curriculum

I here are different aspectsto the curricu.lum,which will be discussedin the following sect;ion.

Official,expfic,itintended curriculum·This is the prescribed curriculum, arsodescribed

1

s the blueprint for teaching. rt is the plan or intentions of,.for instance,the DBE.A single
plan can be used for different learners,although its con exts ca:nvasty differ.
• En,acted: curriculumas practice:'This is the curriculum as it is exp,erienced.ft is al,so
referred t,o as the 'nonofficial, ·mpficit curriculum' as implem,ented by an educat,or,
and is what is actually taught and learned..Mis_nderstandings, esource constrain s
and so on can interfere with the educator's abilities to im,plement a curricul m plan
exactf,yas intended.
Covert curriculum:This is teaching th.at ·s implicit (not spel'.tout), but delibera e
on the part of the educator or school. rt is especially important in early schooling
wh,ereconsid:eration for others, order and obedience, teamwork and cooperat·on
. re focal p,oints.'Pl'ay'in earliychildhood schooling is a deliberate curriculum
strategy to develop importan attitudes a.ndskUls, uch as fine motor sk'Us,spatial
d'fferen iation a:ndva ious p e-numeracy skil'ls.
.Hidden curriculum:This is lea ning that .ishidden from the educators as well as
from the learners. It is another fo.rm of ,impfiic·ttearning, which the educators did not
intend and are pro,bably not even aware of. W,eco sciously l'earnmany th'ngs about

he eacher as curriculum interpre er, designer nd implementer I 77

 • the world, or learn to see the world in particular way-s,simpJy by s.pending a lot of
(
time in the sort of ,e,nviron.mentsthat schools,and classrooms present to us.
• .Assessed
curr·culum:·This refers to·· he knowledge and sktUsthat are measured
to determine learner achievement or what objectives: or .learning outcomes are
attained. Assess.men is an important elem,ent of curr,iculum because it establishes
how !'earnerswiU be measured on performance.
I
Take so.me ime to reflec on the issues raised here. There is a,lsoa difference between •
definitions of curriculum a,nd he a,ppro,achesto curriculum.

Different curriculumdefinitions ,andapproaches

•
11
Whether we a e ta:lking about a na row or a broader definition of curricufum, you will
• find tha the different curricula have different approaches o ho,wteaching shoufd take
plac,e.These differen ap,p.roachesa re,about what should be in a •curriculum and how it 111

should be implemented ..The approach to curriculum wUI d~ffer according to what the
intention ,ofa particular curriculum is. I
I
•
Whatever he approach of curr culum deveJopers,they have to get ,clarity about the
purpose, ·he go,alsand the results of he curriculum and have to ask themselves the
following questions: II
• Whydo we use ·this cu riculum?
• Wha do we Include in the cu,rriculum?
•
• How do we lnctude the knowledg , sk"Hs,values and attitudes?
• How do we know if the urricu lu,m is successfUI?

In answering hese questions it is,c(ear that he curr"culum needs.a specific purpose .

• • kills, va,luesand att,'tudes..lt n,eed'sto sequence the
I needs ,o select know1ledge,
knowledge so •hat i , makes sense. It ne,edsto find me ,hods of teaching and learning
he knowl:edge and skiUs,and it needs assessment.We,need to know what effects the
curriculu,m might have, and we need -o consider the reaUty o,f prac ice.

The more compf,ex a society becomes_the greater the p essure o,nieducation to,
do justice to a varie y of social Interests. Therefore, in order to avo,id overloading,
it is important to prroriti e and to make bold choices b s,edon clear argu,ments. In
Hterature ,on curriculum development. the following thr e,main sources for election
and prioritising aims and cont,ent are mentioned:

• Knowl' dg : academic and cultural herit ge for l,eairnlngand future deve.topm •nt

"
• Socialp.repar tio,n:issues relevant for inclusi:,onfrom the perspective of societal
, rends and needs
• Person I ,d,evelopmen
·: elements o·f importance to rearn ng and de,vef0 pment from
1

the p rsona and educational needs and interes s of I a,rnersthemselv .

78 I Becominga eacher
~ a fot of . t's have a closer look at the implications of the above questions when developing
IS. , curriculum.

asured
h do . e use t ·s cu riculum?
es are
tablishes A curriculum needs a rationale and a clear purpose. The ra ionale in a curriculum
• r sents the sociopolitical view of the learning•to be undertaken. It exp lains the 1

cessity for the proposed learning ..The rationale also explains the view of the
between
il hing fearning process and hence of the learner. For example. is the· leamer an

tive co~creator and parf cipant in the cl'assroomand beyond, or is h,eor she rained to
,I biddable, respectful and unquestioning?

you will purpose provides an explanation in general terms of what the curriculum intends
1

ould take h Ip the earner achieve. The purpose statement places the focus on the di,scipline
nd how it ,1dIts equirements.
vhat the
h t do ei lude in th cur ic um7
WI, t knowledge and skiUsdo we include in the curriculu.m?The choice of what
utthe wl dge and skills to,Jncludein the curriculum will have to b aligned with the rationale,
es the I h purpose of a curr1iculum.For instance,knowledge can be organised into subjects,
1 I h different subjects ,aretaught independendy of each other and only come together

r ti, final certificate. Sele tion of key content and concepts for· he subject should
uided by the discipline or knowledge a,rea,but also take into considera ion the
u1 . of the curricufum. The conten required and the skills expr ssed in the curriculum
1n,ine the teaching strategies and methodo ogi s to be followed. Partjcular examples
I 1 ivities linked to I he specified conten • and skills will guide the tea her/educator/
rpose. o on how to deal wi h the particular content. The skills finked with the content
:he b xpr ssed in the outcomes, ha is, they cannot simply be identified by a
rning uch as 'case studies' (It would need to be so.mething Uke·'anafyse the case study
:ts th 11 of ... •or'pr sen a cas study in which you indicate how . .').

r t nd skills speci1icaion mus have he folilowing haracteristics:

u t b clear, specific and appropriate.

I,
t , nu t ,cknowl dg prio con ent ha forms d e stepping stones o new conten .
In
:tion ,1owl dge is . ught in order in a step-by-s ep progression,.with I amers moving up
I rn1ngladd •r.l ,e urricu!um wants learners to cqu·re specific ,content knowl dge
• I II th ti con rders 'mportan , and wants to ensure that learners acquir this
1

nt
wl correctly In this curriculum, he performance of learners •s important.
r al
I nd skills might also bP.chosen to enabfe learnersto be acti and er ative,
1tfrom • ul' te •h ir own learning. In thi Instance,teaimercompetency will b
. In such a curricufum, th teacher is v,i w d as the one to gurde rearnersalong

a her as curricul 1m i te pre , de ig r a d mpl m n r I 79

 their i.ndividual paths towards a set of o:utcomes.Learn,ersneed to become· competent
in using knowl'edge for fife. linthis curriculum, the subjects are interdi1scipBnaryi,n
nature, m,eaning that the knowle·dge·is organise,dacross subjects, by using themes or
by combi·ning differ,ent d iscipliinesinto an integrated area of .knowledge (e.g. Social
S,ciences),a,ndthe curriculum is mad·erelevant to I.earnersby i:ntegrating everyday life
1

into the subject kn.owledge. In this curric,ulum, different types of knowledge are mixed
together and integrated. The knowledge is moved across subjects and is fitt,ed into
the,m,es,s,oit d,oesnot follow a pa,rti·cularorder or progression..

For teachers to interpret a·nd implement a curriculum with competence, as focal point,
they need to wo,rk together and agree on the main idea,that wil I focus the integration ..
Further, teachers n•eedto have a broad ran,geof know,e·dge and skills th,at e nables 1

them to integrate concepts across the different su.bjects..As this is not e·asyto ,do it 1
,

involves additi,onal teacher education.

1

How do e ~nclude he o - ledge, skills, al- es and attitude ?

How wiU the knowledg,e and skUlsbe organised and in w1hi·chsequence should. they
be organised?

To organise is to put some things together to create an orderly,.functional and

structured whole and,to arrange it in a cohere·nt form,. It needs to be stab,lish,edwhat
the learners have to lea.rn,in what particular ord1er,and in what space and time H,ow
the knowted,ge i.sorganised, and in what sequence, is central to framing, learning. For
instance.,the knowledge s.hould be relevant to the la.bo,urrnarket, appropriate to .appiy
fn civil soctety an·d be respectfut of learners' and teachers' cultural backgrounds. Furth.er,
the knowle·dge includ ed in a.curriculum, needs to be·fair and equitable for all lear .·ers
1

from the different soc4oeconomic groups in the country.

In curriculum term1s,th.e way in w:hich the knowledge (content) is organised is called

an or,ganisingprinciple.The overarching: ap,proach in a1 curriculum pr,ovides an
indication of, and the motivation for the use of a particular principle or et of prin,cipJe,s
through w,hich1the curricu 1lum is organised, for example, whether it is ·Organised
around outcomes., objec .Ives,unit standardis, and so ,on.This organising p,rinciple
shap,esthe emphasis in the curricutum. A.IIelements included' i·nthe curriculum draw
their classification and valu:e from the w,aythe curriculum is organised ..The organising
prin,ciple Is a central refe ence point that allows all other objects to be located. Having
an organ,ising principle help,sto simplify and make a particularl·y complicated domain
more accessible to the users •Of the curriculum.

It is important to note that two org.anising principles relate to curriculum development

in general A first or,g,anisingp,rinciple is related to the th ory of knowledge espous.ed
1

in the curriculu.m as seen in the outcomes, assessment stanidards, subJect and/or

80 I Becominga each,er
t aching methodology, whi'ch may presuppose an a pproach w·here the particip•atory
1

I arner is seen as cen,tr,alto the l,earning process, or where the learner is simply
eg.arded as the recipient of the r,equired information.

A second organising prin,ciple is a,ssociated with. the d.iscipline itself. This organisin.g
princip1.eof the discipline or subject refers to t,he idea(s) forming the ba.sisof t'he
lection, seq·uencin,g,pacin·g, level, and assessment of knowledge ·in.a curr'fculum.
h · organising .Pr1ncipleof the·s bject should allow for appropriate sequ.encing of
1

ifferent skills and content areas - over the course of the year, and across gra.des/
y rs of study. T·heinternal principles ,of th!e subject's disci.pUn,e(s)and theoretical
m,ework(s) direct the logical progression of content and skills devefo.p.ment.
nsure coherence in the curriculu:m, sensitive choices regarding the topics/
ntent/elements and their ordered con.nectedness to the organisi1ng principle
•i uld. be made. The coherence within the curriculu'm needs to mirror the coherence
he d.iscipl-ine.

h dition to choosing the most relevant knowledge (co,ntent) and skills to be

· luded in the curriculum, the sequencing: of content to be taught into a,co,nsistent
it coherent curricutu,m also needs con,sideration.

,ll J , stions a:bout how mu.ch time could reasonably be allocated to the various
of the· curricu.lum help ,ed.ucators/examiners to pace the teaching. The relative
1 rtance allocat,ed to the content win also impact on pacing.

I , i porta11tto know that the org.anising!,principle relates to the theory of knowledge,

I I o includes reference to a specificsubject meth,od.ology,
both of which need to
n ruent with the s,election of content ,and the cognitive demands req,uired at the
, ul r level.

ekno ther he cu riculum is successfu ? 1

r suring success,·we need t,o look at assessment/eva1luation and its effects, and
lity of practice.

h le _rn·ng programme/curriculum has be n de,livered by means of l,essonplans

I ssroom, the educator must reflect ,on what work,ed, how well it worked and
uld be im.proved. This p•rocessrsmost 'Usefulwhile the experience i.sstill fresh
1 - ors' minds so that they can adap,t and change part of th,e le·arning programme
ry and implement the changes i n the futur,e. It is advisab,1leto reco,rd this
1

1 non the lesson plan planning s·heets.

1
U wing sections, we d,iscussTy'.ler,Stenhouse and Freire s different approache•s
I tion of kn.owl,e,dge,cihoice of teaching methodofo,gy, attitude to learn,ers
,i-or,j ,sfor a·ssessme.nt.

The eacher as curriculum inte prete.. designe and impfementer I 81

 Ralp - Tyler

Tyler(1902-1994) assum d that the ultim te purpose of schooling is learning, and that
a curriculum should be designed so that effective I ming can take place. He considered
that educational decisions are made objectiv ly, primarily by experts with specialised
knowledge, by first determining the ends or objective before deciding on the means.
In short, Tylerheld a linear technical production p rspective of curriculum design that
involved the asp cts of planning, implementation and evaluation.

Posner(1998) mentions tha Tylersuggesteddoing th following when planning a

curriculum:

•
• Decide on the chool's educa iona purpose or the objectives learners should
derive from he syst mati tudy of cont mporary lifi In so iety and the exper
advic and natysisof subj ct sp -cjaUsts.

• Determine which educ tional experiencesar most lik ly to attain th se purposes.

Tylerbelieved th t ducatlon I exp riences ar - justified by the objectives they serve.
• •ind ways to org nis and managethe education I xperiences effi ctively. Tyler felt
that experiences should build on one another nd en bl learners to understand
the relationship b tween their learning activlti s.To er such a cumulative ffi ct,
exper·ences should be carefully sequ needw; hin a u ~ect ft Id such s Math ma ic ,
and knowledge integra ed aero s fields Certain comp/ x cone pts, skills and valu s
require repeated study at incre sing degr es of sophistic tion. Thes concepts should
be applied bro dly and pe v siv ly to enabl -studen • to r lat one field to another.
•
• Determine wheth r the due tion I urpo r b Ing att In -d. Tyl r b Ii v d th
• valuation is n - -d d to s s wh th r I arning xp rl nc shave produc d th
In nded resu/ and m t th urriculum obj ctiv . Th ri ri . for succ ss should
b b h viou I vid n _ from obj tlv in trum nt uch _ st sts, qu stionnair s
•n works mpl s (Tyler,1982: 164 · 74).

D c;d o obj ctiv

V ' 'U 'I,,;;

wh th r Pl nntn in
o iectiv r th • hn·cal Choo h
t ;n d ppro ch stru ion r
-•"od

Or • ion. r
xp ri nc s:I rn r
C iviti S

Figur 4. 1 • h means end ration U y. n Tyf rian pf nnin

Soure : Posn. r ( 1998)

82 / B co n a ch
 In Figure 4.1 it is clear that this means-end reasoning' pr,ocessshould be based on logicat
tat
hinking and planning, where evalua:tionnot only servesas a primary justification for the
red means, but also as the startfn,g point in planning. This implie a clearlyde1inabf,ecause
hat r suits in an effect.Tyleralwaysasked: '1Howcan one d,ecideon educational means
by referring to th.e educational ends?''
t
La • r nee,Ste ho .se
Stenhouse(1926-1982) a.rguedthat Tyler'sidea are too si.mplistic.Objectivesfor complex
knowledge cannot be sp rfied in advance;pfans chang.ein the processof im1ple,mentation,
nd teachersare ,professionals
whose decjsionsto change·a plan in esponseto their learners
•
should be respected Instead, he proposed that c,urrlcu u,mshould prov1ideareasof
knowledge and guidelines for each1ng,bu b - written as sugg, st]o.ns.,not prescriptions.

Stenhouseviewed eiurriculum development as a 'messierprocessthan Tyler'squestions

•i,
uggest. He beHevedthat teachers shou1ldre earch a, th,eyteach, evaluatethe research
nd change cours in.the proc,essof teaching.Asa consequence, curriculu,m proposals
hould be descriptive rather than prescrip iv.e,and subject to ongo·ng change.
Curriculum proposals should be related to what happe.nsas coursesdevelop,and they
c.allfor ad ptation in the fight of what happen in practice (Stenhouse, 1975: 84 97).

It is clear that Stenhouse viewed a curricufum as a process hat canno be

redetermin d and that changes with the context a1ndthe peop.le involved. His Idea
re learner-centred', based on progressive ed:ucation that creates opportuni i,esfor
I - rners to develop · , process of q:uestioning, find inform tion th mselves, nd pply
the.ir own nswers ton w si uations. For Stenhou e it was important th.at the tearners
take ;par in cla sroom activities, exp·resstheir own vi ws and reflect on their o,wn
xperienc,es.Accord1ingto S nhous (1975), the role of the t a.ch r is to b _f cili ator
t ther than an authority.

tenhous also valu d the ,development of individuality thirough creativ, and critic I
ngagement w1ithcu lture. H,e as an early dvoca e of inclusive ducation and w s
1

ommi ed to making a challenging and empow ring education available to all

a·rners.His Idea of'the t ach r as researcher' I y at th heart of tl e pr,oces. app, oach
o curriculum as he mean·sto a worthwhile educ tional proc ss that could b
progr ssively ealis d by teachers ·n concr e forms of actfon wi in th ir cl ssrooms
nd schools (Stenho se, 1975).
1

1Paolo ire
r ire (1921'-1997) emph sis d dialogu. as important for II in educa ioni.For him,
1

ialogue wasn't jus. bou d ep ning und , s anding, but wa . p rt of m. ki,ng 1

1ifferencein the world. Dialogue is a coo perative ac ivity that

1
n str ng h n
ommunity and build socia1Ica,p,it I (Sm·,h, M. K. l 997, 2002).

T r curriculurn in pr r, d s· ne and impl m n r I 83

 Working with adults outside of sch.oo,ls,
1
fireireadded a ,politicalperspectiveby arguing
that we need to ,lookat the hid,denaspectof c,urriculum1 and recogn,ise·that a curriculu1m
1

is never value-neutral, but hasthe power to oppressor liberate,tearners(Gerhardt,

l '993:.453). Fr@i1re's
attentiointo this aspecthasbeen of great significan·cefor tea,cherswho
traditionaUywork with marg,i·n,aHsed and oppressedgroupswh,o,do not havea,voice.T,he
ide,a·of .build:i,n,g
a 'pedago,gyof the,oppressed'or a 'pedagogy of hop,e:and how this ,may
be carriedforwar,d,hasformed a sign1ficaint im1petusto teac,hing.An important e.lement
of this peda.gogywas Freire's,concernwith conscie·ntisation - developing consciousness
that hasthe p,owerto transform reaUty(Taylor,1993,:52).Accordin,gto,.Freire,w,hatwe
teac,hand thieway in wh.ichwe teach ,eitherd,eepe.ns learn.ers'feeUngsof powerlessness,
or 1t assiststhem to a1ddress the reasonsfor their lackof pow,er.,Curriculumis always
political,and,teachersca,nn,otigno~ethe·politics of te·.achtng. Forsome,.the,kno,wledge
we,teach,an,dthe ma,n,nerin which we,teach have,negativeconsequences.Foroth,ers,
teachi1ngand learning fac.Uitateemp,owerment.

Freirein1fluen.ced the inclusi,on,of a1ims,

o,rwhat learne·:rs
are expected to achieve,in a
curriculum. Theseachievementsar,efreq,1uently expressedas objectives,outco,mesor
abilities that learnersn,eed.to d.e,monstraite.

In g,eneral,a well-defined aim incf,ude5,

th,efollowing ch1aracteristics:
• It i.ssuited to the ld~elycontext(s) of the target gro,u·pin which the subject wHIbe
taught and learned.,
• It is clear a;n,dspecific..
• It is understandableand useful to thios•eu.sin,gcurriculum ,docum,ents.
,., It is aligned with the.purpose an,dthe subJectmethodoJog,y,. which in turn,shoufd be
suited to the in·t,eres.t
and
•
cap·acitiesO•f learnersat th.isl,evel.
,. ft is b,a,sed
,o.nan1dUn.kedto a particular t,he,oreticalframework.

The int,en,dedaims..purposesand outcomes,aswelt asthe culture·and co,ntextinfluence

t1hestru1c'ture
•Ofthe ,curri,culumasa whole (Smit1h,
M. K. 1997,2002).

Think about it
Wha h ve Tyler,S en1hous a1ndf,~eir,
· to do wit1h1he South African perspective on
curricu'I m?

Tyler, Stenhouse, Freire and t,he·curriculum in South Africa

In the last two,decade,s,South Afri,cahas em,barke·don a radi.caltransfo,rmationof
1

,educationand trainin,g.o,ne of th,emiostchafl,enging aspectsof this transformation was

1

the a,doptionof a,noutcomes-ba ed education (O'BE)approach tha,tunderpinned the

8• I Becoming a acher
introduction of the new Curriculum 2005, its subsequent revisions, and the amended
National Curriculum Statement (NCS),referred to as the Curriculum and Assessment
Policy Statement (CAPS),which is the current national curriculum that is followed in
South African schools.

Curriculum documents and approachesto curriculum apply the following universal

principles:
• experiential learning
• clarity of focus
• expanded opportunities
• defined outcomes, aims or objectives
•
• the inclusion of knowledge, skills and values
• evidence of achievement
• provision for individual learning
• what and whether we learn is more important than when we learned it.

I low did Tyler,Stenhouse and Freire include the above universal principles in their
11pproaches
to curriculum development?

lyler wanted structure in the teaching and learning situation and argued that there
•1houldbe a clarity of focus in what you want to teach, how you want to teach and how
you want to assess.Therefore,the first step in effective teaching is to define objectives
(t>utcomes).What should be kept in mind is that these objectives should be context-
t,ound objectives. The teacher should ask the following four basic questions:

I. What educational purposes does the school seekto attain? (Purposesrefer to the
behavioural objectives that are developed by gathering information from three
\Ources,namely the subject matter, the learners and society.)
' What educational experiences can be provided that are likely to achieve
lhese purposes?
t I low can these educational experiences be effectively organised?
I, I low can we determine whether these purposes are being attained?

Iv1t•1argued that individual learning ensuresthat each learner achievesthe set

uhj11ctives(outcomes). Educational experiences should therefore be derived from
, ,I,J11c.
tives, based on the results of a situation analysis(learner,subject, society),and
1h,·objectives should have been filtered through a philosophical-psychological
1 ,,•finbefore being finalised. It is important to develop citizens who are able to solve
111,1l>lcms and can engage in democratic processes.

t lu• 1nlnciples mentioned above have their roots in the competency-based education
11111vc•1nentand mastery learning. They are based on the premise that we can help

The teacherascurriculum inLerpreLer,

designerand implementer I 85
 learners to create definite and retiabf,eevidence of ach.ievement.This mo def focuses
on the n•ee,dto create favourable learning cond.iti'onsas regards to time, teaching
strate9,iesand learning success.

Taklng a more d,etailed took at compete,ncy-based leairning1you win find that

1

Stenhouse's ideas .of a teach!ng~feairning,processprepare learners for successin

futfilting various fi.feroles. tt is im.portant to try, adapt and ev.aluat,ethe proce·ssto
see whether it is an enHghtening one, and .in hat manner expand,opport.1unities for
appJi.cation.He stress,edthe importance of do,ing resear,chwhile teaching and·foUowing
he route of 'designing down, ,delivering up' - a developmental process wher the
e,ducato,rcan change the eachi,ng-teairningenvironment according to th,e context
•
and learners' ne·eds.During the teaching-.learnfingprocess, he learner should chang,e
through internaHsing inform,atton and forming own opinions.

Mastery learning. promotes the idea tha an f,earnerscan achieve the d,esiredteaching
outcomes ,ifthey are g iven favourable learning. conditions,. such as flexib.Uity,.sufficient
1

time and alternative ways of learning. Freire wanted t,eachersand curriculium

deveJope·rsto make sure that educational experiences can .beused in r,eatlife.
ExperientialI.earningwas of utmost i.m,portance to .Freire.Learners should b·e.ab,le
1

to r.eflect on the value of learning; His approach focused on the identification of

specific knowledge that ·wouf,ddevelop a skirt, which coufd b,~appHed .inpraxis as the
1
connection betwe.en reflection and action. Freires approach considere,d what the ideal
learner in a particular field should '1foo,kUke,be like,act Bke,and think like".

ln terms of teaching and le,arning principles, methodofogy, th,e use of tearni:ng

materials and asse·ssment,th,e following is appfi.cable:teaching impties providrng the
.
learner with f,earningexperiences and guiding, sup,porting:and mediating the learningi
content by facilitating understanding.

Learning implies the devefopm,ent of not onf:ythe f,earner'sknowledge, but also,th,e

understanding of conce·pts,skiUs,attitudes and values. Learning shouf.dbe based ,on
the interaction bet.ween teacher, learner, cont,ext and co,nte·nt.Learning is relevant to
• real-life situations and experiences of the learner. Therefore, cross~curricufarintegration
of knowledg.e and skills may prepare lea.rn,ersfo.r Hfeoutsi.de of school and the W•orl,d
of work. Learners wUI have to take r,esponsibfUty for their learni'ng by being actively
involved in the teaching fearntng proc,ess..This also mean,sthat the teacher should use
a variety ,of approaches and learning material in the f.earning process to accommodate
th,e different learni,ng styfes.

Assessment is viewed as an integral part of teaching and learning, and fs a continuous

process that is based on a wid,e vari.,etyof techniq ue,s..Feed:backin a·.ssessment
1
is va,lu,e.d
as part of learning. Assessment wiU be d.iscussedin more detan in Chapter 5.

86 I Becominga teacher
 Scenario
Discussion on different curriculum approaches
Phumi: We heard about the different curriculum approaches of Tyler,
Stenhouse and Freire and how these were applied in curriculum
development in South Africa.
•
Abigail: Yes,and how Curriculum 2005 was based on OBE,and how the NCS
was further developed based on some criticism by education experts
and many implementation problems.
Jane: Yes,but you are both experienced teachers,and I am new.The
only word I hear is CAPS!I believe there were many changes after
1994. How will I be able to put these ideas into practice, and what
documents do I need to follow?

The South African curriculum

Since 1994,South Africa has undergone great educational changes.Thesewere necessary
because of the apartheid-style education situation inherited by the first democratic
government. In 1995, the government carried out a national audit on teaching that
revealed many disparities and problems. In 1997,the DBElaunched its new curriculum
policy, Curriculum 2005. In its ideology, content and pedagogical approach, this
curriculum was in strong contrast to what had previously been in operation. It was an
outcomes-basedmodel linked to the objectives approach in education. It drew frorn
models operating in some highly developed countries, and it sought to place the
South African curriculum among the most progressive Internationally.This curricular
policy becamea highly contested issuewithin South Africa (DoE,2000).In 2000, the
Minister of Education set up a Curriculum ReviewCommittee.This led to a modification
of the curriculum, the National Curriculum Statement (NCS),with a more 'streamlined'
approach. The policy and the ensuing debate caused much confusion and uncertainty.
The 'cascademodel' of in-service education proved to be inadequate and reached the
schools in a much diluted form.

In 2000, the government published the Norms and Standardsfor Educators(NSE).In

a broad and generic manner, the NSEset out the requirements of the Department of
Education (DoE)in regard to the knowledge, values and skills that an educator should
acquire. It represents a competence-based approach to teacher education. The term
'educator' is preferred to that of 'teacher' and is aimed at encompassing all personnel with
an educational role (DoE,2000). In 2002, the curriculum was reconstructed again into a
RevisedNational Curriculum Statement or'RNCS'that was approved on 15 April, 2002

Theteacherascurriculuminterpreter,
designerandimplernenrer 87 I
 •

and impl,emented in 2004 (DBE,2010; 2-7). In 2006, the DoE issuedThe National
PoHeyFramework for Teacher Education and Development in South Af ica; a policy
that, it stat,ed,''has been a long time 1inpreparation, and is certainly overdue gi·venthe
state of our educa ion sys em" (DoE~2008: 27}. Another wide-ranging change took
place in 2009, namely the separation o.fthe Department of ,Education(DoE)'into the,
Dep rtmen of Bas·cEducation (DBE)and th,e ,Department of Higher Education (DHET),
wh1ichserve as custod~ansof the del very of general' education aindtraining; and higher
education and:train·ng respectively ,(Bot,2013: 6). In July 2009, the Minister of Basic
Education appointed a panel of experts to investigate the nature of the challenges
and problems experi need ,inthe implementation of the NCS.Basedon the· re ults
of thi • invesi igation, th,e NCSwa replaced by the Curriculu1mand Assessment Policy
S atement ('CAPS)rn 2011 (DBE,2009, 2011; P.innock,2011). On 28 December 2012,
• the approval of the regulations pertain,ing,to the NCSGrades R-12 was published, in
the Government Gazet ,eNo. 36041. Acco,rding to this Gazette, CAPSmeans the pol.icy
documents stip lating the a,im,scope, content and assessmentfor each subject listed
in the NCSGrades R- 2 (DBE,2012c: 3).
1

Officia.lpo,licydocume,nts
Pol'icymakers in government have a c ear vision ,of he kind of duca,tor they want.
1

This is why, ·n 2000, the De:partment of Educ tion issu,edthe 'o ms nd Standards for
Educators document (DoE,2000), wh'ch is now replaced by the policy on Minimum
Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications (MRTEQ)'(DBE,2011). A a teacher, i
is necessaryto re ,d this po Heydocu m, nt

The revised poUcy fra,mewo,rkp r ains to educators,in schools and equips te ching
profess.ionalsto meet the needs of a d:emocra ic South Africa in th- 21st century .
••

However, it :is •h,. respons bU'ty of teachers thems.elves,guide,d by their own

professional .body,the South Af ic n Council for Educ tors (SACE),to ta,kecharge of their
own development by identifying the areasin which , hey need to grow pr,ofess;onalfy,
and to use auopportunities made avail ble to them fo,rthis purpose, including those
p, ovided for in the lntegr ted Qua ity Management System(IQMS).The Nor,m,sand 1

S andards for Educato s, as wen as th Criteri for the 'Evalu•tion and Recognit,ionof
Qu Ufica ions for. mploymen in Education (2000),wf ich . re based on the norms nd
standards,.hav been amended nd aUgnedwith then w HEQF(DBE,2011).
1

The co ,,nestone oft e Norms and Sta· d rds Po,licyfor Educato,rs(DoE,2000) is th

no ion of appll d compe enc nd i associated assessmentc :iteria.This policy
docum n, has been r vised and r · placed wi h th,eN tional Policy Framework fo,r
Te,acherEducation and Dev lopment in South Africa (DoE,2007a).The sev- n roles
an-das oc a ed compe enc es for educators for schooling stilt provide the exit-
I vel outcom s for educ o s.The N •tional Qu Ufications Fram work Act 67 of

88 I Becominga acher
2008 policy on the Minimum RequirementsTor teacher Education Qualifications
aligns qualifications for teacher education with the Higher Education Qualifications
Framework,2007,and replacesthe Normsand Standardsfor Educatorsin Schooling,
2000,in its entirety (DBE,2011).

Think about it •
• What is CAPS?
• How do the NCSand CAPSdiffer?

Scenario
What is CAPS?
Jane: When we compared the NCSdocuments with CAPSwe found them to
be quite different.
Phumi: As far as I know, CAPSis not a new curriculum, but an amendment to
the NCS.
Abigail: CAPSmakesthe NCSmore accessibleand gives grade-specificcontent
details for every subject.

From NCSto CAPS

I 111•Curriculum and AssessmentPolicy Statement (CAPS)is not a new curriculum, but
11111lmendment to the National Curriculum Statement (NCS)GradesR-12. It therefore
,IIll follows the same processand procedure asthe NCSGradesR-12 (Pinnock,2011).

I ht•CAPSis an adjustment to what we teach (curriculum) and not how we teach

(h•,1chingmethods}.There is much debate and discussionabout outcomes-based
d11cation(OBE)being removed. However,OBEis a method of teaching, not a II

, 111rlculum. It is the curriculum that has changed and not the teaching method.
I 11,,way the curriculum is written in the CAPSis based on content knowledge areas
1111 I 'ipecific aims, rather than on outcomes.This meansthat content is more of a
11111,,,1focus than OBEmethods. Further,there is one single comprehensive National
c 1111lculum and AssessmentPolicy for each subject (MaskewMiller Longman, 2012:8).

I h1•dl~gram that follows shows the developments in the education systemand

1111leulum policy documents in South Africa. In terms of the teaching methods

111111-.c;essment,
the diagram reflects what is being aimed for rather than what has
It, •n .,chleved.

Theteacherascurriculuminterpreter,designerand implementer I 89
-
 Conten et od Assessmen
(W' a we each) ( ow we teach) (How e est)

Report 550 {1997) Traditional Traditf on al

,lecture method examinations

(2005

NCS(2002}

.1
nteractive Continuous
RNCS(2004) goal-orientated reflective process
me hod (OBE)

NCS/CAPS(2012-2014)
Fig,ure4.2 Curriculum development· .inSouth Africa

Table4.1 The implementation stagesof CAPS

lmple.mentat,ion
Year Phases .an,dgrades
date

2012 Foundaion Phase(GradesR-3) and Gr de O (FET January2012

2013 fn erm dia e Ph se (Grad s 4-6) and Grade 11 (FET) January2013

201 SeniorPhase(Grades7-9) and Grade 12( ET) January2014

Th,emain cha.ngesin the CAPSare aisfollows:

• lnstructio.nalt,i'mehasi·n•creased
in the FoundationPhase.
• Numeracyis cartedMathem.a:tics,and Literacyis caUedL.angua,ge.
• FirstAdditional Langu·agewi:11
be added to the FoundationPhase(one langua,g'e
must be the language-oflearning and teaching (LoLT))..
• The,eigh.tlearn[ngareashave.beenchangedto six subjects,in the IntermediatePhase.
• In the Senio-rPhase,school basedassessmentwill cou,nt40%,and the end-of-year
• examinationwill count 60%.
• The content hasbeen•reorganisedfor severalof the subjectsin the FETPha.se,
and
the examstructure hascha.ngedin some of the subjects.
• AUgradeswill usea seve:n-pointscalefor asse sme,nt.
• learning outcomesand assessmentstandardshavebeen re·m,oved'
and rep.laced
with spec.ificaims and skills.

90 I Becominga eacher
• CAPSis organised into topics (content/themes/knowledge strands).
• Learning areasand learning programmes are called subjects.
• There is a term-by-term and a week-by-weekteaching plan in the CAPS.
• Curriculum statements and learning programme guidelines have been replaced by
one document called CAPS.

Summary of curriculum changes

Table4.2 Assessmentchanges

All gradeswill usea seven-pointscale Foundation.Intermediate,Seniorand

FETPhases

Grades3,6 and 9: Externalannual Setexternallyand markedinternally

assessment Moderatedby districtsand samplemarked
and moderatedby NationalEducation

CommonTasksfor Assessment(CTAs) Mathematics,HomeLanguageand First

will be replacedwith Annual National AdditionalLanguageareset externallyand
Assessments (ANAs) markedinternally

Weightingof ContinuousAssessment GradesR-3: 100%CASS

(( ASS) Grades4-6: 75%:25%
Grades7-9: 4096:60%
Grades10-12:25%:75%

Inble4.3 Seven-pointscalefor the description of competence

Rating code Description of competence Percentage

7 Outstandingachievement 80-100

6 Meritoriousachievement 70-79

5 Substantialachievement 60-69

4 Adequateachievement 50-59

3 Moderateachievement 40-49

2 Elementaryachievement 30-39

1 Not achieved 0

The teacherascurriculuminterpreter,designerand implementer I 91

 ,,

Table4.4 Time allocation for Foundation Phase(hours per week)

Language -
HomeLanguage(HL)(6)and FlrstAdditional Language
(FAL)(4/5)
---::,:-:-'-;::====:::=
-==========::.:::~==---
Mathematics Mathematics(7)
- ·-

LifeSkillsdivided into four -==-

BeginningKnowledge(0.5)
'topics'
CreativeArts (2)
PhysicalEducation(2)
Personaland SocialWellbeing(1)

Table 4.5 Time allocation for Intermediate Phase(hoursper week)

Eightlearningareasreducedto six
subjects
HomeLanguage(6) I
FlrstAdditionalLanguage(5)
Mathematics(6)
NaturalSciencesandTechnology(3.5)
SocialSciences(3)
LifeSkills(4)
=:::
Increasein time spent on languages
languagesare split into two separatesubJects:
Homelanguage (6)
FirstAdditionalLanguage(5)

Technologyremovedasan individual
NaturalScienceschangesto NaturalSciences
learningarea •
and Technology

Economicand Management
Only taught from Grade7
Sciencesremoved
I
Arts and Cultureremoved
CreativeArts Incorporatedinto LifeSkills
•
I
LifeOrientationchangedro LifeSkills I LifeSkillsdivided into three'topics'·
CreativeArts (1.5)
PhysicalEducation(I}
I
Personaland SocialWellbeing(1.5)
•

92 / Becominga teacher
Table 4.6 Time allocation for Senior Phase(hou s per week)

Ho e Lan u e 5

a u I Sc, s 3

Socialsc·e c s 3

Tee nolog 2

conomic and ana men S • nc 2

l, Ori n a ion 2

rs

, J, 4.7 Time aUocationfor FETPhase(hours per week)

I lorn 5

IL ng a .5

M ....-·he a ic I Lt er cy 5

ren ion

II r 2 (3 s)

The teacheras curr culum i erpre er, sign nd im remen e I 93

 Out - ith the "old'- in ith the 'ne ·'
Thefollowing table showsthe main diffe,rences
betweenthe N;CS,
wh.ichemphasised
learn.ingoutcomesand .a,ssessment
standafds,and the CAPS,which focuseson content.
1

Table 4 8 Example:Econo.micand Management SciencesGrade,7

- -

'
OLD -RNCS
1
NEW-CAPS

rning Ou co · e 1 Te 1
The co om, c cfe e 6-7

e arnerwillbe . I o demons ra
a · d und s anding o he co omfc c
he con o • he economic · rablem'.

s smen St ndards
e no his hen le rn r:
pl in n s,and ho
dlij nee be e n hem imp c on o n
commu -11e he n ·,on
Goods n s c s;=•·'"" ...'es of
D crib s h d rent ....
,..,..,.so in s n goods nd r i e ; produc s n •
• ie • in he prim ry,s co da y consum rs; ,e ole o ou e of s
t r ary c ors. as p u ers n co su
plains e one p : re - a onomic (scarce) n ervi
,oo , and i fl ,enceo em n su ly e C 0
•
on mare pnc s oods o s

Eachsubject ,is,d.ividedIntot,opicsa:ndeach top·icinto content outlines. Tnishas

replacedaHl,earni,ng
,outcomesand a,ss,essment
standards.

TheCAPSdocumentsdo not havea specificformat ,orlayou'.and,altho,ughthere seem

categoriesand headings,the way th - 1nforma•io,nis pr,esenteddiffers
to be ,co.m,mon
from subjectto su,bject..
•

Thereare,some subjects,for examplethe languages,that r:eferto skrHs(e..g. listening

skiHs,re,adingskiHs)ratherthan,topics.Ther,eis an emphasi.s,oncompetenciesthat must
be demonstrated in th,eassessmenttasks.
TheCAPSdocumentsprovid.egu,idelineson how m,uchtime should be spent on each
topi,cand what content should be coveredin that tim,e.SomeCAPSdocumientsprovid.e
an outtined annua,fteach,ingplan,whichindicatesthe topics per term, in sequence and
h,owmuch time should bes.pent,onthem.

94 i Becominga cher
 The corr ct documenta ·on
Schools need t,o make sure that they have the following documentation:
nt.
• Curricurum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS)per subject
National Policy Pertaining to the Programme and Promotion Requir,ements of the
NCSGrades R- 12 (DBE,2012a)
• Policy on M,inimum Requirements for Teacher Education Quafifications {MRTEQ),
which replaces the Norms and Standards for Educators (DHET,2011)
• National Protocof for As e sment (N.PA)Grades R-12 (DBE,2012b)

In the next section we look at general components to consider when implementing

a curriculum. •

To ards the implementation of the c rriculum

The core of a curriculum generally concern the aims and con ent of learning. Ch nges
to,this core u uaUy presuppose changes to many other aspects ,of (the plan for)
lea,rning and teaching (Van den Akker, 2003).

There are sp crficcore components and questions to sk wh n we develop and implement

curriculum. Some of thes components and questions ar shown In he follow·ng table.

1: bl'e4.9 Core components of curriculum impl mentation

1

Source:SLO(2009: 12)

1msa o ~ c o ar s h I nin ?

Con ?

Ho a I arn, ?

c r rol

y I rning?

I a ni
io rn n ?

n are

s n fo s h ir I n1n
•

The ach r as c r iculum n , r er, d sign and lmpl ment r I9

 The rationale serves as a central link, connecting .aH,other curriculum, comp·onents.
1

fdeaUy,these are a.lso.co,nnected o each other, providing consistency and cohere•nce·.

This rationale afso illustrates a,famUiar •expression:".Everychain is as strong ,asits
weakest Hnk:'It i,s.therefore not surprls.ing that sustainable curriculu.m innovation is
often extremely difficult to achieve.

Curriculum design or innovati,on can start with any co.mponent. TraditionaHy, th,e
lear,ning,
contentr,eceivest.he .most attention. Over the, past years, new insights an,d
views about learning have provided a sourc,eof .inspiration for Innovation. Learning
may take pl.aceany'where i·nside·or outside the schoof1 and the co,nditions of the
Je,arningenvironment appea.rto be ,more influential than previously .assumed.

The time factor is al. o a ctassicarobject of curriculum discussions: how do we

distribute the Umited amoun of time across domains and learnin,g tasks?

At sch•o,otand classroom lever, consisten,cy is of crue,ial.importance for s.ucce·ss.fuf,

and
sustainable i'mpfem,,entati,on.of innovations. This is a g.reatchallenge and often an uphill
stru,ggle wi h much tna,I and error, whi.:lemaking only stow pro,gress.

Teacherlearn1ng-· what and h,ow?

1

Cu·rriculum innovation implies changes in the acting and thinking of teachers and,
•
therefore, involves a drastic .learning process for those invo,Ived.Changes are needed in
1

the foUowiing thr,ee.dim,ensions (FuUa.n,2007):

• the use of other teaching materials

• the ad,option an.ddemonstration of d·ifferent behaviour~in a ,didactical,pedagogical,
and o,rg,anisationafsense; and the consequential 'un.fearnfng'of existin•g roles
and routines •
• the changing of vie:wsand attitudes concerning the professf,on,th,e learner's ot.e,
and the teacher's own rote.

But fir.stand foremost, changes hav,ei.m,pMcations

for teachers'pedagogical conten .
knowledge and skit.ls(Van .Oriel,2008). Reorientation ,onand reinforcem,entof pedagog.ical
content knowledge are considered the keys to successfulcurricuf,umim·provement.

An important difference between the learnin,g.of teachers and the tearning of

learners is that teachers have an extens1iveand greatly varied set of experiences.
Such experiences may form a favou.ra.bJestarting point and frame of reference for
•
new learning exp·eriences;but the opposite may also be true. ff the new information
is inconsistent with the existing frame of reference, this may lead to inse,curi.tyand
even rejecti,on.

96 I .Becominga teacher
An important simUarity between the learning of teachers and the learning of learners is
1

that a number of social-co •structivist principles apply to the learning of both eachers
and learners. rn this context, prominent sources (Barko, 2004.:Bransford, Brown and
Cocking, 2000; Darling-Hammond and Bransford, 2005) point out the im portanc,e of 1

the fo lo·wing:

• stimulating active construction of meaning by (re)desig.ning, experimenting

and reflecting
• aiming for the zone of proximal development (ZPD)
• stimulati·ng interaction and collaboration, for example, by form.ing teams in an
attem·pt to break through the barri.ersof isolation. •

The quality of the curriculum

The quality of education i.soften the subject of debate. There are different ways
in which peop•leassessthe quality of a.curriculum. Does it teach relevant th/ngs?
Does it lead to adequate results in national assessmentsand examinations? Does it
allow learners to achieve their fuU po,tent·al? Does it enabf.ea smooth transition to
subsequent educational levels? Does it prepare I:earnerseffectively for the job market?
f,nthis chapter, we specify four criteria, namely relevance, consistency, practicaHy and
effectiveness to jud.ge the quality of a curriculum (cf. ,Nieveen, 1999, 2009').These four
criteri.a are further exp,Jainedin Table 4.10.
1

Table4.1 O Curriculum quality criteria

Source:SLO(2009:41)

Re,levance The e is a n -d for he inter 1en ion.

The design o e curric lum is b sed on a e-of- he r (sci n inc)
k owle ge.

Consistency T es ucture of he curric I mis log·ca nd cohes've.

Practical'ity Expectedpracticality
I is e cted ha he in erven ion
ha been esigned.

Actual practicality
The rnt r en ion is, in fac. us bl ·n h e ings o h'ch it has been
des·gn d.

Effectiveness Expectedeffectiveness
Using t e in erven io i expeae□ of sul ·n desi ed o comes.

Adua,Jeffecti,veness
Th ·mplern n afo o t e in er en ·on leads o e des·, ou comes. •

The teacher as curriculum interpre er, designer and implementer I 97

 The quality criteria more or less build on one another. Whether a ,curriculum Is effective
wiUalsodepend on the practicality- can it be i,mplemented asintended? tn the list of
quality criteria in Table 4.1,0,a distinction has been made between the ,expected and
the,actuat practicalityan·deffectivenessof a curriculum.Conc.erningteaching materials,
for exam,ple,the expect,ed practicality and,effectiveness.
can be assessed through
screeningof the mater.ialsby teachers. Detailsaiboutthe actuaI practicality and
,effectivenessof the materialscan only be ,gatheredonce teachersand learnershave
used the new materials in the actual edu,cationa.rpractice.
1

Curricurum evaluation is focused ,on the four quality criteria of relevance, consistency,
pr.acticaUty
and effectivenes.s,w.ithsom.eshiftsin emphasisduring the cu:,rriculum
development process.This becomes apparent in the foUowing w.ays:
• through analysis activitfes earl1y
in the process, to provi,de a solid gr,ound for
subsequent design decis·on
• through continuous formative eva,luation during the process,aimed at determining
the quaUty of intermediary produas, and the generation of ,improvement proposals,
1

which is alsote,rmedinfo,rm I a,s.sessment.

Summativeevaluation;at the conclusionof. process,·saimed at assessin,gh,e
effectivenessof the flnarprod'uct and its contribution to knowledgedevefopm,ent.
Inthe CAPS,summativeevalu.•.tionis termed formalassessment,and a form. I
pr,ogramme of assessment isprovided for every subjectand grade.
1

P'lanninga learning programme/curriculum

A learn ing progra,mme is a proce -sfor planning,managing and orga,nis,ingclassroom
1

practtcefo.ra particular duration ,or,phase.

A keyword,in the definition of a learning progra.mmeis classroompractice. What we

plan in •he learningprogram,memust guide and inform what is don.ei,nthe classroom
- anteach.ing,,!'earning
and'assessment.
Whenpl.anning,atearnfngprogramme, th,eteam, that is, all teach,ersin a pha,s,e, should
,b,eincluded in th,e learning p.rogramme design. The following key pta,nning elements
should b,einclud•ed:
• princ,,pl - of CAPSthat miustbe incorporat d in alf teaching, learningi and
assessment
• ti e frames ior a,U
teachi.ng,learningand assessment
• im and sse sm1 nt ,crit rt acro•ss
the phaseand how they are to,bes, qu nee
• cor, kno· edge an,dc,o,nceptthat will be used •,nattaining the ,learning ai,msand 1

assesment criteria

98 I 8 coming
 • conitexts/themeswithin whi,chthe teaching, learning and assessmentwill occur
• how progression(increasingconceptual complexity} will occur w·thin subjectsand
1

from,grade to grade,while conside ing i tegration acrossdifferent subjects..

1 1

s,

hink abo tit

Thereare many considerati.onsin good learning progra,mmedesigns.
How d'oyou makesure that there is progressionin your learning programme?
1

,ooyou •hink ·t is necessaryto plan integration wi h the ,othersubj ct teachersof the

grade{s}you are,teaching?Why do you sa,yso?
• How do you ensurethe righ,1de,pthand balance •O eachyour tearners?
• How oufd you descri.be'va,lues'and
the'hidden ,curriculum'?Canyou
provide examples?

In the ne t se tion, we discussselectionand negotiation as part of the planningiprocess.

el@cton and negot1at10

, .ar,nrs h ve differen hfe exper'encesand come from different c,ontexts..When
d livering he curriculum, the school needsto know wha the tearners'dUti rent
ontexts are,and educator should apply these in the lea ning situation to ensurethat
t ch1ingand learning are appropriate for the needsof the learners,the coimm,unity, the
hool a,ndthe classroom.

hole school dev lopmen plann ~ngmay be defined as a processwhereby alt the
1

keholdersi1nthe school consider au th acti _ities an,dinterestsof the school, a·nd

,t n decide on he·goals for their school •overa c rtain period:of ti me. 1

11 processof learning·programme development shoutd be Unked o the whole

1

, I oo,Idevel10pmenplan b- causethe curricutu·mis he core busin ssof the school.

I - d·eHveryof the curriculu1mmust fnform he vision and mission of the schoot,.how
,t ·bud1getis allocated and sp nt, and the skillsand c-ompetenciesneeded in the
fi ssionalstaff.

A • ·mpler definition of whol school planning is he processof ,makingsuretha th

1

h ol is ready for th - rn r, rather than the earnerhaving to be readyfo th school.

1 II developmen ma,int ins, ombines, r fines,transfersor gener Usese isting skills.

Ii ,i ht lso involve reactivating skills that hav,ebe n acquired previously.AU kiUsand
1

, ri ncesthat learnersbr.ingto the learning processmust be consi,dere,d

1
valuable.

Th c r as cur icu'um in rpr ter. desi n and lmplem n r I 99

 Curricular content can be chosen and paced to extend learners' accesst,o new areas of
experience, knowfedge .and/or un,derstandingi,based on thejr current strengths and
learning n,eeds.What is taught shou.ld af.sobe flexlb•teand relevant to the lived reality of
the large m.ajority of learners.

Learning contexts. support , he learning process..Learners can be offered variety ,of

activities, resources and environments that are appropriate to their age, interests,
strengths, prior knowledge and achievements:. Learning can also happen through
a variety of activities outside the school, such a,sprojects, work experiences and
vorunteering. These contexts, as well as the resources used, shoufd a,fsomake spe.ci,fic
provisi.on for learners with disabiHties.

Teaching·app,roachescan be widened by accommodating tearners~individual strengths

and !·earning styles at dtfferent sta·ges.This coufd be done through using app.ropr.iat,e
1,,.arning and tea,ching support materials ..

Shared learning is about providing oppo tunities fur .learners'participation in the

learnrng process (e.g,.in planning or fn assessment).Furthermore, assessment should
take into account the c,ontent and level of content to which learners have been
1

,exposed,and shou:ld use alternative 1meth:odsto accommodate fearne·rs'needs (based

on the differen barriers to fearnfng and de·velopment).

The language of learning and teaching needs to be accessible o l,e.rners.

Participation and involvement of careg,iVersand families .arees.sentialand need to

be valued.

In planning for the school year, the school management team, together with the
professionaf staff, should have identified the curricular s rengths, weaknesses,
opportunities ar d threats (SWOT).inthe school. From th is SW·OTanalysis, rt should
1

be possible, for example, to .seewhat the educator should focus on with learners in a
particular grade a,nd phase.

• At wha:t stages/levels do we·pfan 7

• A.steachers, when do we think about buying Jearning and teaching 1mate,rial, and
what do we have to take into conside .a,tionwhen choo,sing learning .and teaching
material?

Pha.seplanning
In the Foundation Phas.e(Grades.R-3); there are thr,ee subjects: Language (Home
Language and First Additional Langua,ge),Mathema ics and Life·Skills. fn the
tnte,rm1ediatePhase (G.rades4-'6), the subjects are Home La1nguage,First Additiona,I'
Lan,guage,Mathern tiics,Natural Sciencesand Technotog,y,Socia:!Scienc,esand Life Ski:Us.

l 00 I Becoming e cher
 Ilnthe Senror Phase(Grade 7 9), there are nine subjects, nam ly: Home Language~
First Additional Language, Mathematics, Natural Sciences,Social Sciences,Technology,
of Economic and Management Sciences,lff~ Orientation and Creative Arts. Schools may
offer more subjects if they want to. In FET(Grade 10-12), here are four compulsory
ubjects (Home Language, First Additional Langiuage,.Mathematics/Mathematical
Literacy and Life Orientation) and three e.lectives.Schools may offer more subjects, and
learners m,aychoose more subjects.(DoE,2002b; 201 l ).

.he following aspects are important when planning for a specific phase:

• sequencing (conceptua p,rogression)of the aims and assessmentcriteria

core knowledge and concepts that wiUbe used to attain the learning outcomes/aims for
IS the phase (this should be done in the context of the communi'ty, school and classroom
o ensur,ethat· he teaching and learning is appropriate for the learners' needs) •

time a,Hocatiionand weightjng given to the subject in the phase.

hase planning implies that all teachers in a phase shourd work together to c.reatea
I ar p.lanof how they wiU guide learne s thro gh that phas.e.lt does not make sense
f r teachers in a phase to· plan entirely on their own, because they an need to ensure
Ih • learners achieve the nation .1learning outcomes by the time they exit the phase,
which is at the end of Grade 3 (Foundation. Phase~,Grade ,6(Intermediate Phase),
de 9 (Sen·o Phase)and Grade 12 (FIT}.

v ry teach •r i'san indiv'dual and the me· hods tha we use in our own classrooms may
ff r from those of our colleagues, but be just as effect·ve in ensuring that the leamer
hi ves the aims. Asteachers, we will be involved in diffe ent levels of planning,, each
1 which serves a diffe ent purpose and involves differen revelsof detail.

I r ar four key stages at which pl anning should take :Place:

1

h se. Planning akes place across a phase (three grades). The organis'ng tool for a
h e comes from both the CAPSdocuments and the charact ristics of the learner
In this age group,

fi r to the Teacher'sGuide and CAPSfor the subject and see what characteristics
il' k the learners in this phase d·stinct. This is important, since learners are a
ff rent developmen al levels in diffe. ent ,phases. As we gain experience ·n teaching
v r the years, we wUI begin to see his for ourselves. Ho ever, if just starting out
1 h teaching, profession, i • is advisable to make yourselves familia with the
1

I v lopmental lev- ts of learners in each phase.

rk schedue (gr de/year pl ): Each grade in the phase will have •o plan for
, y •,r'swork, A work schedul'@for each subject is based on the CAPS.it is
v top d in ter.m,sof the sequencing, context, and core knowledge and concepts
hl veL

e eac er ascur i ulum i rp r,designer and impl men r I 01

 The,teache.rsresponsiblefor the curri,culumfor a particul,argrade within a phasewill
produce the work schedulefor their g1radeacc,ofdingto th 1 e CAPS.
• lesson pl.ans·ln,d,ividuafteachersin the grade wiHthen plan for the,particular
:learnersi'ntheir class(,es).
Aims for each less·onare necessary.
• The a a1il bility of resources.What resourcesdo,we h.avei,nthe,school for th1e
suc,cessfuldelivery of the ,fe·a
rning programme?teachers need'to have a clear picture
of what resourcesare avaUabJe,
1
in the way of people, buildings, equ1ipmentand,
materi·af,s
..

The policy documents have the followi,ng advice o,nresources.

• Differe,ntsu.bject and learn,ing,,programmes/curriula .relyon different resourc,es
for their succes.s.
Teachershave to be familiar w,iththe required and available
resourc,e·sas the,ydevelop their prog,rammes..Care,should be taken not to develop
learning p.rogrammes/curriculawher:e,a.lackof accessto resources • ill discriminate
against learners.Teachersmust ,alsobe sensitiveto the limitations of learners
who experiencebarriersto .learninga,n,dh:,o,w their progressmay be affect:ed,by
avanabUityof .resources ..
• If learn:ersdo not have accessto resourcesthe sch,ooland th,eteachersne d to find
creative waiysto get around this.The school must b r,eadyfor the learner rather
1

than the learner being ready for the sch,ootBarrie,rsto,learning must be overco,me
so,tha:tthey do no,thave,a negative i'mpacton learners..
• Wh·iiewe .maybe rely,ingon a,textbook, we should also be ,develo·pingI ssons,that
use·other medi . For,exa:mple,
we coutd,p,fay and discussthe influences,o,na 1Piece of
classicafmusicthat waswritt.endunng the FrenchRevolution.Afternativel,y, we could
asklearners•,o usethe Internet and/or ai library to reseaircha particu,far topic/theme·.
When,using any le.arni,ngand teach,ingsupport materia,I(textbooks a1r,e
1
only on,e,typ
of m,ateri'aO,
It ·s advisableto,eva,fua1te
th:ematerialsbefore 1buyingthem (a,n,dthen
di:scovenngthat they are not s.uita1ble).

When planning'a learn,lngprogramme/curricutum,th1e'folio .i,ngque,stionsabout

asse.ss.ment
should be askedfro,mthe outset:
• ' hi'chass,essment t chn·quewould be the,most app.ficabJe, for ,measuring he
achi,evementof the requ.iredaims?Would we, for in,stance,use a researchproject, or
1

a writt,en assignment?
•
• How would we assessa rese,archproject or ,anassignment?Would we,use an
,ob,servationsheet with assessmen,t
cr.reria,,o,ra rubric?Th,eseare the t,oolsof
1

assessm,ent.The assessment,cr'teriahave aJr,eady been designed for the activity;.and

w,eneed to selectan appropriate assess.men,t toot
• ho wUJ,bedoing the assessin·g?
Will it be gr,oup,assessme·nt,
s ,ff~a,ssessmen,t
or
pe,erassessment?Theseare possible -e:t,hodof assessment.

102 \ Becoming teacher

Figure4.3 illustrates the stagesof planning a learning programme. I

WHOLESCHOOL
DEVELOPMENT

VISION MISSION BUDGET STAFF CURRICULUM

Situation Analysis(SW On to determine curricula

• Strengths
• Weaknesses
• Opportunities
• Threats

0
TIME - Phase-
,,== 1/ PRINCIPLES
OFCAPS I{
TABLE specific

LEARNING
PROGRAMME
(PHASE)
AcrossGrades4, 5, 6

ASSESSMENT WORK
PROGRAMME SCHEDULE
= Policy+ Plan (GRADE)
• Members:SAT Grade-specific
• Assessmentpolicy , Aims and
• Frequencyof assessmentcriteria
GR4 GR 5
assessment Duration
• CASS/CTAs • SKVs
• Recordingand , Assessment
frequency LESSON • Integration
• Reporting PLAN{CLASS) • Activities

GRS

Figure4.3 Thestagesof planningIn relationto eachother

Source:Compiledby the author from curriculumpolicy documents

The teacherascurriculum interpreter,designerand implementer I 103

•
 Conclusion
The foca,Ipoint of this chapter is to understa,ndthe background to a curriculum:and how to
1

p.lan,desig.nand .i,mp,lement it in the,ctassroo.m.

We descr.ibedthe c:urriculumand1compaifed
the •differe,ntapproaches to curriculum studies,.focusing on Tyler,Stenhouse a,ndFreire.

We,dis,cussedhow the ,curriculum h,aschang·edover time and focusedo.nthe

ourriculum changes in South Africa over the past two decades.We then looked at the
development ,ofthe, Curriculum and AssessmentPo,licyStatement ('CAPS),
1
which, ,isan
am.endmentto the National CurriculumStatem,ent(NCS)GradesR-12. Wediscussed
the corecom,pon,ents of c,urriculum .implementation,in SouthAfricanschoolsand t,he
d:evefop.m,ent of a learn,ingprogramme/cu,rricuJu·m. Wefocusedon th,e selectionand
eva.tu,ation
of appropriate,,l1earning,tea,chingand su,pportmaterials.,an1don,h,owto make
progressionin teaching a,ndlearning more effective ..It is important that we understand
how to inc,orporate the principles o,fa particular ph,aseof Iea1rn;ing.

Wet,henillustrated and explainedthe stag,esof plan,ninga learning programme,, fro•m

1

whof,,eS·chool,develop,m:entto situation analysis to th:e aplplicationof the Iprin,ciples

of the CAPSand the detailed development of a l"earni,ng program,me,which .·ncludes
1

phase planning, acrossg rades, the d,evel.opment

1
,of,awork schedu1le for the grade und,er
1

considerationof grad•especificai.msand the ass,essm,ent

9
programme.

Glossary
CAPS·Curricul,um and AssessmenP,ohcyStatement
Curric,uf m: h,as.its origins in the Latin curier;e,
which m,eans'run' and wi h further
reifeenceto the runn:ing/c,hariot tracks,or a cour.se
process,foIr pl a,nning, managing a,ndorgan1s1n,g
•e rn1ngpro,gramme..a 1Plias,e-,long 1

,classroompractice,
Syll _b ·_s::hasa,Gr,eekorf,gin· nd means~aconcisestatement'o,r'ta,1ble
1
of the top,icsof a
discourse~
or the'Hstof contents of a su·bject'

,
•

104 f Becoming. each r

 eferences
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JETEducaiti,onServices
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I • artmen of Educ t,ion.2000.National EducationPolicyAct (27/1996).:Norms.a'nd
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 Department of Education.2002b.RevisedNational Curr;culumStatement. ,(GET).
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Grad,es10- 12; Pretoria·Gover,nmentPrinter.

1

D'e,partmentof Education.2002d.Ass,essm·entPolicyin the GETBand..Government

Gazette,N,o.23406,3,1M..ay.Pretoria:Government Printer.
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Department ,ofEducatio,.n. National Curriculum·State,ment.GradesR-9
,(scho,ols):
Teacher'sGuide for t1heDev·elopmento,fLearning Prog:ra.mmes.
1
,Pretoria:
Gov,ern,mentPrinter.
Department of Education.20,04a.RevisedNati,onalCurriculumStatem,ent:Training
M,an,ual.Ptetofia: G1ove.rn,ment
Prin,ter.
of Education.2004b·.RNCS.Teachers'Guidefor the Developmentof Learning
1De,pa.rtment
Progr,ammesPretoria:Government Printer.
Oepartiment,ofEdu,catfon.2007a..TheNatio,n.alPolicyFrameworkfor teachereducation·
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200·7.
1Pretoria·
Go,vern,m1e,nt
Printer.
..2007b. learning program.mesguidelines.Pretoria:
Department of E,ducati',on
Govern,mentPrinter.
Department of Education.2008. Thedesignof the contfn,uingprofessionalteacher
developme·nt(CPTD)system.Pretoria:Govern,mentPrinter;
C.20,oa.Theeducatoraslearningprogrammedevelop,er.
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G,erhardt,,H.P..
1993.Paulo,Freire(19,21-1'99'7).Prospects:
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Sp,ri.nger.
Good.son,,
r.F.1989',Themakin·gof curric,ulum:,Collecte,d
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Gru,ndy,S. l 987..Curriculumreality in .Africanprimary schools.Johannesburg:SkotaviUe,.

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Theteacherascurriculuminterpreter,designerand implementer I 107

 .

• • •
• • •• • • ••
• •
• •
• • • ••
Purpose • • • • ••
•• • •• Challenges to assessment
•• • •
• Decisionsabout • • •
• • Philosophy and pedagogy
progressof learners • •
• •
• •
• • Alignment
• Assessmentversus • ••
• • nme
evaluation • ••
,
y •• • Variety
•
Types of assessment • • Sufficiency
•
•
Principles • -
•• • • Fairness
•
•• •• •
• • •
• Valid • •
•
• Fair •
•
• Reliable Summative Formative •

Assessment Assessment ~
• Flexible
• Equitable of learning for learning
I Models of assessment
• Incremental • Traditional
• Redeemable , Criterion-referenced
• Demanding • Norm-referenced
I
• Fit for purpose
• Accountable
• Transparent

Deep large
learning classes
• • • •
I
• • •
• •
Reflective Authentic • •• •
y
assessment assessment
Self- Peer-
•
assessment assessment

Portfolios

Feedback and rubrics

I

•
 -- - -- -- - - - - --

At the end of this chapter you will be able to:

t • define what assessmentis and what the purpose of assessmentin
teaching and learning entails
• clearly distinguish between assessmentfor and of learning, and indicate
the purpose of each of these assessments
• compare different models of assessmentand link them clearly to the
types of assessment
• interpret the principles of assessmentto your own specialisation
• explain how assessmentcan be utilised to support deep learning
• explain the importance of assessmentrubrics and feedback for teaching
and learning in your subject specialisation.
 t is an important aspect of g,ood te,aching an,d I.earning.Yo,urlecturer w,ould
Assessm,.en 1

ha·vehighUghted a number of aspects that are importanit in the preparation ,of a .resson.
What you have learne,d so far a.bo,utlearning· and, dev,eloping learnin,g outcomes using 1

action· words should be li'nked explicitly to, making decisi,ons.a.bo:utyour assessment

strat,egies..t,nth.is chapter we win discuss some generic aspects of assessment.We wHI
1

first consider the purpose of.assessment, and then e·xpla1in,

some important ass.essment
conc,epts that you may use.as aimediator of l·earning. Next, we will discuss impo.rtant
pri.nciples for effective assess.ment,identify differen t appro·aches,and finally pr,ovi,de
1

some ideas for ,tmp,,lementing: assessment in practice ..It is important to n,ote however,
1

that the ·wayyo u teach shouJd be con,gruent ·with how you assessyour leariners:,and is
1

linked. inextricably with }to,ur personal te.aching phi.losop1hywhich yo•u learned about in
Chapter 1. In this.section, we work W1iththe assumption that yo,u a.reteachin:g,for deep
and meanlng,fu,llearnin1g·(rather than superficial' lea:rning, often associated with mere
memorisa,tion), referred to in e·ducation as a learning-centre·d approach. Th.erefo,re,
d,ecrsionsmade around asse·ssmentshould serv·eto .enhan.cedeep and mea,ningful
l·earning. We also work with th1e.assumpti,onthat i:1n
the ,classroom,a teacher's approach
to teaching and f,ea.rninghas a ,profoun,d im,pact ,on howlearners wUI fearn. We·wiU
return to, this notio,n later in the chapter.

What a1rew,emeant to assess

7

Jabu an:idCassandra1
are chatti.ng over ai cup of coffe.e in the staffroo,m a·fter class,
one· Friday afternoon1.They both: teach En,gHshait the local1hi,gh school and are
etymology (tihe origin of wor,ds) to tihe matri,c cl,asses.At tihe sta1ff
tea·c,hing1 1

,compu·ter,Tsegi is fi·nishing an assignment ,for her class,whicih is du1eon: Mon·day.

She studies.partMtime to finish her 1Pos.t
Graduate Certi'fi,catei1nEducation at the
lo,cal uni,vers1ty.
Cassandra Jabu, d1i:dy,ou know that the root W•ordfor ~assessment''is to
1:

's:itbesi'!de'"
Jabu burs.tsout laughin,g;
Jabu1• Now that is an i.rony ... the Iast 11ch,e.cked,tests aindexams h·ave
1

little to do with ~s1itting,

beside,'any of o,urlearners. If an,ything, it's,
more like we are sitti ng·on top of our fea1rne.rs,,
1
wielding' whips and
sticks to try an,dget them to study so that they can p·assand move
1

onto the n,extgr.ad,e!

 ca,ssandra::Th.atis true, jt sometimesfeels as though1we only assessso that we
can1send the stats to fhe Depart:me·ntof BasicEducatio.n(DB,E)
or
.n. give·parents reports aitthe end of the term. I wonide whe,ther H
J the testin,gand assignmentsactually help our learn.erslearn.
Tsegi,who initially s.eemed,
q·uiteengross,edin her work, suddenlylooksup from
the c,o.m,put,er.
It
Tsegi: In my stud:ies,wear,@currently discussingthe difference·between
ass-essmen,t
for learn·ng,and assessmentof learnin.g1,
and we have
just readan artrcleby SueSwaffield,which refersexactlyto what
Cassandrais sayin,g.let me r,eada p·aragraphfrom the ar iicle, 1

11

think you would find it very interesting. Swa,ffieldsays:"The word

assess.menthas ,itsr,ootsin the Latiniverb ossid'eremeaning 'to sit
beside~a notion so'mewhatremovedfrom conceptionsof assessme,nt
that give prom1inenceto examin tio.n a.ndtesting. The p,ictureof
someones·tting besid'ea learner,perhapsin,di'alogueo,vera !piece,of
wo-r-k,representsmuch more accurate'(yassessmentasa s.up,port
for learning rat'hertha1nassessme:ntas a test of performance:'
bu Well, clearly they have small classes,e·noughlearner support
materials and no DBEa.dm:informs that haveto b r gul .r,lyfilled
i.n.In our classesof 40 ·, how·can w,e'be in a dia og,ue'with each
about every piece of work tha they hand in for
of our learn·e-rs
feedback?I wou:ld never sleep.
1
ssandra.. Well,techn'c.aly, every time we mark and provide comments or
feedback to our learn,ers,.
we are in a ki.ndof dialogue with them.
Maybe not to the extent that Ts,egiis mentioning, but we do,it in a
limited wa,y.I think we :haveto have•a balance between assessing
bot'h for and of learning in class. Don't you th.nk so?

kab·out ·t
t do you think is the differenc.,ebetween assessme:nt of
for andlassessmen:t
. • 1
l·ng 1
••

ti h, in your opi:n,ion,is more i,mportant o do? Assessment.foror asses.sment

of
I ng1 Why?
1i 1

y u hink Jabu hasa, valid point when he arguesthat one can ,re·allyo.nlysupport
r ssessment·Of student learning when we have sma1U cfasses,adequate
1r es a1ndreasonableworkloads?
•
The pu,rposeof asse,ssment
Assessment is the "coUecting, analysi,ngand interpreting ,of information to ass.fst
teachers, parents and other stakeholders i'n making decis,ions.a:bout the p,ro,gressof
learners'' {DBE,2012: 3,).Assessment is generally also,associated with Indications of
achieve,ment, and this ls what many te.achers,p,arentsa.nd.l,e.arn,ers.
tend' to focus on ..
On,e,doesnot necessarily o·nfyassesswhat one has pr,oduced, but also h,ow it was
produced. Thus,.the most common purpose of a sess.mentis to show the extent and
depth of studen learning by producing adequate evidence using various form:sof
assessment (D,BE,2012). Howe•ver,there are also other major purp,oses,such as to
1

,createcriteria for the selection of candid:ates;to ascertain and mafntain standards for
ed.ucati,onatand pr,ograimmaticquaUty; and to aUow a,dmissionto .instit.utions,a school
or a,specific programm1eof study. R.ecogn.itionof pri,or learnin·g,usually assessedvia a
portfolio ,of evidence, f,sused i,nsome instances to decide wh,ether !'earnersshoufd be
,placedin a particular course or exempted fro,m a course or programme.

Many professional boards and bodies also re,quirethat access,into their ranks is pre,eeded
by some form .ofstandard assessmentt.ha, prov,esthat learners can be a:dm.ittedto a
particular proiession,such a,s.accounting,nursing,.,educationalpsychology,and so on. These
assessmentscan also prepa,relearnersfor life,i,ngen.era.I,and a careerin,particular, or provide
,a m,eansof licensing or certifying students to practise their .craft.The recent Government
Gazette,24467 on the Minimum Requirements for the Qua11ificati.ons Standards advocates
that assessmentis consid1ereda fundamenta.l'task of the teacher who· wiH use assessment
to deepen student learning {DHET,20,12:.S,0).Therefore, the purpose of assessmentis to
1

,assistlearnersto ascertainwhere they are in their learning jo,urney,how they got there, and
how they need to,proceeGf.Such assessmentmotivates learnersand requires adequate and
timeous fe.edbackto, learners,and ais.o,
to teachersto plan for better lea.,rningopport.uniti'es.

tn the South African c,ontext, we afso assessto gener,ateevidence for quality-assuring

bodi,essuch as the Coun,cUon H1,gherEducation (C1HE} or the Higher Education Quality
1

Committee (HEQC)to sho,wthat our assessmentpracti'ces meet th,eir standards.

1

There are .manydiffere,nt types of assessment,and different methods 1ofassessmentare

ch,os,enfor different purpose,s.Assessment types in schools are either format or informal
(DBE,2012: 3). Informal ass,es.sment is da.ilyassessment.aimed at m,onitorin_gth.e,
learn1in.gin ctass.room•s,
through feedback and support, and can take on different forms.
F,ormalassessmentis the system•aticevaluation o,fho,w well le,arne,rs,areprogressing.
One should be aware ,of this disti:nction ,asinformal' assessmentshould be used to,
asce,rtainmore,than the e.xte.ntof the pr,ogression.Schools"in gen,eral,rely strongly
on unseen ,examinations that may be structured or unstructured, and m1ayor may
not offer a choice of questi,o,ns;open-book ex.aminatio.ns;single-question unseen
papers and mul,tiple~choice or objective tes ,s when assessingformally and in.formaUy.
•

112 I Becominga each r

Other types of assessmentare oral examinations and reports, and peer, group and self-
assessment,which are particularly useful in the context of large classes.Theseconcepts
will be discussedin more detail later in this chapter.

Concepts associated with assessment

Brown, Bull and Pendlebury {1997) said that the best way to change learning is to
change the methods of assessment.

Scenario
What went wrong?
A group of learnersare discussingthe feedbackthey receivedafter an assignment.
Cathy: Mike and I did this assignment together, but he got 55% and I got 80%!
How is that possible?Makesyou wonder, doesn't it? I wonder what the
difference between our two assignments is.
Paul: I got 56% with the comment'You can do better: but I'm not sure how I
could have done better.
Unathi: Remember the teacher said all we had to do was follow the guidelines
ih the task description and we'd be fine?Well,that's what I did. I worked
really hard and followed all the rules he gave, and I only got 59%.
Paul: Me too. But I wasn't sure what I should focus on, since there was so
much we could have done.
Sipho: Why must we be assessedanyway?Why can't we just learn for the sake
of it? And who saysthe mark he gives me is what I'm actually worth?
Maybe he just doesn't like me.

Think about it
After reading the scenario,discussyour views on the following points:
• What does this conversation tell you about people'sviews on assessment?
• Were any of the learners'views in the scenario familiar to you? If so,which ones?
And can you explain why?
• What isyour opinion of eachof the waysthe assessmentin the scenariowasdone?
• What does this scenarioteach us about good or 'not so good' assessment?
• Why do you think assessmentis important?

The reacherasassessor I 113

••
 The difference between assessment and
evaluation
Many teachers nd learners equate assessmentonly with tests and assignmen sand
the alfocation of grades.The terms as.sessment and evaluation are hus often used
interchangeably in the Uterat re although they may sometimes mean different thing,s.
An interesting view of assessmentis posited by SwaffieJd(2011), which may be worthy
of deeper consideration when we take the lea.ner-centred classroom and soci.ocul ural
views on learning ,mediation into account Assessment is ,der"vedfrom the Latin verb
assiderelwh'ch literaUy,me.ansto 'sit beside' someone. Swaffiefd quotes Drummond's
1

view in this regard as ''a processof. coking at learners'learning, s riving to understand

1

·.,and us'ng tha· knowfedge i,nthe interest of the fearners"(2011: 434). We therefore
question assessmentpra. tices that only focus on examination, testing, and gaug·ng
ou,comes.

The HEQCprovides a guide for teachers know .as ImprovingTeaching and Learning(/TL}
Resources.It expla·nsthat assessmentof student ((earner)learning mea:nsthe prac ice
of designing formal tasks for I.earnersto complete and then of making inferencesfrom,
and esfmating the worth of their perform,ancesbased on hese ·asks.Assessmentcan
also be understood to be a fo m of researchthat ims o find out what learners know,
understand and can do ..Jn.terms of outcomes-based approaches,assessmen• is a process
du ing which evidence of performance is gathered and evaluated against a.greedcrit,eria.
One has a better IikeUhoodof ascertainl,ngwhat lea,rn-ers can do if a,range of d ifferent
1

ass·essment(research)methods i employed and if the researchinstruments are fit for

thei.rpurpose (HE·QC, 2004: 12, ). It is important to have a.broad understandrng of the
fundamental differ, nee in the purpose of evaluafon and asses ment.

An imp•ortant notion concerning the purpose of assessm,entis that of ria gu1- ion
of ssessm . When we assesswe attempt to get an indication of where the le.arner
is in order to know how to support the lea ner in de pening or extending his or her
tearning ..One of the be,s.tways· o get a comprehensive perspective of the lea.rner~
1

• learning and performance, is to use v ,nous ass-esment asksin combination, such as

he marks of a eiasstest, the feedback on · portfolio task and,a compl.eted rubric on
how an experimen •was conducted.

The undamental purposes ,of assessmentinclude the foHowing:

• • king inf.erenc,es
from nd estim ting the wor h of performances:for 1instance,
when a teache,rreads a learner's essayabout . , hi torical event and assessesthe
learner's knowledge about the event

• A form of research.for instance, assessi.ngcalcula,ion- that require particula

p nci ples in Mathem.ati:cs,in order to iden ify .misconc,eptionslea ners might have
1

114 I Becomin a ch r
• Gathering and evaluating evidence of performance against agreed criteria: for
instance, a creative writing assignment in Language or a learner'sportfolio in Arts
and Culture are assessedaccording to agreed-upon criteria using a rubric
• Triangulation of assessment:for instance,a written test, an individual assignment
and a group activity are all used to assessa certain issue.
The purpose of evaluation, however, is associatedwith making a judgement about a
learner'slearning, and involves scrutinising a number of different forms of evidence, •
from formal and informal assessments,to reach a decision about the learner'sprogress.
It may involve answeringquestions such as"How well hasthe learner performed against
a specificset of criteria?"or "How well hasthe learner met specificdescriptors?"Probably
the most frequently given definitions of evaluation are asfollows:
• Evaluation is the systematicassessmentof the worth or merit of an object.
• Evaluation is the systematicacquisition and assessmentof information to provide
useful feedback about an object (Trochlm and Donnelly, 2007).

The main point here is that evaluation is systematic.It Is focused on a person,

programme, policy, technology, need or activity, and it entails acquiring and assessing
information.
To summarise,assessmentand evaluation are closely related but sometimes have
different aims.Table 5.1 comparesand contrasts these two concepts (Scanlan,n.d.).
Table 5. 1 Assessmentversusevaluation

Dimensions Assessment Evaluation

liming Formative Summative

f OCUSof activity Process-orienled Product-oriented

Relationship:teacherand learner Reflective Prescriptive

l'lndingsand uses Diagnostic Judgemental

Modifiabilityof criteria Flexible Fixed

S1ondards
of measurement AbsoluteOndividual) Comparative

Helatlonbetweenlearners Cooperative Competitive

Source:Adaptedfrom Appleand Krumsieg( 1998:8)

The teacherasassessor I 115

 In the following sections, we ·will exami:nethe follow.i.ng·mportant assessmentconce;pts:
• formative assessment
• summative,.assessmen,t
• assessmentof learn ·ng (Aol)
• assessmentfor te.arning (AfL).

Formative and :summativeassessment

Literature arou:nd the concepts of formative and summat·ve assessment,and
1

assessmentfor learning (AfL) and assessment of learning (AoL) are contested and can
sometimes be quite confusing. Furthermore, some make ass'umptions that assessme,nt
f,orlearning iisthe same as formative assessment,which Swaffi Id (2011) contests.
Tabl,e5.2, proposed by Ben,nett(201 : 8), pro,videsa helpful way of seeing the .differences
between these terms, wh,i,chwe will unpack briefly in paragraphs following th.e table.
Table5.2 The re.lationshipbe ween assessmentpu.rposeand assessmenttype
- - -
PURPOSE
of ASSESSMENT

Form i
"
ate:
)C==pr,i.mary
purpose
K = condarypur ose

Formative assessment
Formative assessment is most often conceptualised as feedback given to learners
du·ring the daily classroom engageme:nt or teaching event which serves to improve
and deepen studen,t learning by giving hem feedback o·ntheir progres.s(Harle·na.nd
l 997; 2006). rt also helps teachers to make decisions about the ,next learning
Jam,e·s,
m·ilestone st,udents could achieve (Benn.ett,2011). It explicitly ,creates01pportunities
for (,earnersto get more practice, engage mor,e deep,ly and,•wi,denthe.ir fearnihg so as
to become more competent at a s:pecificpractice or way of kn·owing/being. However,
there may be challeng.eswith fo,rmative assessment because of the way learners and
teachers someti:mes perceive It. Although it is needed to foster deep tearning, learners
may not take it seriously o,rteachers may place fess,emphasison it than on. summative
assessment.Learners may not be encouraged to be actively invo(v.ed in the process of
formative assessment s they are not always taught or encouraged to do so.

116 I Becominga eacher

Summative sessmen
Summative assessmentis most com.manly associatedwith eva,lu·ationand is used to certify
the achievement of a certain level of education and to make judgementa,I ,educati,o,nal
decisions. At a very basi·crevef,we could regard formative assessment as assessment for
,learning(Aft.),and summative assessmentas assessmentof learning (Aol). W·hileformative
ssessmentservesthe intrinsic needs of the educational process,summattve assessment
serves the extrinsic needs of the educational process (HEQC,2004: 34).

Learners •Oftentake summative assessm·entmore seriously because they perceive it

to have higher stakes. ,Inthis chapter, we focus on the learning-centred classroom
nd th.erefore spend more time looking at formative asse sment. Johnston and Elton
(2002: 14) propose that we assessa task twice· th,e first time to giv,e,feedback for
im,provement and the second time for judg.emental purposes. Learn,ersmay then
choo.s•ewheth,er ,or not to take advantage of the feedback. While this suggestion has
merit in the context of ,largeclassesand other resource constraints, it may present a
halJenge to already overburd.ened teachers..

.ssessmento·flearning ersus assessmentfor learning

I\ ess.mentof learning (AoL) is associated with hig.h stakes, often with standardised
ting that inforrns national or other important decisions about accountability an,d
1

t ndards.:about how mu,ch learners have learned; whether the criteria for standards
I v been met and whether teachers have done th,eirjob (Stiggfn·s,2002: 3). Assessment
f I arning (Afl) :helpslearners to learn through the tasks they perform in relation, to,
t . mod;ute outc,omes and the feedback we provide about their pe,rforma:nceon th es.e 1

I ks. The focus is thus on co,ntinuous improvement and fosters self-develo,pment

hi nese, 2012: 29·28).At its core, AfL m:ust have practices that support the learning[
w ffiefd, 2011: 437), and focuses th,e attention on assessment as a proce sand not an
v nt. We,therefore gather as much informati.on as possibl1e.a,bo,uthe learni.ng that is
ki,ng plaice.We then pr·o,vf,de focused and con,structive feedback to the iearn:ersthat is
r d to ass.ist(,earnersto imrprove wher,e necessary,or to o•fferthem additional ways
x, erience successin the· tasks in which they en,gage.We wiU ,discussthis Jngreater
1

If later i:nthe chapter. The Assessm. nt Reform Grourp'n the United rKingdom
ul ted the following set of research~basedprincip,les that should be ke·pt in mind
,,,n. ssessingfor learning ,(ARG,2002a, in Swaffi eld, 2011: 436):
1

A •hould be part of effective pl'anni,ng of teaching and learning.

Af should foc·uson how stud:ents learn.
A hould be recognised as central to classroom practice·.
I hould be regarded as • key professional: skill for teac:hers.
• fl hould be sensitive and constructive because any assessment has an
r , io·,nalim pact.
1

he e cher asa s s or I 117

 • Afl sh.io,u,I
1
,dtake aGcountof the importance,of l,e.arn,er
mottvat,i,o,n.
• AfL shoutd promote c,ommitme,ntto le,arni1ng
,goalsand a sharedund,erstan,dingof
th,e·criteria by whi·chthey are·assessed.
,. Learners.shouldreceiveco,,nstructiveg uida,nceabout how to improv,e.
1

• AJLdeveJ,opsf,earners'capacity for self-assessm,ent

so they can become reff,ective
and self-,manag:ing,.
• Afl should fecognise th,efuH ra1nge,ofachievementsfor ,aUf,earners.
1

If we foHow the 1de,a,oflearnin,gaisthe active co-construction of meaning ith teacher

an,dlea.rner(s)in ,dialogue,then Chia1n
ese,(2012:.
1 2928) suggeststha11:
to encourageth,is
sel,f-assessment a:n,dd,evelop,men:t,
1,ear1ners
and teache,rcoHaborate,join,tl'y
and ,askthe
fo,Uowingquesti,ons(Hattie and Timperley,2007)·
• Whe.reare we n,owin our learning?
,. Wher,eare we going in our learni,ng?
1

• How will we g,etto the n,extpoin,t in our learning?

To further foster good assessmentchoicesto compHmen the above questions,we also,
nee,dto a,sko,ursefv.es
as te chers (C:hia1ne,se,
20,12,,
2'928),:

• - ha m I·. s_essing,?Thishelps us to tihink about the actual piece ,ofwork,

1 1

evidence pr,ovidedand 1bhaviour or ttitude disp,fayed

1
1

• ..........
yam I assessing'Thisalso supports lea1rners
to reflect on their own learning
• How be t ca· I s,es,th,i-? What method'saindtools can,best be used to get ,an
1

1
1 feedback.on som1enew l1
account o'f learning; or what wHtbest y,ield1
acc!ura,te earning?
O.ncew,ehave reasona.bteresponsesto the,above ,q,u,estiions
we ailsosubje,ctour
,ch·oices
to som of the brocJdpr1inciplesfor assessmentwhich wHI1b,,de•It with next.

Thi,nk,abou,t,
it
ow th,at you know, he differe,nc between ,a1 s,es,,sm,ent
of and for fearn1ing,
answ r the
i0Uow1ingq1 uestions.
What .hould eacher"· ep in mind 1
hen,pt,·nni'ng ,a,ssesmen· for 1,earn'ing
1

for learning?
What ,yp s of assessmentwould e suitable to asses'S

118 I Becoming at ach r

General principles of assessment
Table 5.3 provides some principles teachers should keep in mind when planning
assessment opportunities.
Table 5.3 Generalprinciplesof assessment

Principle Questions to ask ourselves

• Doesthistaskmeasure
what I intendit to?
Valid
• Is it fit for the purposeI want to useit for7

• Cansuccess
be achieved?
• Doesit giveall learners
equalopportunityto succeed,or
Fair will successbe influencedby diverselearningstylesand
competencies?
• Willlearners
experience
thisassessment
taskasfair?

• HaveI assessed
all learners'work
againstthe samestandard?
• If othersmarkthiswouldtheygivea similarmark;in otherwords,is
Reliable theregood intra-teacher
reliability?
• If I usedanotherassessment
tool to measurethe samething would
I get similarresults?

• Doesit considerthe diversityof the learners?

• DoesIt discriminate
in any wayagainstany learner?
Flexible
• Doesit respectlearners'
multiplelearningstylesand is it sufficiently
variedto accommodate thesediversestyles?

• HaveI discriminatedagainstany learnerIn termsof religion,

sexualorientation,appearance,language,culture,etc.?

Equitable • Does1t reflectassessor

bias?
• HaveI given one learneradvantageoveranother?
• HaveI useda balanceof differenttypesof assessment?

• Is it manageableand practicablewith the resourcesavailable?

Efficient • DoesIt placeany unreasonabledemandson learnersor staff?

• Do I consistentlyfind out from learnershow they aredoing?

Formative or • Do I providelearnersenough timelyand meaningfulfeedback
summative on their progressto deepentheir learning?

The teacherasassessorJ l 19

•
 • Ha ee C
ell ss n o
• no ndoppo ni o im rov
ore an ir I r • r 'O pro o compe e
•
o ule succes ully?

• H I o Ti,,,,... con inuo s follo -u ni i s

r uf r C?

• er mu i le o or uni I s o I arn rs o , ro e ir
g s rnr,'"'ul ?

•
 I

Think about it
Think about one assessmenttask with its assessmentcriteria in any module in which
you are currently registered.Analyse it according to the principles outlined in Table 5.3.
• Identify and explain which principles were considered and which were not.
• Where a principle was not considered,think about why this might be so.

Different assessment models and approaches •

There are differing views on assessment.Theseviews often depend on the model of
'
assessmentwe are using - usually the one we are most familiar with or that best fits
our beliefs about what teaching and learning are about. The beliefs that shape our
attachment to particular models of assessmentwill influence how we teach and assess.

We can identify two basic,contrasting beliefs. One is that learnersare required to know
what the teacher has taught, and we can then measurethe degree to which they can
reproduce what was taught. This is known as the traditional model.

A second belief is that learnersare required to show competence in a learning activity

against a given set of criteria, producing their own learning, which is then measured
against the given criteria. This model is known as the criterion-referenced model. We •

will now discussthese two models in greater detail.

The traditional model

Most of us are familiar with the traditional model and were assessedagainst it at school.
In this model teachersteach a bit, then test and grade learnersto quantify their progress
by awarding a measurablemark. We then organise these marks according to some
sort of rating scale,assuming that we have a clear object scalealong which we can
compare learners'performances (Biggs,2002).Teachersmay often even design seating
.lrrangements and group activities in the classroom based on this model of assessment.

reacherswho prefer this model believe that it is possible to be objective, certain, and to
11,easurelearning scientifically.They assumethat"student [learner] ability ... is a fixed,
consistent and a contextual human trait" (Huot in Johnston and Elton, 2002: 37).Such
tt•acherswould ideally plan their assessmentactivities carefully to try to produce the
n1ostobjective grade for each learner.As the assessmentfocuses on seeking the one
lOrrect and absolute answer,issuessuch as grades,standardisation and measurement
hC'comevitally important, and the reliability and validity of the test are crucial.

I
Theteacherasassessor 121
 Think about it
Discussyour personal assessmentexperienceswith a peer by answering the following
questions:

• Canyou give an example of a traditional assessmentopportunity from your own

experience?
• Did you experience it as'threatening' or not? What made it so?

Memoranda (written notes and answers)are a standard feature of traditional assessment

opportunities and are important indicators for learnersto see how they are progressing.
• What are your thoughts on memoranda for assessment?

The criterion-referenced model

In criterion-referenced assessment,learner performance isjudged against pre-specified
criteria or standards (HEQC,2004: 134).The score of each learner is plotted against
an accepted set of outcomes to measurehow well the learner has managed to attain
the outcomes. It representsa more holistic judgement against which learners receive
feedback on their performance.

The criteria for these assessmentsmay be determined in various ways.Jawitz (2008)

advisesthat we acknowledge assessmentasa "social practice involving interpretation
and academicjudgement rather than asa type of measurement''.Johnston and Elton
(2002:6) raise important questions about traditional assessmentpractices,and they
assertthat assessmentis socially constructed and contextualised. An example of social
construction of assessmentis the tendency in many schoolsfor teachers of the same
grade to collaborate in drawing up the assessmentopportunities and criteria. In some
casesthis process may unfold between a teacher and the learners.In addition, we
can view all assessmentpractices and activities as highly contextualised becausethe
combination of each particular school, teaching phase and subject creates a unique
social context.

I This model allows for criteria that relate to more authentic learning situations,than the
classroom.In contrast to many traditional assessments,authentic assessment.ismostly
associatedwith tasks that assesslearner competence in scenariosthat are close to what
they might experience in real life.

Such assessmentis closer to apprenticeship learning. For example, learnerscould be

required to researchthe savings options at different banking institutions and then
make a presentation to a 'potential investor'.

122 I Becominga teacher

Thin,kabout it,
Discussyour experienceswith a peer by answering the,following questions:
• Canyou give an,exampleof a criterion-assessmentop,portunity f,o,myour own
experience?
• Did you experienceit asthreatening or not?What m,a,deit so?
• Wh,atar,eyour thoughts on not having1an ,expUcimemorandum for such
assessments,:butrather a set of criteria to foliitow?

The norm-referenced model

Nor,m-referenc,e,d assessmentrefersto the practice of comparing learner performance
to that of peers in the sa.m.e ,classor cohort. A cohort is a g,roup,ofpeople of a similar
.ge or sharing some other statistical characteristic,used for researchpurposes,which
makesit possibleto judge and compare them due to this similarity in the cohort;
Judgementsare thus based on measuring tearn,ersagainst ea,chother. Learnersare
ssessed,graded and then rankedagainst an averagescore in an atte,mptto fit all
I arner results to a beJ'Ishaped distribution curve, often by adjusting scoresto fit th,e
rofile of a s,pecificlearnlng cohort (HE,QC, 2004: 134).

hin,kabout it
Now that you are familiar with all three ass,essme,nt
modef,s:
• Which mod'et ould you prefer to use,.within which context?Why?
1 1
Why?
Whic,hprinciples wou ld you ensure in,your a,ssessment?

hall,enges to meaningfu assessment

v lopmen,tsin education, such as outcomes-basededucation (O,BEl, the,introd,uction
1

n w curriculum documents, and the latest Curriculum a1ndAssessmentPolicy

1

ments (CAPS)have all had an influence on teaching and learning, and on how
hers are expected to a,sesstheir learners.,However,these developments should
l impact on assessmentpractices and decisionsin that the important principl:esfor
1
ment are adhered to and assessmients are linked expUcit,lyto eae,h,ingfor deep
I m.eaningfullea,rning.Many t,eachershave not been trained to designassessment
1 k , or don't have.a wide enough range of assessmentstra egtes,,andtherefore just
th way they were tested. It is i:mportantto be equipped with multiple strateg,ies
s ment, and,think carefully about the best way to assessa given outcome.

Th . e cher s ssessor I 123

 The following sections discussa number of challenges that impact on assessment
practices.

Teaching philosophy and pedagogy

There is often a gap between the actual assessmentpractices of teachers and their
teaching philosophy and pedagogy. Teachersmay claim to expect learners to think
critically and holistically, yet use assessmentpractices that encourage rote learning
and memorisation. Their learners quickly realisethat merely repeating the text is
enough to succeed or even to gain excellent grades.Such assessmentpractices tend
to encourage surface learning rather than deep or meaningful learning practices.
Furthermore, the increased demands on teachers becauseof large classesand the
requirement of continuous assessmentsometimes perpetuate more superficial
assessmentpractices.

Alignment
Problems with alignment also challenge assessmentpractices.The HEQC(2004: 124)
explains that"assessment methods and tasksshould be aligned with the content and
skills taught in the subject or module. In other words, care should be taken to ensure
that assessmenttasks do indeed assessfor the learning outcomes that were specified
for the subject or module. This involves making explicit the learning outcomes and
levels of knowledge, understanding and skills one intends learners to achieve and
then designing assessmentinstruments that will effectively test learners'attainment
of these outcomes:'
••
Biggs (2002)describes this as constructive alignment: the learners construct meaning
through engaging in the tasks and activities the teacher has carefully aligned with the
intended outcomes. In other words, the teacher will set up the learning environment
that supports the learning activities appropriate to achieving the learning outcomes.
Of particular importance is the alignment of these tasks to clear and specific
assessmentcriteria.

Deep versus surface approaches to learning

I
As indicated earlier in this chapter, assessmentfor learning (Afl) is often synonymously
•
used with formative assessmentand aims at deepening engagement and understanding.
Deep and surfaceapproachesto learning will influence how we assess.But what is a deep
approach and what are surfaceapproachesto learning?Drawing on the work of many
other authors (seealso Gravett,2005: 37-39), Harlen and James(2006)provide a useful
tool to differentiate between deep learning approachesand surface learning approaches,
as shown in Table5.4 on the next page.

124 I Becominga teacher

Table 5.4 ,Deepversus surface approaches to learning

od elo rsona n ·n en ion

u r a ing con en s e ir

. .
CIV e c ion
I con n, icular si acce anc of i a an
in • i e o r ious ·nforma io
o e wn,'"'rience

Lin I s o er sin in r in L c o r cognl io o ing principle or

incipl r s

RI i ide ce o conclusion Fo us1n le r

Sou.r:ce:
Harl.enand J,ames•(2006:368.)

to learning.They either employ a 1

Teacherst'hemse1veshave,differi1ngaipproa-ches deep
or a s.urfacelearning approach, which i·nturn will determine the lea,rning ou comes
set forcer ain sections of the curriculum. T ,eteacher's•O,ri:entationtoward ass ssm,e·nt
wi I determine ,ho much learnerscommit ,otheir learnin.g, s learnerst- nd to learn
1

only what they think will be ass.ess,ed(Ramsdenin Biggs, 2002). Th1iswill tso dete rmine· 1 1

h,owlearnersapproach th,e,lea.rningof certain theme . For ins anc , If e ch1erfavours

a suirface.approachto learning, learn rs win qu ickly r,ealis h ,t aUthey n ed.to do
1

is to provide only what the teacher wa1ntsthem to know- often with exceptional
.reproduction.The eacher thus pta.ysa fund,amental ole in h,owthe lear,nersengage
with certain aspects of the module content.

Th, ,aim .o,fassessmentas we view it in this chapters ould ther fore• e to fost r - deep
I arning1a·pproachthrou;9h tasks given o 'learners,asthis will de p n their learning and
1

ncourageperso.nal,r flection on their learning. This refl,ection,onlea,rning1. outd dir ct,

xten.d,improve and encourage student learni.n,g.Velzen(2013:170 -171}points out
tha ''althou:gh teachersare in a position to create and sha,pethe conditions t,o,ena:bJ.e,
ncourag,e and faci'litate learning a d how to [earn,t h,eyalso require information •o
1

nd~erstand· their learners'=biUty o direct t1he1r own 'le rning o support them ,optimalily
or to p1l1ace·
them,in appro,priatelear1ing au onomy classes.Thismeanstha a.ssessing
I rners',ability of directing t,heir learning iis,ofinter st to th ed.ucationaI ptactice.' 1

-y implic i,on, 'when stud· nts b come 1moremeta cognitively k ,owledgea:bre

bout tiheir Iear. in,gproc sses,they tend to lea,rnb tter This lso estifies • o th -
1
•

importaniceof learnersd•eveloping1 ,heir ski.Usas becoming more critic Uyrefl,ectiveas

w Uastheir skil'ls, aspeer. ,ssessor. It lso implies.the import n.ceof ou.rpracticesas
t cher.s,, e·nsuri·ng that learnersb. come acti,vep · rticip ,ntsin theiirown assessmn, of
, - rn·ng (Sw.affi,el
d, 2011; 443).We discussthese concepts.a Ii tie later on in th,ech pt r.
1

Th I 1
•
Tim,eand timing
Time and timi:ng are important issuesi,nassessmentas teachers ,needto consider how
much time. the l,earinerswin 1haveto com,plete an assessment task and how m,uch time
they will have to assessit meaningfully and provide valuable feedback
1

.How have the assessment opportuniti,es been structured?' o·o the tasks allow for
increm,ental assessment of th,e wo,rk? Do they follow one an,other iogicaHy and
sequenttalty? Are aHthe tasks ,cluster d near the end of the sem,eser or term when
everyone else iisalso demanding tasks from learners?

Va,rety and sufficiency

Are the asse.ssmentopportu·nlties diverse enough th·at all learners have an opportunity to
• do well, whatever their I.earningstyl,e?Is any lear,nerundu ry d:isadvanta,gedby a focus o.n
written tasks or te.stsand examinations? Has assessment quantity replaoed,quality?

It is far better to ,provi,delearner with on,emeaningfu:r assessment task than a number

of ,uselessor meaninglesstasks.

Fairnes
ca.nbe a chaUenge, b,ec use only by treating n earners fdenticallywUI
.Achevrngfa1irn,ess 1

the assessmentappear fair. But tryfng' to be fair is a Uttle like the "mythological Procruste·s.,
who had' a standard-size of bed for an his ,guestsandistretched those who were too short,
whil'e c.ho,ppingoff t.he 'legs of those who wer too lo,ng"(Elton, 200,3:1.8).

Suggesti1ngthat we can aUbe treat d exactly the same i5, somewhat prob,lematic.
Perha,psth r al challenge is to be inten,tionatly responsive to the specific needs of
learn,erswhile try ing to ensure that our :practicesdo not activ,ely d:isadvan,tageonie
1

learner over a,nother,as far as is practical.

In order to tra.nsform education 1n,South Africa, we should pay att. ntion to•fairness,
especi lly as it wlt impact on ,equity and ,e uatity in the classroom,,Issuesof social
justice, car,eand adopting ,a critical approach to teaching are encouraged throughou,t
this book. It is also important to see the role assessmentchoices, pol.icy and practice
p!I yin matters of',equity, inequality nd social just·ce"(Elwood, 20113.:205).,,

Ass,e.sme, t practices o deepen earn·ng

A num,ber of assessment practices c n be e,mp,f,oyed
to deepen ,le,arn.ing.
Thes,e nclud:e
assessm nt th-t promotes, mea;ningfut learning, assessment that promotes reflection
1

and assessmen that ·s a,uthentic.

126 Ji Becominga - ch r
Assessment that promotes meaningful learning
Good assessmentpractices can improve deep and meaningful learning. We believe
that assessmentis important because of its ability to motivate learners to do
better and keep trying, even when they are challenged or struggling. Viewing
the teacher as a mediator of learning implies assumptions about how the teacher
might facilitate deep and meaningful learning. We assumethat learnersare actively
involved in their own learning and that they are provided with mechanismsthat
encourage rather than discourage their progress.We also believe that teachers
communicate their expectations of learners from the start, explain the learning
outcomes aswell asthe assessmentcriteria and proceduresearly on, and then continue
to discussand negotiate these with learners where possible.This view also implies
that we hold high but not unrealistic expectations of our learners to motivate them
to do well.

Assessmentprocedures should reflect learners'achievements as accurately as possible,

and learners should be kept informed of their progress and provided with strategies
to improve or succeed.In addition, classroom assessmentshould do the following
(Stiggins, 2002:5):
• build and enhance learners'confidence in themselves
• enhance and promote self-directedness .
• help learnersto take responsibility for their own learning to laya foundation for
life-long learning
• provide frequent feedbackthat is descriptive rather than judgemental
• provide learnerswith specificinsights into how they might improve.

Assessment that promotes reflection

We conceptualise reflection in assessmentat two different levels:

• Reflecting on assessment:We use the act and skill of reflection as a way of

deepening learning.

• Assessinglearners' reflections:A teacher assesseslearners'reflective writing on

a particular concept or academic issuewith which they have engaged in the class
(for example through journaling or keeping process notes}.

The importance of assessinglearners' reflections, particularly in a service learning

module, has to be problematised as it is not always easy to objectively assesslearners'
reflections, particularly when they make observations about phenomena that are
contrary to our beliefs, or understanding as teachers.

I
Theteacherasassesc;or I 77
 Reflectiv•eassessment is a.form of metacognition. that bo,th teachers and learners
can us•eto identify what they kn.ow and what they still ne,edto learn. As reflective
prac.titironers,teachers should engage in the following (Stiggins, 2002: 5; Bond, 2,006:2;
Bond, Evans and Etlis,20·11: 32):
1

• continu.ouslythink about how they will assess

for learning and teach to deepen learning
•· contrnu,ouslythink about and adJustthe way they teac,h,base·don feedback from
learners about their teaching styles and the r,e·sultsof classroom assessments
• eng!ag,elearners i·nregu.larself-assessmentexplicitly Hnkedto the lea.rnfng outcomes
and assessmentcriteria,so thiat learners can watch themselves develop and' ;improve
ove,rti..me and feelia senseof ownership over their own learning and success
• actively involve learners in comm,unicat,in,gwith their teachers and others about their
achi'evementsor im,provement as they be·come th.e ultimate users.of classroo,m
assessment information to improve and transform th.eir Jearning experien,ce.

Th,rough teaching, we like to m,odei for our stud,ents the b·ehaviours, discourse and
ways of bein,g and knowin,g witihin ou.r knowledge domains. The more critically
reflectiv,e we are about our own teaching, the better we .canm,odel the skiUsto be
critically reflective about their own learning for our l·earners.Consid.era scenario where
du.ring a service learning experience, learners' reflections about a community are
very different from the teacher's own ber efs a,nd understanding. Often d urin.g such
1

reflections, l,earnersare asked to realty engage with their own (very personal) b,eJiefs,
attitudes, stereotypes and experien,ces.Teachers need to try an•dbe as objective as
possible, and at the same time offer feedback to learners that deepens the·ir academic,
attit,udinal and dispositional growt:h.

To reflect honestly can be very chalreng·ng for fearners, and one of two possibilities
m:ayexist:

1. Learners believe t hat in order to get a good .mark,they should say what they think
1

the teacher would like to hear.

2. Learners can be fairly hon,est a.bo,uttheir perc,eptions even when they know that
their reflections may be different from the perceptions held by the teacher or
their peers.

Le·arnersneed' to know that what is being assessedis not'right answe·rs'but rather that
their perceptions about certain iss,u,esar,ew·hat makes a difference in the classroom.
The chaUeng,ethat teach:ersface is to award a mark eve·nwhen they ,don't necessarily
agree with a tearner's o.bservation. When learn,ers'dee,ply h:eld, personal beliefs or
personal experienices about a certain situation are bei·ng presented for co,n·sideration,
shoul·d a mark be awarded' for the disclos,ure itsetf, or sh,ould the, level of feed:back given
to learners remain at the narrative level w·ithout assigning a grade or miatk? Sho,uld the

128 I Becominga teacher

 I

teacher be the only one to assesslearner reflections or should we include peers,

community members, parents and other stakeholders in the process,particularly when
learners are making inferences about their experiences in the community? How should
feedback be given to learners?

Assessment that is authentic

In contrast to many traditional assessments,authentic assessmentis mostly associated
with tasks that require higher-order thinking and skills, reflection on values and
attitudes, and more complex and dynamic behaviours and ways of being. Such
assessmentis generally holistic and linked to real-life challenges and scenarios,and
attempts to approximate what learners may encounter in practice or in real life. Frey,
Schmitt and Allen (2012: 1) identify multiple dimensions of authenticity, including
assessmentsthat are realistic, valid, real-world based, involve learners as participants,
are complex and "group-based with each individual's contribution required for success:' lI
In the real world, few jobs or careersinvolve people working on their own; most
employees form part of collaborative teams and groups to deliver, construct, create or
develop new ideas or objects. The intent of authentic assessmentopportunities is to
assesslearners' 'crystallised' competencies, which is useful for summative assessment
opportunities or as capstone assessmentopportunities. Capstone assessmentsare
final assessmentsin a course that are used to determine the learners'strengths and
weaknessesin achieving the necessaryoutcomes (www.ferris.edu).

Portfolios are an example of authentic assessment.Portfolio assessmentis most likely

to be used in subjects such asArts and Culture and Life Orientation.The advantage of a
portfolio is that it is usually context-specific and assessesa range of cognitive skills,
practical skills,learner reflexivity,critical thought, creativity and innovation. A portfolio
most often consistsof multiple products and objects linked to specific learning outcomes.
In addition, it usually contains some form of reflective writing linked to learning or
specific learner experiences.A portfolio will generally record a specific and sometimes
predetermined aspect of learners'work, achievementsor transformational experiences.
Portfolios are particularly suited to the assessmentof high-level skills such as problem
solving, critical thinking and creativity, since it presents learning development over time.
Assessingthe practical, experiential learning is essential in portfolio assessment.

Think about it
• What is your view on the use of portfolio assessmentin general?

• Would you consider using portfolio assessmentin your area of specialisation, and
what would you include?

The teacherasassessor I I 29

••
 Assessment in large classes
In some South African schools, political changes have resulted in a welcome
diversification of the learner population. Sometimes this has also meant increased class
sizeswithout necessarilyincreasing staff numbers. Chris Rust (2001) provides some
useful suggestions for assessmentin large classes.These include the use of self- and
peer assessment,group feedback, rubrics and mechanised assessments.

Self- and peer assessment

Self-and peer assessmentsare arguably the most popular and useful types of
assessment,particularly for teachers with large classes.More importantly, Noonan
and Duncan (2005: 1,3) point out that peer and self-assessmentare important for
operationalising the principles of formative assessmentand can be very meaningful
during group instruction aimed at enhancing learning and improving student
achievement. The importance of including student involvement in assessmentcannot
be underestimated. Bennett (2011) explains the relationship between self-assessment
and peer assessmentas follows:
• Self-assessmentcreates ownership of my own learning. The moment I am required
to self-assess,I am responsible and accountable for what has been learned, what
is still to be learned, and for the processesand methods in which the learning
took place.
• Peerassessmentactivates"learners as instructional resourcesfor one another':
I therefore not only'open-up'
. my own learning to the scrutiny of my peers, but also
'open' the possibilities of my peers becoming learning opportunities and resources
in my learning journey.
Noonan and Duncan (2005) also point out further that the inherent value of using self-
and peer assessmentto facilitate and support learning is found in the following:
• it increaseslearner involvement in the learning processand therefore encourages
some level of ownership over their learning
• it increasessocial interaction and trust in other learners and thus has immense value
for fostering learning as a mediated and socially reciprocal endeavour >

• it facilitates individual feedback becausethe more the learner becomes competent

to make judgements about their own work as well as the work of their peers,the
more likely they are to have meaningful insights about what they still need to learn
or focus on, deepening their own engagement with the content or learning area
• it focuses learner attention on the processof learning rather than just the product
(often just the final mark is attended to rather than the journey or path that it took
learners to get the mark).

Let us now consider these concepts in a little more detail.

130 I Becominga teacher

Self-assessment
Drawing on a number of authors, Noonan and Reninhan (2006:2) describe self-
assessmentas"the ability of a student to judge his/her performance ... to make
decisions about one's self and one's abilities:' But learners need to be taught how to
assessthemselves and require practice to assessthemselves with greater insight and
skill. One way to support learnersto do self-assessmentis by providing learnerswith
a rubric or a checklist prior to submitting an assessmenttask. A rubric is a scoring tool
teachers useto assessstudent learning after a lesson. Using a set of criteria and a set
of standards tied directly to the stated learning objectives, teachers can assesseach
learner's performance on a wide variety of tasks,from written essaysto classprojects.
When a rubric has been agreed on and communicated before the learner completes
the work, the grading process is clear and transparent to all, and the learnerscan assess
their own progress as they complete the assessment.

Alternatively, open-ended questions can also be used to draw feedback from learners
about the task they have already submitted. Rust (2001) provides some questions that
could serve to prompt learnersto reflect on their own and each other's work:
• The strengths and weaknessesof this piece of work are ...
• This essaycould be improved by ...
• The work deservesa mark of ... because ...
• To achieve an improved mark of ... on this project, I'd have to ...
• In my next task I'll pay more attention to ...
• What I'd especially like your comments on is ....

Another type of useful self-assessmentas proposed by Kaplan et al. (2013) is what they
call exam wrappers to enable learnersto think more carefully about their studying and
learning as well astheir performance in examinations or tests.They advise that after
results and feedback are received for an examination or test, learners could be directed
to answer questions, such as how they prepared for the exam or test, what kind of
mistakesthey made, what they would do differently the next time and how they think
they would do that.

Peer assessment
It is good practice for learnersto get and give feedback on assessmenttasks,as
the processhelps them to reflect on their own work. It is also a way of getting "one
student's assessmentof the performance of another student" and is a strategy for
Involving "student's decisions about others'work that could typically occur when
students work together on collaborative projects or learning activities" (Noonan and
Reninhan (2006: 2). Learnerscould work in dyads or triads to read each other's work
<1ndprovide feedback using either a rubric or a checklist. It is most useful when they

I
The teacherasassessor 131
 reflect o,nthe recommendations of a1 peer i n the final, subm.ission,for example, '11took
1

the recommendation of ... into account a,nd chanig.ed... or did ... differ,entfy ~ or "the
sectio.n that wasn't cl,earwas changed Hkethis ....'~.Thisencourages learners to pay
closer attention to the feedback they receive and to think a.bout ways of ·mproving
their own work.

Both self- and peer assessment are i,mportant in building intellectual skills, as they do
the followi.ng:

• deverop l,e.arners'
crjtfcal skUls
• provide the ,opportunity to produce signi'ticantly better work
• simu,late the real world, where good writing involves redra,ftiing in th,e light
of criticism.

The KeepingLe·arning
on Track programme outlines strategies for assisting learners to gain
insights 'into wh re th·ey are in their own J, arning experiences (e.g.throug:h questioning),
and tr ,eking'where they should be going, (by coUaborative.lyreflecting on learn,ing
expectations), or what they should be achievin·g (through fe -dback). Thes·estrat gies are
aimed particul rly at formative assessmentactiviti sand are ,sfollows (Bennett, 2011):
• Shari _ le r ing x -ec a io , : This implies tha teach,ers.ensure that l,earnershave
a clear understandin,g of the learning outcomes and asse·ssmentcriteria that they
need to u,seand meet.

• Q estio I g· This strategy fosters ind sustains ,ongoing dialogue about c.Jassr.oom
discussio,ns,qu.-stions and learning· tasks· hat can provide clear evidence •Of l,earning
In a coUaborative .an,ddynamic way.

• F d c This strategy r fleets on how i edback can best be given to fos er

student learning (al'sow ith .anemphasls on constructive feedback to deep learning),
1

• S -a es t:This str tegy enco,ur g s le .rners tot ,ke o,wn rsh.ipof heir
.own le rning.
• P~~.-• ssessme t: Th is stra egy en,cour ges t ar,nersto trust 1heirp ers as an
1

add,itiional le· r.ning resource and suppo:rt.

cena,r10
Th value of se f- a ,d e r s•essment
Th mba, V shti and Joh n have just come ou• o cl' ss nd are sitting o h
field br k. They are look,ing th 11r ssignm n s, w ich h ,vejust b .. n
:hand db ,ck by their eacher, Mrs J ,mes.They 1havereceiv ,di ed ack on,a
1

major t rm assignment, which forms ,substa,n,,i I p ·rt of the,ir fin,al term mar:k

132 IB oming eac er

 The task a assessed i1nthr e w ys:
(1) They each c,o,mpleed a self-assessment rubric wi h space for comm n s n
a arded themselves ma,rkprior o handing ,·n he assignment.
(2) Each individual task was assess d i'n groups and e ,chgirou - provided an
I I overall mark for each 1,earner.
(3) Their eacher awarded a final mark, taking into account the seJ,f-ssess,ment
mark nd comments as e ,Ias the p ·-er ssessment m rk and comm n s.
Jo a1n: You kn,ow, think - ,rsJames is just lazy. I am sur- she mad us do II
tha self-and p -er ssessm nt nonse,nseon our term proj cts just so
0

ha she didn' h v,eto mark our ,assig ments. It was a,short cut for he,r
to just add hose t - o marks og ther a,nd giv us a final mark.
Th m,ba Ac uaHy,I ;hink sh worked very hard on a,ssessingour assignm,ents.
She had1 o go through both the s,elf§, nd eer assessment rubri , and
I

t en also complet h r own ssessmen. Re ding the commen, s t,h t

sh wrote, I think she w ,svery reasonab't . in Bowing our p re -ption
abou our progr ss to be art of her consid -r ,ion for o irfir , I m rk.
Im an sh m de a comm nt on min ..yin, th t sh hou , y
observation of my progr ss was in igI tf I :n h • w· h m -
bout how I hought t could 1m,pov my t ·sk n x tim .
Joh -1n, Bu what do o hers u n kn,ow bout my pro r s 11don',,w nt their
marks and comments - h -_
y r h -X rts. f just w ,n h- r ~ - b c:k,
she is th each r and knows wt e h r or ino I m gofng to pa or t .it his
Wha, do th y know?
su 1,.,.,,,.,o oth r I arn rs in th c.fass.
Vash : I thi1nkThemb, i,sright, you' know Joh ,n.I wa,ssi ing' ou sid h-
princi,pal's offic, wh- n I he -rd h r talking to Mrs J"iio,..,...es
a,bout th,i.
nm nt. She , xplai,n d t,o t
a,ss1g 1

princ1p I tha · he re, son she sks

udents, o dos rt and peer ,ssessm n, is b ,ea.usei1th lps h m
learn n,d,i is also us ful for, earners to be r fl ct,ive ,bout h ir own
I' arning s,trengths and we kn ss s. I don't k1nowwhat she m ans b,y
ha-, bu I Hk ·he fa,ct hat o her I , rn, r in the cl ss giv f . dba ck
1

as well. I ·s as'ierfor •h ,mto unders ,nd wh t I m s ruggling with 1

b cause som of th m -r,es ruggli:ng with s,Imila,rissues. I thought th

1
1

t db ck that I go from he group was helpful ior 1m , nd I gree with

many of h comments :hat hey mad
Johan: Well, I'don't lik, i . And I don' hink i. 1i good way of ss ssing us.
 Think about it
• What is your first reaction to Johan'sview?
• What do you think a parent's view would be on hearing that self- and peer-
assessmentare used to assesshis/her child?
• Do you agree with Johan'sobservation of Mrs James?Is she just being lazy?
• How would you use self- and peer assessmentin your own class?
• How can learners be supported to give good feedback to their peers when they are
asked to assessthe work of other learners in the classwithout being either overly
critical or too lenient because it may be a friend whose work they are assessing?

Group feedback
Assessmenttasks that require learners to do presentations in class,and for which
they receive immediate feedback, can save a lot of time. Again, peer feedback can
be included. Encouraging learners to work in groups can substantially reduce the
number of assessmenttasks to be marked. Teaching learners to work collaboratively
promotes "collaborative skills and the necessaryinterpersonal skills for group working
[which are] high on the list of general life skills which we should be developing"
(Rust,2001: 14).

The following strategiescan be built into group work to assessthe task fairly (Rust,2001):
• askinggroups to give;feedbackon the percentage contribution of each member to
the task
• askinggroups to report on which member did which section of the task
• cautioning groups to use 'group viva:which allowsthe teacher to gain insight into
the relativecontributions of individual group members through questions like,
"Whoseidea was this?"and "What was your particular contribution to this section?"

In large classes,it is preferable to give general rather than individual feedback. A general
checklist or reports that outline common mistakes are useful in such cases.This
feedback should include what was done well, what may need improvemeht and clear
suggestions on how improvements could be made. This could be done in "conjunction
with self- or peer assessment,where aspects contained in the general feedback report
are discussedfrom a personal perspective.

Although feedback is often mentioned in researchon teaching and learning, Hattie

and Timperley (2007) point out that surprisingly few recent studies have systematically
investigated the value of classroom feedback. They view feedback as information
provided by the teacher about aspects of the learners'performance or understanding

134 I Becominga teacher

(2007: 81 ). This information generally aims to correct, clarify, make suggestions or
encourage learners. Winne and Butler (1994, in Hattie and Timperley, 2007: 82) provide
a fairly comprehensive summary of the most important issues, and claim that "feedback
is information with which a learner can confirm, add to, overwrite, tune or restructure
information in memory, whether that information is domain knowledge, metacognitive
knowledge, beliefs about self and tasks, or cognitive tactics and strategies:' An earlier
study by Hattie (1999) found that the most effective forms of feedback provide learners
with cues or reinforcement of the goals they have to achieve, and are most often in the
form of video-, audio-, or computer-assisted instructional feedback.

They also found that programmed instructions, praise, punishment and extrinsic
rewards were the least effective in enhancing achievement. Deci and Ryan (1985)
and Deci, Koestner and Ryan (1999) caution against the indiscriminate use of rewards
as feedback (Hattie and Timperley, 2007). Rewards are seen as a backup to activities
rather than as feedback, because they generally contain very little information about
the task. Rewards are often used as controlling strategies that, in turn, lead to a greater
focus on evaluation and competition and may undermine self-responsibility and self-
regulation of learning.

According to Hattie and Timperley (2007), effective feedback must answer three major
questions asked by a teacher or a learner: "Where am I going?': "How well am I doing?"
and "Where to next?" Let us look at these three questions in the following sections.

Guidelines for providing meaningful feedback

• Question 1: Where am I going? What are the learning goals the learners need
to achieve? Learners want to know how their task or performance relates to the
learning goals they have to reach. Assessment feedback on learning goals set by
teachers should promote goal-directed action such as achievement or cooperation
on tasks, persistence in the face of obstacles, and the resumption of disrupted tasks
despite more attractive alternatives to attain these learning goals (Bargh et al., 2001,
in Hattie and Timperley, 2007).
Providing clear feedback on the learning goals set by the teacher may also result in
learners setting their own 'reasonable goals' in tracking their performance in relation
to the attainment of these learning goals so that adjustments in effort, direction,
and even strategy can be made as needed (Locke and Latham, 1990, in Hattie and
Timperley, 2007).

We should avoid giving feedback that is not related to achieving success on critical
dimensions of the goal. For example, learners should not get feedback on presentation
or spelling if the criteria for success is 'creating mood in a story: as this would not
serve to reduce the performance gap on the intended outcome (Clarke, Timperley
and Hattie, 2003; and Timperley and Parr, 2005, in Hattie and Timperley, 2007).

The teacheras assessor I 11'>

 • Que t1on 2 Ho e I a I doing?What progressis being made toward th e goal? 1

The answer to,this question suppl'ies the feedb :ck on the assessment. It should
consiistof information about the progressachieved and about how to proceed from
that point.
• Q e'sto 3 here ton ,xt'What activit,iesneed: o be un,dertakento make better
progress?According to Hattie and,T'imperley(2007), ins ruction is often sequential.
Teachersprovide inform,atfo,n,le·arning asksand ct,iviti,es;learnersattemp,tthe
1

tasks; the tasks re assessed; and the pattern is then re:pe ted ..
Informative feedbackthat could lead to,gre,aterpossibilitiesfor learning m y include
th,efollowing:
• Poi tr - o -t e e • ed chall ng s for e .·rner fro,mt •e. ss-ss ent For
•
example, learnersmay ,berequired to not on.lydescribecert in even s, but to
compare,categorisean,dsynthe is,ediffere. views thereon.
• eq r ing ore ,s If r gul tio' o - rt - I rn1ngp es to, x e the
e. r. 1 1

For example l,earn·ers

1
, ,maybe r,e,quired,t,odo further independ nt
researchand·study on a p. rticul •r sectio1nof th,ework and to produ:ce,for inst nee,
a positi'on paper,a visu I p,resentati,onor a :mind.mp.
• _d •s g on: 1ff rent· trateg1es Fo,rexampl , I:earn:ers
1
may be advised o make
use oif peer ,and tudy te. m strate•giesinisteadof individua,I ctivities,to us · or I
strategies such .s debat ·s an,dcolloqui , or even creative stra egies such,as role-
1

play, game,s ,nd competitio,ns,thereb,yprovid'ing infor, tion on wh _t has and what

h ,snot be nun, ,erst,ood
It is ,rsoimportant that feedb,ackto learnersfoc:uses01ninfotmation about the l1evels of
at ,sk, h pr,ocess,th,eS•elf-regultion and th self (Hatti·eand Timperley,2007: '90-97):
• ,,Feedb .ck is bout g,v1nginform tion on wh,etherthe tas.kh,asbeen do,ne
correctly or not. Feedbackthen1inclu,d s directio s to acqu,ir m,ore,differ .nt, ,or
1

correct 1nforma1tion. ''Youneed to ~,nclu·dmore about t,heTr ty

For exa,m,p.le.
of V~rs Hies:'
• Proc, 5. Thisfeedb,ackis rm d directly t h processing:of inform, tion, th ·
1

I · .,rning proc -ssesthat r qu~re understanding or :he compfet·on of the ask.

or. x ,mpl:e:"You need to,•editthis piece of writing by focusing on,the m· in
principl s of Vygotsky'slearnin,gtheory to h,owyo,urunderstan,ding:'
• lf-r g at~ n W. n -ed to focus on feedb ck· h t shows how _helearneirs'
comp t •nc , se,ff-rgu,,lation nd' se,lf-beliefmay enco,ur ge or h I, •t'h,emto
furth -r ng. g -·with' the task. For ex pie: "You how .•cfe r u.nderstanding
of h o yin your o,,pen11,ng s ction. Usethis struc ure o discuss he differe,n,ce
betw •-· .. "

136 / B comin . cher

 • The self: Feedbackdirected toward the self of the learner is often personal and too
often unrelated to the task-related performance. This level of feedback is often the
least effective, and may not lead to changes in the learners'effort, engagement,
strategies for understanding tasks,or even their feelings of competence in relation
to the assessmentand learning (Hattie and Timperley, 2007).
To make feedback accessibleto learners,it needs to be explicit, concrete and
measurable.Learnersshould be able to relate to the feedback, that is,they need
to be able to identify with what is being said in response to their performance.
Further, feedback needs to focus on a limited number of points that are essential
to the assessmentof a specific section of work, a specific part of the content or a
specific skill that needs to be mastered. Feedbackshould also always include positive
statements, not only negative ones, as feedback should encourage learners to do
better. Positive language (even when commenting on poor performance), stimulation
and encouragement are thus essential.It is also important that feedback is rational and
explicitly linked to the assessmentcriteria that are being given to learners before they
are assessed.Further, learners need to be given feedback as soon as possible
after completing an assessmenttask.

Ultimately, good feedback on assessmentshould strengthen the learner's capacity

to self-regulate his/her learning. Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick (2006: 205) formulate
the following seven principles for good feedback practice from researchliterature on
formative assessment:

1. Feedbackassiststhe learner in clarifying explicitly what the criteria, expected •

standards and quality indicators for good performance are.

2. Feedbackfacilitates the development of self-assessmentand self-reflection.

3. Feedbackdelivers high quality information to learners about their learning.

4. Feedbackencourages dialogue at all levels concerning the learning that takes place.

5. Feedbackencourages learners to positive feelings of efficacy and esteem, and thus

greater motivation.

6. Feedbacksuccinctly identifies the gap between where learners are and where they
would like to be in their learning.

I. Feedbackassiststeachers to make adjustments to their own teaching practice to

support learning.

Thereacherasassessor I 13/
••
Mechanising assessments
When marking essaysor portfolios, patterns of common errors often emerge. It may be
worth keeping a record of the more common comments written on the first few scripts
that have been assessed.Thesecan become generic comments for most assessments,
and be typed and stapled to the scripts.A substantial bank of comments can be built
up and then used for similar learning tasks.

Although compiling good, challenging and productive questions is time-consuming,

objective tests comprising multiple-choice questions, true-false or complete-the-
missing-word taskscan be marked quickly, electronically or by learnersthemselves or
their peers.Theseare also useful to help diversify assessmentopportunities.

• The use of rubrics

Rubricsare useful to reduce the time spent on assessmentand simultaneously provide
learnerswith meaningful feedback.They also provide learnerswith clear guidelines
about what is expected prior to submitting their work. In authentic assessments,
the useof rubrics as an assessmenttool can provide feedback on a number of issues
simultaneously.Rubricscan therefore be used to judge complex and intricate tasks
more holistically.

The value of rubrics is that they give feedback on multiple aspectsof a task, and the
descriptors provide the learnerswith the assessmentcriteria before completing
the task.They then supply feedback about the extent to which learnerssucceeded
against each criterion of the work, as they measureperformance along a continuum
of achievement.

In addition, rubrics are a useful way for a teacher to build competence in task-related
areassuch as fostering the development of scholarly writing or argumentation skills.
•
Preparing useful rubrics is sometimes challenging and time-consuming, but once
developed, they aid learning, especially in large classes. •
•
To develop a useful rubric, consider the following:
• What do I want to usethe rubric for?What is its purpose?
• How can I best expressthe task,problem or real-world context the rubric is meant to
asse-ss
and provide feedbackon?
• What exactlydo I want to assess?
Focuson the most important aspects.
• What descriptorsor assessmentcriteria am I judging?
• How will I describeeach levelof achievementfor each particular criterion? How
do I describethe best practice levelfor each criterion, aswell asaverageand poor
performance levels?

138 I Becominga teacher

Descr,jptorsfor the different levels,ofperforimanceof th,e,criteriiashou1ldbe gra:mmatically
and usedas consistentlyas po,ssibleacrossthe rubrlc, as shown in Table5.5.
s·i1milar

lable 55 An examp le ,ofperform.an.c,e

1 level descriptors fo:r rubrics

Fre en l Son1 im Rarel

Proi iona -► ovice

emp ary ccom ish Erner ing

Rubrics'Shouldbe r,evieweda,n,d, refi.ned:befor..and aJtereach use.It is particu.rarly

useful to askthe learnersto interpret th,erubric before they e'mbark,onthe assessmn,t
activity, a1ndto negotiate·m aning nd criteria specificity.It is als0 adv,sab,leto gather
1

feedbackfrom the learnersabout how clearand ttainable they found the descriptors
in the rubric when they atte,mptedth,eassessment.

Think b ck to how you were a'Ssessed1

· school: 1

• W re you ever ss s d using a rubric, nd how di • you1exp ri nc this ty,p··of

assessmen 7 Did you, for exa,mple,.·now xactly wh . • w s xp c d of you b fore
you co , 'Pl· t d the t sk?
W r you1 v r given the opportunity o give your input n ny ss ssmentr bric?
If so,,,doyo'uthii1nk
a , u,bri.cis a good . ss s.smen,tool?
• Ex t .in ho rubric is ai usefu1I
·001 for feed ack an· ' learnlng by using
1
1

an xample.
1

As e,acheryou shoul~dconstantly improv your rubricsto ss ·s.s

your learners.Som
of the waysyou c n cquir more x mpl s to dev lop you own unique rubrics are
asfol:lows:
• Collect as many d~ff· ren types of rubric as possible,and use he·mto d velop your
own rubrics for ss ssment.
• Collaboratewith other 1.arners/coll. agues in designing and refining rubrics.
1

• Searchthe lnte net for siteson the d velopment of rubrics an,doth r assessment
tools.
• Alwa·ys,
mak sureyour assessmnt tools fit the purpose and th ·p rticular con ext.

The ea h r s ass or I
 The rubric on the next page is a basic example that could be used to assesslearners'
participation in a cooperative group activity. Such a rubric could be used for
assessmentby the teacher or for peer assessmentof the activity.

Consider the rubric construction carefully.The principle in this rubric is that the
columns can be multiplied by the rows to get an assessmentmark of a maximum
of 16 and a minimum of 4. For example: you can get a total of between 1 and 4 for
each row according to the criterion, and as there are four rows, you would simply
add the score of the four rows to get a total of a maximum of 16.You could also delete
the numbers at the top of each column and replace them with more descriptive
terms, such as:
• descriptor - 'not yet achieved' (Column 1)
• descriptor - 'partially achieved' (Column 2)
• descriptor - 'achieved' (Column 3)
• descriptor - 'exceptionally achieved' (Column 4).

Think about it
In your opinion, why and when would one make use of a rubric?

Assessment and diverse abilities and needs

of learners ;
South African education has advocated an inclusive approach to teaching, learning
and assessment,and has required teachers to assesslessfor achievement and more
for constructive support for learning. Inclusivenessis particularly important when we
encounter learners with diverse abilities and needs.

The concept of learning support implies that all learners are unique and have their own
unique potential that is realised at their own pace and level of learning independence,
using their own strategies and learning styles to reach their own unique lt?velsof
achievement (Bouwer,2005: 48). Learning support relies on the collaboration of all
members of the different systemsthat influence the learning of each learner.These
systemsare the ecosystemsof the learners'world, and are interdependent and
interactive. Therefore,whatever happens in one system will have a 'ripple-effect' on all
the other systems.Teachersshould realisethat this interconnectedness of systemswill
invariably affect the assessmentactivities they intend to plan (seethe bio-ecological
model on page 142).

140 I Becominga teacher

 Cooperative learning rubric

Contributesto group Contributesto group Contributesto group Consistentlyand actively

goalsonly when goalswith occasional goalswithout occasional contributesto group goals;
Contributes to
prompted prompting prompting;acceptsand willingly acceptsand
group goals
fulfilsindividualrole fulfilsindividualrole
within group within group

Often needsreminding Needsoccasional Showsand expresses Consistentlyand actively

to be sensitiveto the remindingto show sensitivityto the feelings showssensitivityto
Considers others feelingsof others sensitivityto the feelings of otherswithout the feelingsof others,
of others occasionalreminding extendedto learning
•
needsof others

Contributesinformation Contributesinformation Contributesinformation Consistentlyand actively

Contributes only when prompted when occasionally without occasional contributesknowledge,
knowledge promptedand reminded prompting and reminding opinionsand skillswithout
promptingor reminding

Participateswhen Participates
with Participateswithout Consistentlyand actively
promptedand occasionalprompting; occasionalprompting; participatesand completes
-i
-:::, Works and shares
l'l> encouraged;relies needsremindingto do completesassignedtasks assignedtasks;contributes
ft) with others
QJ on others tasksassigned without reminding knowledge,opinionsand
()
-::s- skillsfreely
1'1>
"""'
QJ
V>
QJ
V>
Signatures
andcomments:
V>
l'l>
V>

"'
0
--
 When confro1nted1with a learner ·whosee'msto be stru1ggling, thieteacher'stask is o
attemipt to discoverwhat may be influencing t:helearning, .andhow he lea'rnercould
.beeffectively supported in his/her learning.

When ssessingfor learning support, the arm is not to rec ify the ,,earner'sdeficits,
shortcomings or failures,but rather to hetp reduce,circumvent, br,eakt.hrough or even 1

removewhat is.causingthe 1barriertolearning,and to help the learner,becomeincre,asingly

1

independ1entin learning. It is particularly rmpo•rtantto combat the well-doc.umented

phenom,enion,of' e,arned,helplessness'(Johnston and Winoga,rd,1985,in o·uwer,200,S).
1

Assessin1
g the progressof le rners wi,th di1verse
abilities and needs to learning1and
devel,opmentrequiresa syste1 mic perspective,wi.th1out over-ernp:hasison achiev1em,e t,
and with emphas'ison a constructivist approacihto learning.

The b10-eco ogical m del, las,developedby Bronfenb•renner,is used ,asa meansof

1

explainin,ghow developm,ental,ecologica'Iand systemsthe,orycombine, and how

1

the reciprocal interacti,onof factors influence learner interaction.s,func, ~o,ningand

1

dev,elopment(Donald,Lazaru:sand L.o,lwan·a, 2002) In ofh1erwords, every person

should b,eviewed asope-ratingwithin a compl,exsystem.ofrelattonshi:ps,ffec ed by the
multiple level.sof the enviro·nmentwithin whic,hthleyfunctio•n.A systemsperspectivefor
assessmenrequ,iresteachersto consid,erreciproca;Iinteract'ion,and a n,umb·r of • ifferent
1

factors in the le·•.rnjn:gprocess,such asthe following (SwartanidPettiph r, 2005: 1O}:

• the erson fa,ctors,fo:rex mple th,ebehav-ioura,I tend enciesof the person th,at
1

encou'r.ge or disco,ura,g,~
re ctioniSfrom1others
•
• th,e roe ssfactors, such as the :patternsof interaction inlthe systems
• the co text, for ,ex m, le th famUy,school,c.tassroom,local co,mmun,itya.nd
peer g,roup
• the • • g, for example, maturation and changesin t,heenvironment.
1

Assessmentfor learning support should aim to gai:1n information 0,n the.sefour aspects
1 1

s·oas to inform all role-playersof the optimal support the learner needs Information ,is,
sourced asfollows (Bouwer,2005: 58).
1

• T •e learner's ,c ool ork w,orkcom,pletedin·class,1homework,project work,

note·-takifng,etc.
• .... re. ults orat 1
I ss sm,..,. W itt n, and practical, an1d
over as many occasions
as possib'le
• Obs r le r er's 1- rn1 g be· av our. lea,rnin,g1
style, p,roblem-solving
1

t o oft 1
1

1
I

strategies,m tacogn1ti.on,time-on ask.,attention, r,outine

suchaiSr,eactionsto results.,self-assessment,
• ,Emot,ions.- p rticipa.ion nd rel , ionsh·ps
1

• I t r 1e s with the I.earner,,parentsand o her role-· layers.

1 1

l .2 I B coming a eacher
 - - - - - - - - --- - -

Dynamic assessment is cla:i ed to be one ay of ch 'nging1

assessment op:portunities
i·nto earni,ngsupport .activitiesand1plans. Dynamic asse·ssmenrests,on t he prin,ciple of 1 1

test-teach-retest, which implies the following (Bouwer,200·5:54-5,5):

• th,e I,earner'scurrent level,of ac:hievement has b .en,determined
• flexible and in·teractive mediation is focused on the !,earning needs
• appr,opriaiteform,sof exibl,ea·nd interactive m,ediation are used, su,chas i,nclu,ding
1

repe 1tion of th,e question or information1, focusing1of att,ention, prov1idin,gdirections,

guiding, analysis,suggest·· g additional infoirmat,on or strategies, demons ration,
explanation, fe~dbackand :modifying of tas.ksby 'increasing or d,ecreasingtheir ieomplexity
• hiepote,ntia1l1
levelof ac· ievement and future achievementis determined (the zone of
proxi mal development)·
1

• the I.earner's
strength·s;as weHas difficulties, are recogniised
• the context and time are t ken into account.
FinaUy,,ace,mmoda I n is sometimes needed when assessing lear,nerswho· r •quire
learning su port Burins,(1.998) defin,es acc,ommodatio,n ·n assessme·ntas "adaptive acts
or meas, res aim,e,dat g ivingi equal:a.ccessto assessment opportunities for aU learners,
1

particularl.Ythose learners with barriers o learn,ing and d.evetopment. Thus,all teachers

1

must continuall.Yg·rapplewith the issu· of equa and equ,itable accessibilitywhen deciding

wh·ether to ccommod .te. I arner in ssessment" (in1Bou·wer,2005: 56,l. he solution
may inc,l~ud ch nging the foHowing spects of the .ss ssment •. sk (in Bouw r,.2005: 59):
1

the presentation, format, layo·ut and lang,uag.•

• h,ow th,e assessmen,·,sadmin,istere,d, when it is sched uied, h re it takes pJace
1

(setting), the dur,ation,,number of breaks, d1r ctions given, a,ndassistanceoffered,

suc h as readM,aloud.,
1
equipmen ·, adaptive t,echno•logy and assis.iv•e·
de·viGes
• the conte·nt of the questions,la ngu,age, sentence
1
structure, ord choice, structure
and length.

hi .kabou 1t
w·ite do n wo new insigh s you have ga·ned in o asses me'n .
1

Ba ed on . hat you haver . d in h1s,chap er, wha: advice, wou d you give te :hers o
in,corpora e ss,esmen fo II ,arn~ng(A 1) in,to th. - r assessm~ nt practices'

Conclus~on
here are, number of ways to •ensure tha ..our ss s ment practicesare f 'ir, vaUd ,·
reliable and actu. lly s pport le· rnin1g,Respons"v. ; ,e 'i ,orsof I -a ning need a cl . r
1
rasp•ofped gogical onten knowledge.They also mus be a, I o conduct fo·rmativ
ssessmentby co . :bin.ingthe ge:ner .Iteac<-'i g and learning prin,cip:les.,
1
strategies nd
•chniqu s with deep cognit1ive-domain· und ,rstandin,g (Benn -tt, 2011 ). 1
 In this chapter, we discussedformative and summative assessment,as well as
assessmentof learning (AoL)and assessmentfor learning (AfL) and how these concepts
are applied in the classroom.It is important to take the theories that inform learning
into account and also how we teach, becausethese shape how we assesslearners.
We have to model for our learners the discourse and behaviour that we would like our
learnersto exhibit, embody and enact.

Learnersshould be assessedto see how much they have learned and not how little;
and assessmentshould encourage successand thus promote deeper learning.
Teachersshould never use assessmentpunitively in an attempt to enforce authority.
Good assessmentis linked to learning outcomes and to the specific corresponding
assessmentcriteria related to these outcomes. Therefore,the type of assessment
•
tool must match the purpose of the assessment.Further, each learner is unique, and
assessmenthas to take this into account by acknowledging the diverse needs and
abilities of learnersand by adapting assessmenttasksto give all learners equal access
to assessmentopportunities.

Glossary
Capstoneassessments:final assessmentsin a course that are used to determine the
learners'strengths and weaknessesin achieving the necessaryoutcomes
Cohort: a group of people of a similar age or sharing some other statistical
characteristic, used for researchpurposes
•
Rubric:a clear and transparent scoring tool to assesslearning by using a set of criteria
and a set of standards tied directly to the stated learning objectives
Triangulation of assessment:assessinga learner using various assessmenttasks in
combination, such as the marks of a classtest, the feedback on a portfolio task and a
competed rubric on how an experiment was conducted

,
•

144 I Becominga teacher

 -
- - - ---

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The teacheras assessor I 1'17

•
 Medical
The teacher Charity
as an agent of • • • • • • • • • • Discourses
Lay
inclusivity Holistic
INTERNATIONAL
•
• 1990- Jomtien
•
• 1994- Salamanca
•
y 1994- Statement of
action
Social
Equity Equality Development
justice
NATIONAL
1992- NEPI
1995 -White Paper
1996- SA Constitution
1997- NCSNET/NCES
Achieved through
2001 - EPWP6

Non-
Respect Tolerance Care
discrimination

Ultimately aimed at

Transformation

Challenges to learnhH1
Unique communities
and development:
, Visualbarriers
Inclusive , Physicalbarriers
Known for diversity Deal with I
schools are , Disruptive behaviour
• SocioeconomicbarrlCII
• Learning difficulties
Collaborative
, Parentalinvolvemen1
At the end of this chapter you wHIbe abl,eto:
• xpl.ainth,e philosophy of inclusive education
ritically reflect on the different discourses,o;n1nclusio1n
scribe w.hatan inclusive schoof should be tike
.nderstandand discusschallengesto inclusion in the classro,om
i ' ntify a.ndaddressdiversity in your classroom.
•

Introduction
In this c:hapterwe will look at the, essential role o,fthe teacher in identifying and
addressing the diverse,needs of all ,!,earners. We argue that in order to address diversity
you need to underst.a,ndW hy i1nclusiveeducation has become such an important aspect
1

of education in So:uthAfrica.,You alisone d to see the individual within the broader

social context. As Fourie (2009) says,"the classroom is a part of the school system that
is in constant interaction with aHthe other parts and it should always be examined
1
1

in fig,ht of th,e broader social context. You sho,u,ldconstantly remind yourself of the
;nterdepen,dence and interaction b,e ween,all parts of the system:'

We will first address the histo,ry of our country and the need for an inclusive education:
system.,.Next,w,ewill lo,okat ho,w to develop an inciusive learni,ngenvironim,entthat
supports the inclusion of aUlearners. We will also investigat,e,strate,g1esto support t,he
1learningand development of an learners, accomimodate diversity and:address barriers
1

tor ,arning and d'evel1opment.I,nthe, 1processwe wiU rnclude and' expand on,the ideas
already pr,esentedin other chapters.

V1ctor1a
At nine ye rs o,ld,Victoria is ,physica,Hy
smaf,Ifo- h, r ,g•. Many people think she
is on,ly five years ,old. She is afso very shy and ha,s poor se,lif-esteem.She a ends
1

the l'oc I primary sch,,oolbut ,isno·. doi,ng weH in her school work. She is often iH,
in and out of hospit I,,and has oils on h -r skin that ,don't seem, o ,heal.
When v;ctor,faw s a,sk d o r 'P a Grade 1, her mothe •told1the teacher th t b,oth
sh and Vic ona1, re H,IV- ositiv, . She , lso expla'in,edth Victoria ha -,a s Izure
soon aft r b'irth, took much longer ,o ,learnto walk nd talk than other chfld,r,en,
a:ndis atwa,ystired.
1

Vi'cto:riarepeate ·' Grade 1 a,ndis· ow i,nGraide2. Her lessonsar ·in isiXhos_and

1

she spea,ks1siXhos.._thorn . Ou ..to her re d~ngproblem, nd difficulty • Hawing

rnstruct'.ons,h, ,rcl ss ea,cherrecen ,lyr ferred Vic or1iato th !L arners ith
S,pe,cialducation I Needs (LSEN')each r.
Accord1ingto th LSENteach r, V ctori ,cannot r a,d,write ,o, spell. S,h,ehas
difficulty r ad'i g even, ,,n,- ,I· words, d,oesn't r cognis, vowels nd consonants,
an,drev,ers sword when writing Her fi,nemotor ski Is are un,derdevelop d and 1

sh - e ily forg s wha she has I arned. A school psychotog·st recen ly assessed
h r n1,d
found that she presen •s with cogni iiv i,mp ir • ent.

150 I Becom·ng teacher

Think about it
• Would you recommend that Victoria carry on in this school, or not? What are the
reasonsfor your recommendation?
• What are her rights as a learner and on what are these rights based?

Inclusive education
The concept of inclusive education evokes a multitude of views, emotions, theories
and explanations among those involved in education. Although inclusive education •

is underpinned by a clear theoretical and philosophical framework, many teachers,

learners and parents have different opinions about it.

lnclusivity representsan optimistic and positive value system that aims to rid societies
of inequalities and discrimination such as existed in South Africa before 1994.It
attempts to instil liberal, critical, progressive and democratic values to create "a society
in which diversity is celebrated and equality of opportunity promoted" (Engelbrecht,
Green, Naickerand Engelbrecht, 1998: 7). As schools mirror societies to a large extent,
the introduction and development of these ideals and values in schools are important.
Very specific values underpin the philosophy of inclusion.

lnclusivity is based on the notion of human rights. According to Mittler (2000, in

Landsberg, Kruger and Nel, 2005: 4), inclusion expressesthe struggle to achieve
universal human rights. Thesevalues are clearly embedded in the South African
Constitution, which founded our democracy and common citizenship on the values of
human dignity, equality and the advancement of human rights and freedoms (Republic
of South Africa, 1996,Section 1a).These values call for education to be humane, caring
and inclusive and to pursue the development of untapped learning potential in all
learners.In this senseinclusive education is not a privilege, becauseall South Africans
have a fundamental right to basic education (RSA,1996,Section 29: 1).

lnclusivity also restson the notion of equity, equality and social justice. Section 9 (2)
of the Constitution commits the state to the achievement of equality, and Sections 9
(3), (4) and (5) commit the state to non-discrimination, respect, tolerance and care.
These clausesare particularly important in protecting all learners,whether they have
difficulties or not (RSA,1996).

Finally,inclusivity restson the notion of transformation. The government's obligation

to provide basic education to all learners and its commitment to the principles of the
Constitution are also guided by a recognition that the newly unified education and
training system must be based on equity. It must focus on redressing past imbalances
and on a progressivedevelopment of the quality of education and training. This is

The teacheras an agent of inclusivity I 151

.•
 evident in the Manifesto on Values,Education and Democracy (DoE,2001) - the basis
of the transformation goals of the country, which "is a call to all to embrace the spirit
of a democratic, non-racial and non-sexist South Africa"; in other words, an inclusive
South Africa.

Consider the following statements about inclusive education:

• "Inclusive education in South Africa is concerned with the development of an
inclusive and humane society, and this is to be achieved through the development
of an inclusive education system. Inclusion acknowledges and celebrates all aspects
of difference and seeksto create schools that welcome all learners,ensuring that
they reach the expected educational standards. In essence,inclusive education
will transform the education system from a segregated one to an inclusive one. It
introduces a new way of organising and running education, as well as a new way
of understanding it. The task of transforming a system of education is not a one-
day event, but is a lengthy learning processthat involves a variety of stakeholders.
For this reason,the Department of Education estimates that it will take decadesto
transform the current system into a fully inclusive one:' (Pienaarand Raymond,2013)
• • "A general view of inclusion is that it is seen as a way to ensure that'children with
disabilities'are given accessto - and areeducatedat - the sameschoolthey would have
attended if they did not havea disability,and in so doing a more equitable and quality
education system for all will be created" (Dyson, 2001 in Landsberg et al., 2005:4).

Think about it
What do you understand inclusive education to mean after considering the
•
above statements?

Inclusive education in South Africa is the practice and processof creating supportive
classroomsand schools that involve and meet the diverse needs of all learners,
regardlessof age, ability, socioeconomic background, talent, gender, language, HIV
status and cultural origin.

An inclusive school should embody the concepts of community, diversity and

collaboration based on the principles that everyone: '
• belongs •
• is valued by the school
• has accessto the same curriculum.
We need to guard against the misconception that inclusive education only involves
including learnerswith special needs. Changing attitudes towards inclusive education
require a complete shift in the discourse, becausediscourse helps to shape education
(Engelbrecht et al., 1998: 13). Discoursemeans the way in which we describe and
discussa particular subject. Table 6.1 expands on this argument.

152 I Becominga teacher

Table 6.1 Discourses in education
--- - - - -

: Discourse Associate,d meaning ' Implementation ,

'

Traditio al A ·n n 0 CI
•
e, ·no al•educ io sy em canno
med·c I na u n a le o ...........
oda e ind· idu Is i h
approach t rt
. ,csof r r s.Th y e uire enr.~ 1na ed

d"a s h a ·on
·s10 , n g tio I
• •, e c. n ci I,
.I ...u ... n SUrgry
I
in rior an de c:i t, • n r ec • bili y o e
ir a ions n r, • or 1• n ir n

C rty h di ii ·es ne
nd d~.... on o
An

Th un c r in edo
n I carejan e ain
o erl oicel

L y arnersa
rim·n a1ns,
Pvt-'n huu:.~,

I
nor ,

HoJi IC 111 r 1 rs I ri s s
soci Ir g s 00 I ; le 1m r r
•
1pproach I e nr ms, al
0 lo in ecom uni rop 0
•
a yins . Ins s
a e ull n
r
r s
n
r,SC ool

Source:Adapted from Engelbrecht eta/. (1998; 13 15)

Wha ind of tti' ud s a d rce'p ion doe a.chof he discourses ·n

6 1 er at ?

The two ,pproaches h t have most influ •need schools an.cleducation in South Africa
re the,tradi ional medical a;nd h • social rights appro,ach,es.

The a.cheas an g n of i clu ivity I 153

 Shortcomings of the traditional medical approach
Despite the value and advantagesthat South Africa'sspecial education system
provided to many learners,questions were raised about the socialisolation of these
learners and the focuson their weaknessesinstead of their abilities (Engelbrecht,
Swart and Eloff,2001).

In apartheid South Africa, relatively few, mainly white learners benefited from the
provision for diverse educational needs.Blacklearnerswere largely deprived of special
education servicesand were forced to attend general education schools without
additional support. Their special educational needswere consequently not met, and
many dropped out of school (Engelbrecht et al., 2001: 256).

This specialisededucation systemwas fragmented, with inequalities and

inconsistenciesbetween racially segregateddepartments and schoolswhich further
blocked effective planning and provision of services(Engelbrecht, 1998: in Engelbrecht
et al., 1999).

In addition, most authorities in departments of education and decision makersfor

learnerswith disabilities and special needs had no disabilities themselves (Naicker,
1999: 14).As a result, the 'voices'of people with disabilities were not heard.

This approach had the following effects on people with special needs:
• they often regarded themselves as inferior or as failures
• lesswas expected of them and lessstimulation was given to them by parents,
teachers and other educational agents
• social isolation reduced stimulation, support and cooperation, particularly from their
peer group
• others seldomrealisedthat they had normal needsand wants despitetheir disabilities
• their separation limited their opportunities, quality of life, development and
self-expression.

The separation of learnerswith special needs also had effects on traditional general
education schools.Theseschools did not have accessto the curriculum stlategies
developed by special educators (Green,2001: 5). In addition, 'normal' learnerswere
isolated from other learners,preventing them from experiencing and interacting
with the full spectrum of peers with diverse abilities and needs.As Green states,"truly
inclusive schools and classroomsmodel for learnersand their families the kind of
inclusive society that any democratic community must wish to construct" (2001:6).

A final problem is that the financial costs of maintaining a separatespecial education

system are so high that neither the government nor most South African parents would
be able to afford it in the long term.

154 I Becominga teacher

lntrod'uct·on tot e social righ.ts,approach
The more inclusive and h.olist1c approach to,wards learners wi'th di:verseeducational
needs that has now been adopted has led to a wide acce:ptancea:n.dunderstanding
that special educati,onal 1needs result not only from factors within learn.ersthemselves.
1

Th,isapproach emphas·sesthat the needs of an learners differ, and that learn,ersin any
classroom wiU display d·versi:tyin language, rearning styl'e,type of inteUigence, level of
devel,opme·nt,and econ,omic,social and culturat background (Green,2001). Respectfor
·ndi i.duality.a_d d1versiy is thus acknowledged and accepted. l'he focus has sh,ifted
towards th,e needs, interests and rights of the f,earn•e:r
rather than those of the school
•

With the shift of emphas•s from the 'problem.~'d isa.b,,ility~'deficit' .and;'special needs' of
1

learners to the ntapped potential· n,dvaliueof each,·nd:ividu.allearner, term,inol:ogy

should be considered ca,refullywhen refe.rringto these learners..f,or exa1m,pte, 'disa·bled'
should be. eferred to as a,'learner with a disa!bflity';'im1pairment'shou d always be
refe red to as a 'learner with an impairm,en,t';and 'special need' should al,wa,ysbe referred
to as a 'learner with, a special need;'to emphasis,ethat the'd,eficit' is only a :portion of the
learner,no the entire Jearne, and that iit does n.ot Umit the educa,tionaJinterventt·ons,but
createsnew and exciting learnin.gopportuniti,es for both learine,rand teacher!

Table 6,.2outlin1es.
the m•ajorinternational turning points in the developmen of
incl:usiveeducation.

Ta;b,l,e
6 2 lnternatio,nald,evelopmentof inclusiveeducation

1990 World c,onfer,ence

- .. . - . .
Con r ce Educ ion or All: e i h
in ..Jomti,en, Th,aila nd 1
sic leam,n needs. uc e 1phas·son incl si e
(U NES,CO,199·0)
1
d c ion.

, mu ion o pnncipl s r arding I ners h

ional ni:.i: 1ns:

• u amen (gh o uca ion and e

o par uni o ac ,~\,,..an i a1nan accep abl
19·94 World conferen.ce
le r of I arni
in Sala:ma,nca, Spain
• uniqu c r c eris ics,a iii • s nd le rnin
results in the Salamanca
ne ds o ev c ild
Statement on Principles 1

h design of du on s e s d
a·n,dPractice in Special
i lem n io of educ 10n oroara me a i
Ne,edsE,ducatio:n
In o accoun h •ide iver i o ch c is ics
,(UNESCO,1·994)
n n...........
s
h c ss o en ral sc ools • hin a child cen r
oeoagog c p bl of e in
le rner ' e s

Th eacherasan a en of inclusi ity I 155

 •

• generalschoolswith an inclusiveorientationaremost
effectiveto combat discriminatoryattitudes,build
an inclusivesocietyand achieveeducationfor all
• suchschoolsprovideeffectiveeducationto the
majorityof childrenand improveefficiencyand
cost-effectivenessof the entire educationsystem
(UNESCO, I 994:viii).

The report confirmsthe uniquenessof eachindividual,

1994 Statement and the need for individualprogrammesthat providefor
diversity,and accessfor learnerswith diverseneedsto
Framework for Action
regularschoolsthat respectindividualityand diversity,
report is developed from
and supportlearningby focusingon individual
the Salamanca conference learningplansfor learners(Engelbrechtand Green,
2007:3).

Table 6.3 outlines the major national turning points in the development of inclusive
education.

Table 6.3 Nationaldevelopment of inclusive education

.
1995 South African Learnerswith specialeducationalneeds(LSEN)have
Federal Council on a right to equalaccessto educationat all levelsin a
singleinclusiveeducationsystemthat respondsto the
Disability calls for
diverseneedsof learners,accommodatesdifferentstyles
development of a single
and ratesof learningand differentlearningneeds,and
inclusive education ensuresquality educationto all through appropriate
system for curricula,organisation,technicalstrategies,resourceuse
South Africa and communtty partnerships(Engelbrechtet al., 1998).

Confirmsuseof the term"learnerswith diverse

educationalneeds·to referto learnerswhose needsare
basedon intrinsicand extrinsicfactors,and to include:
1995 White Paper on
• learnersat schoolwho do not progresssatisfaccorily
Education and Training
• learnersnot at schoolwho would be if schoolswere
(DoE, 1995)
more responsiveand sympathetic
•
• learnerswith moreseveredisabilitieswhosediverse
educationalneedsarecurrentlynot addressed.

1996 South African •Everypersonshallhavethe right to basiceducation

Constitution (RSA, 1996) and to equal accessto educationalinstitutions~

156 I Becominga teacher

 T e par ·ans:
• a so ha o s ual rig s n ull
ci hip ror I als,irr·,e.sctea ce,
I
• 0
1i997 Nationa,I
• uca ion a
.
ae II
Co,mmission,,on Special • 0 C r c tp e I
1 Needs in Education:and s ode eir u Ll...,.eni I n a ic e
Tra1in1ing (NCS:NET)aind I e r o so ie
the National Com,mittee ha rs s
fo,r Education Support
1

o i n II ... J,.,,

S,e,rv;ices
fNCESS) !-"vf-"lo e·r ul po ial
produce a report • ac sa d n
.sug,gestin19 a vis;ion,for Co on a i Pa r o E uca
1educat,ion and t.rainin1g in
South Africa • an s n soci I ju •ice or II le ers
(:DoE,1997) r ici oc· I n co m
I cc , inclusi C Ions e
• ccess o e c r ic l m, ui an r s
• ne uca io S 5 o heco

Thep r OU Ii roce s o, 0 oh r •n s:

• reg io
I ssi a nco ora
2001 White Paper 6 on .h bili • i OS • I, ull- e ice n
Sp,ecial Needs Education
or in school
(Do,E, 200'1)
•1n n SU or s
•1n
•
oco hedi es, yo
• C
I r •,n e chi g n s.

h·t,e Pape 6
White P'aper6 showed a commitment to prov,iding equal educational opportunities
for learners who had been e·xclud,edbecause the education, and training system did 1

not accommodate their needs. fnclu.sion ··nthe South African context was seen as a
"shared value of accommod·ating at l,eairnersin a uIniifi,e,dedu,cat1on1
system; in order 1

to mpower learners to become ,cari,ng,competent and contri.buting citi,zens i.na.n

inclusive, changing a,nd diverse society'' (D01E,2001; Swart et al., 200,2).This v1i,ew
·nc.ludes the principles of social justi'c., eq i a~bl'eed'ucation and school responsiveness
1

to diversity.

The ache asan agen o i clus·vity I 157

 Key,strategiesfor ·mplementing this policy were:
1

• improvement and co:nversionof special.schools an;dsett,,n,gsi1ntor,e,source

c·entres
integra ed i'nto district-base,dsup,portte.am,s.
• mobU:isationof O'Ut-of-sc
hool childre,nand yout1hof schoo,,Iag,ewit1hdisabihties :O
1

a en,dsch,o,ol
• c,onversio1nof aroun,d500 g,en,eraleducation primary sch,oo·:ls
1
to f uU-serviceschools 1

(ordinary schoolseq1u11pped fo,ra1fu :Iirange of sp ci,aleducati,o,nal eeds).andthe

1
1

provis,ionof additional sch,oolsd'e,pend;fng on need and!availabie resouirces

• or enta ion and11ntroduction1of school staff, manag,ementand governing bodies
o the inclusi·veed.ucatio,n,
model, and to the 'ideaof identifyi1ngdisabiht·esand
interven n,g,duringth,eFoundation P'hase
• establishmen. ,of,district b,asedsupport tea:ms o provide a coordi ated
1
1

support s.ervice
1

establishment of national advocacyand i, formation,progra , ., -e to sup,por•

the tnclusivemodel, foe sin,g,on th -roles,res onsibili ies and rig· ts of ,all
1tearn1,n,g
tnstftutions,.p ents nd loc ,Ico,mm nities,,and •19 Hgh ing import nt
1

programmes.and progressrepor.i,ng (DoE,2001.7-8; Do-, 2009).

Me,eti:ngt 1
hesechallengesrequir,es,ared,efinitio~nof su port. e focus is no long,er
on,in,dividuallearn,erswith special needs but on the requ·re1me-ts of a 1h0Ustic
and
integrated approa.ch(DoE,200,9)Future sup,portshould foe.uson.
• th . horn ,and community e1nv1ironment
• s rateg'i:esfo screen,i.ng,
1
i'den ify11ng,
assess1n
g and supporting learners1

• a1ddressin,g
barriersto learning b,y·build11ng
1 1
th . ca.pacityfor ind1,vidualsupport ,of
learinersand teac ers
• a,djustingthe c : ricu1lm and assessm,eint techniq:ues,in the,learning ,environm nt,
and us·1ng
1

t ~ c,hin tech. ique.sand;material'sto enh :nc.elearner perfoir,, anc or

i

Uowa .1 ·ast partial parti,cip,ationin a learning activity.

Ach eving thi!Ssystemic suppor r,equiresed ,c ion · d tra,ining,of teachers,
1

school-based support t • ms and district..based support teams. In ad:dttion,sch,oof

manag, ent teams and:depart mental offic.iafsa:ls,onee to supply 1nstrtlction,
1, 1

leadership and profe.ssio'n,

1 1
,,I!
support o school's,,a1nd
te.ac,h,e,rs
(Do,E,20,09).

Many e _chersiinge,n,-ral educatron schoolsare ,con,cerneda,bou,t h,e1ir

1
a,bihtyto I

.support lear1nerswith sp cia:Ieducational ne,eds,n inclusive cla srooms,but t h,e

1 1 1

pl .nnedsupp,ortsystemfor i nclusive educ ion should help a address,these concerns.

1
1

17-bile6,. provides a.summ _ryof he types and !(evelsof educ tioin,alsuppor for
learn,erswith speci1a1,I
educational n eds.

158 I Becominga teacher

Tabl'.e6.4 Levels and types of educationa.r suppor

Supp,ort strategy and deg:r,ee

Level Type of .support
of inc,lusion·

1 Gener ed,uc-tion cl ssroo The I rn r unc rons u c;;,... mic lly

h s,p c a,hstco sul a· io soci i en r I c c assroom.
F II- • s eciali s . rovi co sul ion.

2 Generaleducation cla sroo Th s ci I c ·o er and

1th cooper ive te ch·n or cl ss oom eacher o- an co- ch
co- eaic g fo r,.·::,,· o h choo y.
Th I ar r is i cl ral
cl .room or h n SC::ool d y, r
s p or i ovi 1ed.

3 p -time pace e i spec,• I Th I r n s

ar o chool d y
•
ed ca on cl ssroom g tion cl ssroon n
•
10 c 1s oon
(u u II r SOU C room).

4 .nt· e place en speci I el r r IS UC n s ci I

ed 'C t1,on c a, roo •I a •
sr o •
ge ea educ ion sc, ool
UC
C
10
•
10n ol, •
I
" I

co rs
•
u n rio s. ut 'S
•
h IC n n lu c

s Speci ,sc ool rn c iv s ...........

ci I c 10
S ic Si s~L>r1al C on choo.

6 es de ti s hool r atment T rn rec ss ci ,I c tion

centre, o ome o n om , o r s i,n hool
str ction or m c ntr .

•ow . ou d1yo:u,d fine an 1ncl'u,ivel'e rn1ng ·nv1ironm,nt 7

The eac,herasan age t of inclus:vity I 159

 An inclusive learning environment
•
"Inclusive education means that all students [learners] have accessto good quality
education. This implies an environment in which children are able to learn"(Stofile and
Green,2007: 61). In this environment the basicattitude in education should be one of
non-discrimination, acceptanceand involvement of all, specifically to accommodate
those learnerswho experience barriers to learning (Donald, Lazarusand Lolwana,
2007).An inclusive learning environment supports "all learnersand the education
systemas a whole so that a range of learning needs can be met ... [It] focuseson
overcoming barriers in the system that prevent it from meeting the full range of
learning needs"(DoE,2001: 20).

A transformative approach
Let'snow investigate what you as teacher can do to create an inclusive learning
environment where all learners can learn. We are aware that many classroomsin
South Africa are inadequately resourcedand overcrowded, and we cannot addressall
these issues.However,you can start in a small way to improve learning for a number
of learners.

A transformative teacher is one who brings about different teaching practices,fosters

critical citizens and implements equity, redress,non-discrimination, access,justice and
democracy in the school and classroom.Youare a transformative teacher when you
develop an inclusive learning environment.
'

A caring pedagogy
Chapter 2 introduced a pedagogy of care and the caring relationship between
teacher and learner.This care is particularly important when you work with diverse
learners.The teacher also hasthe role of classroommanager.You can only manage your
diverse classroomeffectively if you are able to identify the difficulties your learnersare
experiencing. Rememberthat what is acceptable to some is not acceptable to others.
This meansthat as a teacher you must find out as much as you can about the different
religions and cultures in your classroomto better understand how to manage your
diverse learners.Your understanding of the processesof teaching and learning will
help you design lessonsthat are effective, interesting and suited to a variety of learning
situations.

160 I Becominga teacher

Awareness of intrinsic and extrinsic factors
Earlierin this chapter we discussedthe need of some learnersfor special educational
support on a cognitive, emotional, sensoryor physical level.Thesespecial needs are
usually causedby intrinsic factors within the learner.However,many learning needs
are causedby external factors, such as social and educational disadvantage (Donald
et al., 2010).Often, both types of factor work together. For example, a young learner
may be blind (intrinsic) but also come from a very poor social environment (extrinsic).
Violence,discrimination, an inflexible curriculum, poor teacher education and training,
unsafe schools,inadequate support services,lack of parental involvement and
insufficient support for learners with disabilities and learning difficulties are some of
the barriersto learning that need to be addressedin an inclusive learning environment
(Donald et al., 2010).

Think about it
• What are the most common intrinsic and extrinsic barriersto learning in South
African schools?
• How do we support learnerswith barriersto learning and development in an
inclusive learning environment?

UNESCO(2001)highlights a nine-point plan for a teacher to deal with diversity in the

learning environment. We will touch on many of these aspects in the following pages:
• effective communication
• classroom management
• having individual educational plans
• use of assistivedevices
• preparation of lessons
• individual help for learners
• management of learner behaviour
• fostering social inclusion of all learners in the school.

A broader approach to support

As stated earlier,we have moved away from the traditional medical model to a social
rights model. In a medical model, the focus is on 'diagnosed deficits' in individual
learners,which are then 'remediated' through individual attention by staff specifically
trained to respond to these issues.

The teacherasan agent of lnclusivity I 161

••
 In a social rights model, support includes all activities in a school. Schoolsare also
better able to respond to diversity. Some individual learnerswill still need special
support, but the overall support structures in the school will aid to make learning
contexts and lessonsaccessibleto all learners.

"Support also takes place when schools review their culture, policies and practices in
terms of the extent to which they meet individual teacher, parent and learner needs.
Support takes place when teachers plan lessonsin such a way that they accommodate
all learners.Support, then, must focus broadly on the learning and teaching processby
identifying and addressing learner,teacher and institutional needs.Though the major
responsibility for coordinating support may rest with a limited number of people, all
staff needsto be involved in support activities" (DoE,2008: 6).

Think about it
How would you develop a classroom systemthat supports learners so that all learners
can learn?

It is important that support is built into the classroomand school system.As the
classroomteacher,you can help by identifying and assessingbarriers that prevent
a learner from fully taking part in the learning process,and by doing so as early as
•
possible in order to addressthe barrier.The Department of Education hasdeveloped
a strategy for screening,identification, assessmentand support to help in this
process.The aim is then to develop inclusive learning programmes that support us in
addressingthese barriersthrough the way we teach.

One way to support learner diversity in your classroomis by adapting the curriculum.
We discussedthe curriculum in Chapter 4. We argue that the curriculum refers not
only to the content of the lessonsbut to the entire school programme. Teaching
and learning is only one part of this. So when disruptive behaviour such a~bullying
becomes a barrier to learning in the school, a whole school approach sho4ld be used to
addressthe issueand prevent barriers to learning.

Another way in which you can support learners is by using their multiple intelligences
as discussedin Chapter 3.

Think about it
How would you assesslearnerswith specific educational needs?

162 J Becominga teacher

Chapter 5 dealt with assessmentand addressedthe issueof assessingfor learning to
help learnersto learn more effectively.When assessingfor learning we also need to
identify the nature and extent of any barrier. However,we must not focus only on the
learner,but also addressexternal factors that may be contributing to the problem. A
support plan can then be developed that includes all stakeholders:not only the teacher
and learner,but also the parents, the school system,as well as professionalssuch as
educational psychologistsor medical doctors.
•
Chapter 5 also addressedthe issueof flexibility in assessment.For example, does the
assessmenttool take into consideration the diversity of the learner population? Is
it sufficiently varied to accommodate different learning styles?Does it discriminate
against any learner in terms of religion, sexualorientation, appearance,language,
culture, and so on? Does it contain assessorbias?Does it advantage one learner over
another? Does it balancedifferent types of assessment?

Flexibility in assessmentincludes the ability to addressa learner'sneeds. For example,

if a learner has a writing disability, it might be helpful to use a scribe - someone who
can write down what the learner dictates. Using of a scribe during assessmentis also
known as amanuensis.

Situation analysis
By now you know that there are no easy recipesfor teaching, and that mediating
learning meansconsidering a myriad of factors and being sensitive towards your
particular learners.Therefore,before planning your lessonsyou first need to ask
yourself who the participants of the lessonare.This meansthat you need to look at
all the factors that influence the teaching of all the learners.It involves assessingthe
school and classroom,your own qualities as a teacher, and the learners.For example,
you may be in a classroomwhere there is no electricity, in which caseyou may have to
replan your lessonsfor that specific situation.

An important aspect of your lessonplanning involves assessingthe diversity of learners

in your class.This may include gender, religion, academic ability, learning barriers,
illness,family matters, and so on.

After your initial analysis,reassessthe situation regularly, perhaps monthly, to note any
changes.Let'slook at the following scenarioto see how this might work in practice.

Theteacherasan agent of inclusivity I 163

•
 Scenario
Jodi'scla sroo..·.
, Jodi h.asjust graduated as a Sen,iorPh.asete ch -r (Grades7-9). He specialised in Life
Orienitation and Life S,ciences,obtained his deg·reewith distinction, a,ndwas na,med
the best teachi,ngstudent during '. is schoo.lexpe,rience,n the finaf year of his degree
He is currently enrol1ed for a,BEd Hon,ours in Edu·cationa'IPsy,c··
ol ogy, focusing on
1
1

psycholog1.cacou'nsellin,gand assessment,le rning support nd c. re r development.

Jodii has o,b ained a pos in a wel! mai'n.ta1nedmiddle-class, rb n school. It has
1

Ilove·fygardens ma:intained by a comm,un.ity member -for free! Each classroom

has .anoverhead projector. ,-d a chalkboard, and enoug:h des.ksa1ndspace for up
to· 50 learners. There s .running water and etec ricity, the restrooms .areneat and
clean, ,a,ndthere is a well-stociked l.ibrary le rners may use after school hours ..
,on Jodi'sfirst day at the school he meets his Gr ·de8 r g.isterclassof 40 learners.He will
, tea.chLife Orrenta:tion o this clas.sTh.ereis a .mixt,ureof racial,groupsin he class,mostly
fr.o.mSotho and English,-speaki.ngbackgrounds, and th.ere are more boys than girls.
1

During his first mo.nth, Jodi notices th • characteristics of th,e different learners.
P,eterdoes well acad:emica'Iy, b'Ut walks wi ha Ump. H,ealso ;hotds.his ri ght h nd
1

'in a.nodd position,. sometimes w,earing a b1raceo. it, and o er le rners often
push 1h ·1m aro ndi and tease him bou his,limp n .• his hand. L" ,diwe squints in
bright light and puUs faces when she r,eads, olding th· page close to her eyes.
1

1 S,hecannot read the chalkbo·ard or overhead transparencie·s and: s,tru.,g,g!,e

.t,o
w· ite·betwee1n,the H ·es ·n her notebooks.
Wh:Heteaching, Jodi is awa e tha some 1[earnersstruggle o sit still. They t. lk to
e •ch other, shout out a sw,eirs o his qu,estions, disrupt co,nstantJ:yand comp:la:·n II
I

that Life Orientati,on is boring ..Jodi •as tried shou i,ng at them to keep qui t and
threatening to send them a the p,rincipa,Ior to d,etention, yet t ..ey c,on.~nueto
d isr1 pt. One boy in, p rti·cular seems ve y aggressive and stirs up th,e ot , ,rs.
1

Jodi is also aware of about five fear, ers who never write ·or read ·n class, althoug·h
they in eract weH in discuss.ionsand nswer his questions. In addition, several
fear ers wear thre dbare clothes and don't look well, and Jod.i worries that they
may no have enough to ea •.
Jodi is not y·et sur of the level of pa.rental i volvemenit of his reg,ister class at the
schoot He d:ecides, o write to the pare;n1ts or careg·iversandI i ,vite the·m t.o make
1

1 c,ontact with h·lm. 1

He has .•lso !,earned t,ha the, school has an effective sc 001·-basedsup.port team.

164 I Becom·ng at acher

Think abo · t 'it
When . lan·ni gi a lesso.,,we consider he scha,o,I,
th.eteacher and the·learners.
• The sc ,oor1inthe sce:n•rio is said to be in a m:iddle-classuirb n area Wha does t,his
ean to,you7
Wha do you think are Jod,i'sstr,engthsa,ndchallengesas a eache·r?·
What do you thi nk re your own curren streng hs ..nd weak
1
ss,esas a teacher?
hink about which a·spectsyou woufd like t,o impro,ve.
• Analys,e he d.ivers:ity mo,ng he learn,er in Jodi'scl'ass.How would you a empt to
create an i·nciusivelearning environm -nt for thes learner 1

It is clear that the learnersin this cla.ssdj:ff r with, r,egardto rac,e,,gen,der,culture,

1

context and the difficulties they experie·nce.They probably afso differ In religion1How
can Jodl incl:udeall these !:earners.sot,h,a,t they are all able to 1learn? Let'sconsider so·me
of the factors Jodi.has id, ntified.

Visual barriers
It appearsthat Lindiwe is experiencing difficutties with her ,ey-s Jodi wiB have to find
out how to, support h1ervisual barrier so that her learning can improve..One ,ofthe first
thin,gshe cou:!ddo is to ask her about the eye i.rritation sh is showing.

Here are a few things Jodi.can do to ,helpher:

• ask for an eye test to be·don.e
1

• use enlarged images and bold text

• esta bli:shwhat ,colourpaper supports her reading
• .ask,herfro,mwher,ein the classroomsJh,e
seesth·echalk1boardbest; 1t may help her to
sit at the fro nt
1

• read aloud wh·atis written on the board

• aUowher to use a comp uter wher,eshe can enlarge th,et xt
1
1

• allow her to use a dictaphone to answer a test

• aUowadditional·time for activities, tests an.dexaminations
• provi,d,ealternative .a,ss,essments
that she Is able to complete
• u e thicker lines for writing
• pair her with a 'buddy' to provide support, such as reading instr,uctionsaloud.

Not aUvisual impairmientsare easyto deal with Learnerswi,th severevisual

irnpaiirments or total blindness often go to special schoolsthat cate.rfor th,eirspecific
1

needs This is also true for learnersw.ith severeor totaJ h a.ringimpairment ,Qnesuch

he eacheras an agen of inclusiv,ity I 16S

•
 school is in Worcesterin the WesternC.ape,which catersfor learn•erswho are blind and
1

deaf. However,the sad aspect of such specialised'sch,ooifing·sthat learnershaveto g,o

away from •homebecausethere are so few such schoolsin Sou,thAfr,ica.
1

le rner eKtratime for ac ivi,ties ,ndtes s, is this fair to

If y,ougiv·ea visually imp,a:iired·
other le·arners?

Phys·cal b rr1er
Jodi h:as.noticed P·eter'sI mp and w ·akha,nd,and is aiwarethat ,otherlearners ea.se.and~
p,ushhim around, alt'hough:he is stro,•ngaca,dem1fcalfy.

Jodi discusseshis o:b,servationswith .hislectur,er·for.Learning,S,upportand Inclusive

E·d·ucation
at the university,who adviseshim to read Peter'sp rsonal profil . 1n the
school record H ~re,Jodi finds a report from an educ.ationa p,sychologis basedat a
pri.maryschool for cer,ebral,palsiedlearnerswhich,Peter .,tended.

Jod:1learnsthat P,eer is intelligent a d h s al:waysdone we'll academically,but .needed

· ssistance·in his earl:ych·Hdhooddevetop,mentbec.a,use o,fleft emipl,egiccer. bral
palsy.He initi Uyatte d,e,dFores Town1School in Johannesburg becausehe need:ed
1
1

int,ensive1physiothe,rapy and ace !patio,naltherapy However,when h reac·hed

s, .con,daryschool l,evel,Petertold his par,entshe wanted o go o •.'mainstre m' school.
1

Jodi reaHses t,hathe need,sto ,kno•wmore bout cer braI palsy,and search.eshe fn ernet
for information·to .helphim • nd. rstan,dPeterbe· er He leairn.s tha cere' r,alpalsyis caused
1

by a "lesion o a sectionof he brain or inad quate developm-nt of ,asectionof the brain

1

beforetihebr 1n is fuHygrowni''(Bothaand 1Kru·ger,. 2005:2,89).This.affectsthe motor

system,.H.eafso rea1Usestha · t' • er,e•·redegreesof severitya,ndthat Peter'scaseis mild.

Jodi now b g1is to consider wha kin·dof support Peterneeds in,class. OPexaimple,
do. s he ne.ed••xtra · ime to writ,e a test' Jodi also wa ts to mak the,otihe .l.e~ rners
w re of wh:ythe r·ght side·of Peter'sbody is ffi cted in this way,a dhow t ·,ey
1

c · n support him However,he first ne •ds Peter'sperm·s io , , o,d·0 so.As P·eter·s an

1

exceUentreader,he will 1useh,imto rea,daloud in the classw,he,nnecessary,and let

h,imbe a,'budd·y'to,lea:rn rs who find reading d"ffi,cult.He also decidestha .he can
1

link Peter'sconditi'on to a Lifi· Orientat on,lesson . bout hu·manrig·htsa·nd'the id· a

that a,11learn,ershave a right o an 1ncl:usive learning environment, w ·ch also mean
socia,I1n,clusion
1

16 I Becominga teacher
Th.· k abou ,it
• Think o.fo ,h r ph1ysica,I
and neurologica.l disabilities you may co me .acrossin your
1

classrooms.

Accesstihe websit of he Centre fo P ent l·nformatron:and R,esou

rces (h ps://www.
p·arentcent,er1hub,.o
g/).
Write a brief narrative of ho.w you ould inclu'd,el ea1rers ith p,hysicI d isab"Hies i'
1
1

the c,lassroom1n yo,ur s J c speciaUsation.

Di ruptive be .aviou1r
In Jodi's.lessonpia,nning,as ,heassesseshimself as a teacher,he,considersh•isstruggle
to maintain d" cipfiine and wond,ers 1fhis teach!i,1ng
style presen s a barr1 r to le rning
for some learners (Snowman and! Biehler, 2006). ·Herevises his university ,notes on
manageme,ntto seewhat he co,ulddo d'ifferently,and also asksadv.ice
cf,ass.room 1

from some of his s,choolcolleagues. H then revisits his lessonplanning..He decidesto·

chan,gehis classro,om.managemen sty'leand do the folfo·wing in fut,ure:
• P . n for first d . t - 1 1 s ·n ,va,nc - Careful ,pla,nn.in• .befo1r•h nd ssures bette·r
rout,i:neand less confu,5,ion,an,d ssists in er· atin,g equit bfe learning opportunitt ·s.
• D I p a I·s of c - s roo be a io, rs This ensu.res, h. t It I -rners fe r
accom,modatedand agreeon th, se behavi,ours. Som- classrulesma.ybe,nego i'at d
with the learners.During th - n otiat,J.on,
th reasonsfor these beh viours -nd rules
should be clear y expl'ained a,ndun,derstood.l'n the caseof Peter,one,suchrule may b :
1

"We do ot interr,uptw:hen,somebody l'se,ist tkrngand wait for our turn to sp ·•ak:'

• P hol ..g,o p c -i. ti s for th .I ss.Th se activi:tie5,.,houldaUow all learners
to fe I comfortabl,e,inthe classroom.andfeel that they have some h,ingvaluable to
1

contribu _e.Tea.ch_rs shio,ul,d

specifically plan for I arn rs to experI'encesome sense
of ,chi v ment ,a.ndsuccess. in these activities.
G.._e lea d rect10 a , d con t uc • e feed . ack. Thi'sincludes ho.lding learn rs,
accountablefor their own a,ctions nd,consiSteintly prov'iding prom;pt and
re,as.onable
teedback.
• Show lear •er at t •y ar i_ port. t Thereare numerouswaysto ma,ket · r .ers
feel;th,at they and their contribution,s ar valu d, for exampl _,by' organising th .·
,p:hysicals a,,c- of the c,lassroomto accommoda e ,in_era,ctio.n,by en,suring:th _
avai'labHity of frequently used teaching, m ..eriafsand sup.pH s, and by s,howing·
,gen, :1neinterest ·n the I airnersan,da1 re din,essto support h ~ m .tan levels of their
deve'lopment. o; cer1nand car,ingfor the develop.ment of th potential of ea.,ch
1

learner should be the uJtim.at ,goalof ,classroomin er· ction.

he eacher s an agen o ·nclusivity f 167

 Researchshows that good p-lanning can :preven•tdisciplin1eproblems. Because,JodI
made n effort to get to know his learners and·their cont,exts, h-ew.asabl,eto manage
them ln a positive, way and develop an incl·usive rearnin.genvironment. We berieve that
the better your analysis of your cl.assroomcontext and pre-planning, the better your
results wilr be. It Is true that this will initiaUy take a lot o,ftime. H,owever,p,reparing in1
advance and organising your l,earning enviro1nmentwen saves a lot of time in the long
run and helps to red uce the .stressyou might feel when teaching large classeswith
1

diverse learn,ers.

Sound principles of classroom manage·men,tar,ealso va.luable when you start to plan

the ·nteractive ,phaseof the lesson. You have to b,every clear about what lear:nin,gtasks
the learners will engage in and the ty·pe of assessment you wiH use. Also clariJy the
roles ·you wUI assign to your learners and to yourself as the teacher ..Another important
aspect of plan.ning is youir use of med•ia,Uke,basicteaching aids and technolo,gy. Ensure
that your choic.eof med-iawill be effective fo aUlearners and wil'I not exclude an·ybody
1

f ro.mth activity.

Another important aspect in ,developing n inclusive !,earning environment is knowing

the names -ofthe 1,earnersas soon -:Spossi.ble (Snowm.an.and Bieh,,er,2006). One

:inexpensive way to achieve this is to make use of library cards -orsimilar sized cards
which can be stored in empty shoe boxes. How would we go about this and wh,at
1

woul·d the benefits be?

• Hand out smaUc rds as soon as everybody is s ated Ask your learners to write,
down their full names, the name they prefer to be called, their hobbjes and favourite
activities, and a desc_iriptionof the most lnteresting ,experi.e,nce
they h.aveev,erhad.
• These cards can assist a new teacher in creating a sense of preparedness, as well as
llow fo,r a period: where the focus shifts from 'the new tea:cher in1front of the class
for the first time' to a less intim,Idating on,, where (,earnersneed to focus on what
they wa.n,tto share with. th1eteac,h,er.Walking through t:h,e,c!:assgives the teacher the
opportunity to 'see' each learner as an indiv1idual.
• Having rearners'personal informati-o:nsh.ould be h,andled with sensitivity .and care..
These cards h-aveth,e potential to sup,p,.lyyou not only with 1-arners(names, but also
with informatio·n on their ,han,dwriting, their wiHingness to share,. heir ability to 1

express themselves i'n writing, a1ndso on.

Neve·rtheless,as a teacher you· may someti:1mesencount,er b havio,ur that disrupts th·e

class fn such a way that n-oone can learn. In such instances, gather as much inform tion
as posslbl'e bout the disruptive l'earn rs and'.their backgrou:nds. Use the· correct school
ch nnels to, for xam,ple.,ret r these learners to an ,educational psychologist or to
receive other professional support. It wiU remain y·our task o k ep in contact with this
professional and to work ogether to solve th .affect d le rn rs1 probl ms.

168 I Becorn.ig teacher

Socioeco omic barriers
Jod· has noticed that some of ,h,1s
learn,erss,how signs of poverty. Socioeconomi,c
barrers are one of the most charlenging barriers for a:nyteacher to a,ddiress.Thes,e
barriers may ham,per the development of an,inclusive learning e.nvironment and
co·nsequently, teach,ing and lear,ning. A child, that is hungry will fin.d it difficult to
1
1

concentrate and learn. This problem should usually be,addressed by the school as a
system. Jodi therefore tries to fi1nd,out from, the instituti',o,n-levelsupport team what
.arr,angementsare in pla,cer,egardjng food and clothes fo · children.

Jodi,'sschool may have a clothing and book bank where learners who leave t,he school
donat,e tiheir books and clothes. There may a,lsobe a sou,p kitchen wh.,eredaity mea.ls
1

,areavailiable..

Through tihe relevant ch.annel,s•Of the school, Jodi finds that hie needs to refer these
earners to the District-Based S,upportTeam for a social worker to, inv,estigate the
1

crrcumstances of the learn,ersin question.

Leairningdiffic,u:Iies
lnteres ingly, Jodi has noticed that som,eof his learners who se,emintel igen,t find it
difficult to read and wrrte. He researches readin,g and writing difficulJ'es, and learns that
he ,must first differentiate between learni,ng impairmen versus diffi,culty with English
as a second language.

A learning impairment wHI requ.ire intensiive learnin g support and should be identified
1

as soon as possi,blein order to he,rpl;,earnersmanage these difficulties. These learne:rs

often don't understand why the·y are ha.ving d:ifficulty with the,r acad,emicwork
1

(Do,nald et al., 2007). A systemic intervention is then required in which th:e classroom,
teacher, school counsellor. nd other professionats work together to address the issue.
A learning support specialist will usually work with, the te.a,chert,o provide th,e learner
additional support with r,e,adin.g.and,writing.

Many websites pr,o·videinformation about learning impairments and how they can,be
man ..ged in the classroom.You may also visit a speci Usedschool that caters exclusively'
for these ,tearnersto learn m,oreabout how to manage I arning ,Jm,pa1rmentse er.

Parental involve nt
Jodi reaUsesthat contact wi h parents or C'aegivers is very impoirtant, as parental
in,volvement ,has , positive impact on a child's successa school (Swart and Phasha,2005).
,owever,he is n,otyet sure,what external ,pressuresthe families experience, which can
influence the leveJof p rental involvement. Getting, to,know the p ren s i;nhis class and
their level of invol:vementshould form part of t,hesituation,analysisof each register te cher.

he eacheraisan agento ·nclusivity J 169

 F,ourieand Mol'efe(2009) suggest that parents can be i valved n the school syst,e,m at
diifferent levels.Pare,ntscan be i'nvolved,,nschoo.lgovernan,cea,n,dat the level of the
educationsystem,but he:rewe wiUonly addressthe classroomevel,where he teacher and
1 1 1

parentsform a, partnershi'pto deal with the individual n,eedsand development of a chUd.

Jo,dfhas to make Lin,diwe'spar,en,tsawareof her need for a eye test. Jodi therefore
contacts her parents to addressher eye,,issue.As,her register t,eache,r,it is his ai'm
to ,e,ncourageall parents o become actively Involved., e may also in,viteparent
involvemien,tt,hrough volunte.errng,for example, by encouraging,someon,eto be a
pare.ntrep1rese,ntativefor th.a,tclass,who th,e;nworks in partnersh·p with Jodi on matters
important to that cl· ss.

Jodi needst,o reach o,utto the parents,especiallyto un1drsta'nd'tlh f mily backgJound,

community and resourcesav.ai'lable,t,o help h1imun,derst nd w at leve'Iof support the
1 1

Ifearners in.1hisregist,e.rclassneed, For example, if Lindiwe1s · arenits,cannot afford an eye

test by an optometrist, he could direct them to a university optom try depart . ent •:hat
1

provides eye testi:ng to the comm1u,niity as part of the1irstudent r .1n1ng.

How do you thinik Jodi mig ·, ,es blish con ct wi • the p.ar n1 s of h,iscl ss7

••
The most common contact measureis to invite parents,,o parent-teach,erevenings
to 1m1, et an1ddiscuss· he pr,ogres of thet ch Id nd ·fi,ndw 1ysof supporting heir c:h1ld
O

if a.n,yd'ffi.cultiesoccur.Jodi can a,ls,oa,rrangea consultation with a par icular re t. 1

For ex .mple, if a l'earnersho,wsch..nges in . h viour, a ,dro,p,

1
in academic standard or
a deterior tion in g,e:ne,ralwellbeing an,demo ional s ate, Jodi mus add;res.s th:isIssu.
by tryiing to find out what may 1bei,nOuencingthe learner'sw,eI 'being·. nd whether h ·
1

problem originates at home.

' a pa.rticu,la,r
Jodi could also invite iheparents in his clas to. pa.ren.eveniingto ,discuss
issue..For exa.mpl,e,he may invite the parents of the l,ear eirs1havin.g
d~fficulty rea,-ing
1

nd writing for a short group,discuss,o.no addr,ess,the i'ssue.He may also.· ant

1

discussth,eissueof 1homeworkwith the parents.Or he can invo,lv• the pa.r,entsi

1

whole school inform,aiti,oneven,ingto addressissueswithin the school.

1

170 I B com·ng a ,eacher

Conclusion
This chapt,er pr,ovides information about how yo:u ca,ndevelop an inclusive learni1ng
e.nvironment in y·our classroo:m As our example t,eacher,Jodi, 'has,discovered, it
is important to, make the effort to, get to know your lea.rners..It .isalso essential to
plan and prepa.re well, be consistent, us,edifferent teaching meth,ods, and adapt
your assessment strategies to the i,nd1vidualneeds of your learn,ers.Most ,of all, it
is important to ask qu,estions, network a,nddo research,so that yo u can ffectively
1

support the divers,e needs of your lea ners.

To become a cha,mpion of :inclusion, you need a positiv'e and respectful attit,ude

towair,dsyours,e,tfand oth,er people, and, he ability to focus not on the deficits l,n
learners, b,u on their po ential. We hope you wiU become suc.h,at· acher.

The f0Howi ng glossa1:ry

1
lis,tsa'nd describes some important e,rmsa,ndresources you
may com,e across in refati:on to speciat edu,c t,;o,~,a,Ineeds and inclusive ,educatio,n
(DoE, 2008: 7-8).

Glos,sa:ry
ug e ,t ·ve n r m n1cat o communic ~ tion1str t gies for
p ople wh,o c,annot spe. k clearly enoug1hto be understood:; including ge tur s,
communica:, ion bo irds,a,nd,devices
B rri r to le i g difficulti s bfockin1gaccess, o I rnin,g nd ,d,ev··lo, me,nt, located
either i.nthe ducation system, the chool or th le ,rner
C tegory o;fd • b,1 ity ~heC'urren list of ca, ,gories u ed in schoofs and in the
speci:aleducation syst,e,m.They i:nclude.:mu.ltiple disa,bled1,deaf, hard of hearing bhnd,
1 1
,,

partially sighted, deaf/b, ind, cerebral pal'sied, specific lear,n ng disabled, b havio ura:I 1

disorder, mild or mod erate intellectually disabled, severe,inteUectuaUy disabled,

1

!ph,ysic lly ,disabled, au,tist1cspectrum1diso,r,ders,epilepsy, a en ion d: fi,ciitdisorder

with/witho,ut hyperactivity
Distr c,-b ed p or • am departm,enta.l prot sslonals who promote in·clusive
e,ducation through tr ini ,.g, curriculum deliv ry, d istribu ·ing resource,s,id'entifying
1

nd
addressin,g barriers to I, n.ing, leadersh,spand gen,eratm.an. gement
F I er •;ce c· ool _: ordinary s,choolsthat are specially r · sourced to ad,dressa fuU
range of barriers to learning, In ain inclusive ,ducation se •• g
i ·d I pport Ian an ,individuaUs,d pf n d' ve:l'op d .byteache,rsto support a
specific learn r,,in consul ation with parents and the ILST
nst·tut on I vel pport ,ea,m teams at G T, FETand high,er ed ucati,on 1

establfshme ts that provid,e coor,dinated supper to learners,.teachers and school s

1
1

The eache a an agen of incrusivity I 171

 Lead profe s·onal· a district based support team me • er who coordinates
assessm,enta.nd decision making on su.pport for tearners 1

Le el o,. s ppor needs a standardised way of ranking support options for schools,
teachers and learners accordin,g to, he scop,eand intensity of support involved
Spec a c oo s sclhools equipped to, ,deliver education to learners wh.o need i,ntensiv,e
educational nd other suppor
Sp "al chools/Re ou ,cece tres· spec.·a1
schools,trans,fo,rm,e·dto ac,commodate
learners wiith high~interl1sj,tysu.pport needs, and to, pr,ovide a r ge of sup ort services
to ,ordir-1aryan,d full-service schools
Su port n -eds assess nt: the process of determin.ing th,e addition Is, pport
ne ded, guided by the support n eds assessment form1
• uppo,rt ckag • a packag,e ,of resources, either h,u,man,physicaf, materi:al or a
com1bination, to address the learnin,g .barri rs of a particular I ,rner or school. Packages
may vary i;n intensity from level 1 through to level 5
S por ~----
..gr.a -,es structured in erventio,ns delivered . schools nd. in cla srooms
within specific tirneframes.,

References
D p rtment of Educ tion. 1997. Qu lity -ducat,i,o for all. Overcoming b rriers o
le rning nd development. Report of he Nati:on I Commission on Speciial eeds
1

in Educ. tion and Tr ining (NCSNET),National Committee on E.ducation S,upport

Services (NCESS).Pretoria: Department of Education.
Department of ducatiion. 2001. Ed·u1cationWt,·t Pa:per6 on Spec·a1Nee s Education.
I

Building an inclusiv ·e ucation an, •tr,ai.ning s.yste,m..Pre oria: Gov rnment Prin er.
Available _ h· tps ·//www.gov.za/docu ments/specia 1-needs-education,-ed ucation-
wh,ite-p per 6. Acc,es.s.d o,n 17 1,020 18,. 1

D p rtm nt of Educa ion. 201,Q.Guid- lin ~ s for • II-service/ lnclusiv Schools. Pre or11:
:
IDep rtment of Education, Dir ctor t : Inclusive Ed c tio ..Ava.ii bl h tps·//
www ed,uc ,,on.gov.z.a/P·ort ls/0/Documents/PoHcies/ln lusiv %20Ed1• ca ion/
Furl'%20Service%20School%20Guid lineso/o202010.pdf?ver=2011-02-241155333-000·.
Access· d on 24 10 2018.
Departm.ent of Educ tion. 2 008 N t·onal Strategy ,on Sere ning, 1.d,en•
1
ifi,ca 10n,
1

Assessm,entand Support (SIAS)..Pretoria: Gov- rnment · rint r.

Donald, D Lazarus, S. nd Lofw na, P.20,02.Edu,catlona.l
1
., psychologyin socialcontext.
2nd ed. Cape Town: Oxford Un1·versity·Press.
Don Id, .D.,Lazarus, S,.an1dLolwana, P.2007. Educationalpsychology.insocialcontext.
3rd ed..Cape Town: Oxford Unive sity Pres.s
n,gelbir cht, P.,.Gr,een,L., Nai,ck r, S. · nd Engelbr ch , L (eds). 1998. InclusiveEducation
1

in A,ctionin SouthAfrica. Pr,e,oria· Van Sch ik.

172 I Becomingat cher

Engelbrecht, P.and Green, L. (eds).2007. Respondingto the Challengesof Inclusive
Educationin SouthernAfrica. Pretoria:Van Schaik.
Fourie,J. 2009. School and Community Interventions. Learning Guide for the Honours
in Educational Psychology.University of Johannesburg: Johannesburg.
Landsberg, E.,Kruger, D. and Nel, N. 2005. AddressingBarriersto Learning:A SouthAfrican
Perspective.Pretoria:Van Schaik.
Pienaar,C and Raymond, EB.2013. Making InclusiveEducationWorkin Classrooms.
Pearson:CapeTown.
Snowman, J. and Biehler, R.2006. PsychologyApplied to Teaching.11th edition. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Company.
Stofile, S.Y.and Green, L 2007. Inclusive education in South Africa. In: Respondingto the
Challengesof InclusiveEducationin SouthernAfrica. Pretoria:Van Schaik.
Swart, E.,Engelbrecht, P.,Eloff, I. and Pettipher, R.2002. Implementing inclusive
education in South Africa: teachers'attitudes and experiences.Acta Academica,2002,
34(1): 175-189.

Theteacherasan agent of incluslvity I 173

••
 Multilingual glossary
Chapter 1 - - - -

English -
Afrikaans -
lsiZulu Northern Sotho
co e f ethics edags od ind ela yok "p ah h totl hlo a a
of profess·onalvalu s e rofi slon ·se hi yam ugu bo sh ao
and responsi iii • a r es n nza izinto me ya oish ro I
v ran oord lkh ndlela on ile boi lo modirang
nye n zi
DAT pr ce s D~ -po es p eh g tsoy
a our-stepr flection 'n vi -rsta prosesvan 1-DAT.y'sifinyezo e edis g
process,madeup o n d •nk , a t . n u·t uku hi: a
d scrip ion, analy is, bes .-....uing,on tedi g, d scriprion. sh ed !o ya ma a o
.heorisin an ion eore iserin · n aksi analy,is, manea go agan , o
theorisinga a diri•w..•no h o~o.
action,no usho h ka sh o, go du el
iziny th lo ez1ne go m ba a ao a -e na o
zo ub a mu a bonne e
oku ilezi~in a elo,
t uhlaziya/u uca nga
g ea2 !o nye
kwtonza
======:
g 1d d re ci gelei e s n gs- ind el eq s·we e aotsh ped1so ya
p oto ol pro o ol yo h ka I h o y go i ekol
qu s ion - o help r flee raeo e hel om oor im·bu o izau ipo ~i o go hu go
on e htng exoerienc 'non rrig rvar"n a umun u akwazi i ola m jtamog rong
edink u ubhe muva oru a
isiplliyoni he
so ufundlsa
"
met -t • k1 e ad ke u c b g ts e as e o y ka
thinking abou hinkin om n te •ink oar denke okuy· iyi 1 mo o ag .n go
u ucabang go n gan1sisaa ga o
n o ucabang
edag g,ical ed g ies I azi seboya a o
o te t k o edg inhouds enni luq Kw1e,1: e go r ta
merg co t n oeg ·nhou sk nnis y zi la e , opan a t ebo y
knowledge i h oeaagog·esekennis zo ■ ,IT■.■ di di ng , hu o e tsetX>
pedagog·cal no uhlangani zi ya gonJ a
oluq •k h no az·
J z'ndletazo u undisa
pe go y ed e i eua o i to
h method and prac ice die m - od en r:;ut'n.,.~ 'ndtelak _ny no e za 1royagoru a
of ching - an onde r'g um e n • o ufundi a
pr t e pr y nza se e zi a rs
h ore s ra ion o organiseringof plas u uqalanoma ukuhtela ihomi~o ka o eb'
arrangemento an di ver Ulende "zin o ez'thi.l ezah u ene goba pea anyoya
d'fferen _fem n s o onderrigefemente zezimozo ufundls diefen en • t~edi
e ch ng o accom I sh n ein e bepa Ide ukuzeuzuzeimiphumeta f, pan got go n.Ja
pa ,icuJaroutcomesin uitkomstein spes1fiek ile ezinda ni zithil,e gore go fihlelel
specificen i onmen s omge ,ngs e rei eziqondiwe dipoelo t e di it~ ng
di emong ~ di it eng

174 I Secoming a teacher

 - - - - - - - -
'

En,glish A,fri,kaans N,ort,hern Sotho

re ct ou I besi ·ngsdagb ek to o a a
a recordo assumptions, 'n re,1.-.ord
van tlha
p eoccupaion . v rond rs Ung, Ir hodi lez n o o e oo
succ ss and com on vooroo e . su ss en eziqa I a o, re ho o a ga dik op lo,
pro lems I emen rob m ez·cats anoe11wayo, go beamogc lo go
izlmpumeleJo k nye .seo s ego.di t . o
neztnkengaeziku on . I ma h ta a a mehl

s·n e d ag
c ice 0 S rs ilir'l>'l uz oite olo
an c • , p rsi t n nd 'n ie ,. nhouden e u uhlol iz n o lh. hlobo y e ~oma o
ca a ina 10n o n sorg uldige zo'kufund·,s- g bo s , y , s eleJgo
e chi ac ions nd onder oekna ezise nzayo, n I le go kgao ! ga
h beli s h t un erpin on rrrgh ndeU,ge en ez -hik · tel yo ya !ho om lti o ya
he,mwi h he aim of die oortuiging ,.-., di 2 .. nez·noku aphel y,e d"tiro ~ago ru a
car inuou ly impro1/ng onderl~me die do · t om nezinkof lo eihambi na di umelo ~eodt di
on • prac ,le as oo du n 'n men nazong nhlosoyo u i ii go mal em· e ~o
eache se onderrigpr kty t u u tu hlal njalo a go on fat k ,go
ver er enzangcono m · benz kgao ~ iro ya gag e
wa h · wokuba, bjalo kamo u Isl
ngu hisha
====~
re ti e be i e e , d si a
• •
1 o ers
p::11 ..... pr ktis la/ g e
eache hoh a ond rwysers at 'n z• a e as
deep un ers . nding i p aande grip a a a barutisi o ba
o h mse e nd he an hulselfen die othl ha a ano uziqond 'k et1 go go ee re
learn r n who view leerdershe en wa hul okunzulunga . uqobo ai hu i kago ,senelela
and assessheir teac Ing onderrigervaing h rsien kany ,na ,fundm @bil ba le ala le ,go
e p rienc in order to n as •sseerten efn e o oyibon b buyekeza se asekamai mogeo C

m k en o i and o sin daarui e maa •n bahloleisipiliyon1s bo on a go ru gore

fe fro i daarui te leer sokufundisaukuze ba bone g hu o e
u,H,lf¥,az1 ukusiqond , e iseg le go i huta s
hie fu hi ba, a~f eng e goyo

a, r ' s ·nz I
I soph o safie ok f
e C g di ui ein oel. inhfosoekugcineni,
he ul imategoat benadeir'ng,s" nin • in !el , imibono anye neoo ya mafel o.
appro ch, vie a d n aardes a hull as n maguguokuyiwona mokgwa, t.::-Ln:::l lo I
values ha g id m onderwyserslei ahola othi ha me gwa a male ayi o
as teachers e b hi h1agobjal0 ,
b ru •
I s e,
g e g m eb
h thing h ou Judge die dinge wa vo ens z'n o ozi h ha o uthi dilo eol ,mog go o
o be mos, 1mporta Jouoordeeldie y ona ezibalul ke ba se bo lok go feti
o Ii e bel ngrikse , die le e ts k khulu e pil ni bop elong

Mui' itingualglossary I 175

 Chapter 2
English Afrikaans . lsiZulu Northern Sotho
affective teaching affektiewe leer ukufundisa go ruta ka go
takingfeelings om gevoelensen okuthinta naganela balthuti
•
and emotionsinto emoslesIn ag te neem kwandawo go set~ maikutlole
consideration
okuqikekelakunakekele dikhuduegot~ baithuti
lmizwanezinzwa
critical education kritieke ithiyori ebalufekile teori ya thuto ya go
theory onderwysteorie yezemfundo swaya diphoso
a setof assumptionsand 'n stelveronderstellings isethiyezinto dikakanyole ditumelot~
• beliefsto crilicallyanalyse en oortu1glngsom die ezlcatshangelwayo go sekasekakago swaya
the variouselementsof verskillende elemente kanyenezinkoleloukuthi dlelementet~ fapanego
an educationsystem van 'n onderwysstelsel ukwaziukuhlaZiya t~ peakanyoya thuto
k(itieste ontleed ngokuhluzaizinhlaka di~hoSo
ezahlukenezohlelo
lwemfundo
displacement of verplasing van ukubekwa tshutiso ya
motivation motivering endaweni tlhohleletso
an elementin a caring 'n elementin 'n sorgsame engafanele elementetswalanong
relationshipwhereby verhoudingwaarvolgens kwesikhuthazo ya go hlokomelayeoka
cheteacherresponds die onderwyserreageer umuzwaothile yonamorutisia arabago
by directinghis/her deur sy/haaraandagtot ebudlelwaneni kago fa moithutlyo a
attentionto the learner dfe leerderin nood te obunakekelayo lapho hlokagothuro sedf
in need wend khonauthlshaephendula
ngokuthianakelowo
mfundiosukeefunausizo
ngalesoslkhathi
engrossment v~rdiepin ukunaka konke sedi ka botlalo
an elementin a caring •
·nelementin 'n sorgsame umuzwaothile elementetswalanong
relationshipwherebythe verhoudingwaarvolgens ebudlelwanenf ya go hlokomelayeo ka
teacherattendsto all the die onderwyseraandag obunakekelayo yonamoruti~ia fagodilo
issuesthe child displays geeaanal kwessieswat laphokhonauthisha ka mokatsemofthutia df
die kind ten coonstel ebhekazonkeizinxa bont~hago~edi
nezinhlangothi
ezibonlswangumfundl
epistemofogles epistemologiee ama-ephistemoloji thuto ya tfhago ya
philosophicaltheoriesof filosofieseteorieevan imlqondoengamath1yori tsebo Ie kwesiso
knowledge kennis athileayinzululwazi dlteori~ filosofikaga
ngolwazi tsebo
indigenous inheemse uhlelo lolwazi tsebo lebokgoni tse
knowledge system kennisstelsels(IKS) lomdabu (IKS) tsweledltswego ke
(IKS) informeletradisionele ulwaziolungebhalislwe setshaba
informaltraditional kenniswat ngokusemthethwenf tseboye e segoya
knowledgethat is isen
kultuurspeslfiek kantiulwazi semmusoya dilo t~a
culturallyspecificand van geslagtot geslag lwasemandulo kgaleye e lego ya
hasbeenpasseddown oorgedrais noluqondene set~oseitsenggomme
from one generationto ngqo neslkokanci e fetisft!wego tloga
the next lwedlufiselwelusuka molokongo tee go ya go
esizukulwaneni esithile wo o latelago
lwayakwesinye
• islzukulwane

176 I Becominga teacher

 I

'
English Afrikaans lsiZulu Northern. Sotl10
.

Language of Taal van Onderrig Ulimi lokufunda Leleme la go Go

Learning and en Leer (TVOL) nokufundisa (Loll) lthuta le go Rut.i
Teaching(LoLT) die taalwat in die ulimi olusershenziselwa lelemeleo le ~ornl~wdgo
the languageusedfor klaskame,vir onderrlgen ukufundanokufundisa go ruta le go ithutd k,1
teachingand learningin leergebruikword ekllasini phopo~ingbotutelo
the classroom
learner-centred leerdergesentreerde ikharikhulamu lenaneothuto leo le
curriculum kurrikulum egxile kubafundi setsagomoithuti
a curriculum 'n kurrikulumgekenmerk lkharikhulamu lenaneothutoleo le
•
characterised by deu, deelname, enokubambafqhaza, bon~hwagokago
participation,affective affektieweonderrigen ebhekelafmizwa iseakarolo.go ruraka
teachingand problem probleemstellingin die nezinzwakanyenokufaka go naganelabaithuri
posingin the classroom klaskamer izikingaekilasini le dlpot~i~ocsago
hlohlamonaganoka
phapo~ingborurelo
marginalised gemarginaliseerde amaqembu dihlopha tse
groups groepe anganakiwe di beetswego
peoplewho areon mensewar op die abantu'abasekugcineni' mellwane
the 'margins'or edges 'kantlyn'of rantevandie nomaonqenqemeni batho bao ba !ego
of societyandwho samelewingis en wat as lomphakathifuthi 'mollwaneng'goba
areregardedasless minderbelangrikbeskou bavameukuthathwa 'ntlheng'yase~haba
important word njengabanru gape ba t~wa gore ga
abangabaluleklle
kakhulu ba bohfokwale garee
participation deelname ukubamba iqhaza kgathotema
actionto enableteachers optredeom onderwysers isenzoesivumela tiro ye e kgont!hago
to establishand maintain in staatte stelom othishaukuthi bakwazi barutisigo hlomale go
conditionsin which roesrandete vestig ukusungulakanye hlokomelamaemoao go
learnerscanenterinto en te onderhouwaar nokugcinaizimolapho ona baithuti ba tsenago
a caringeducational leerders'n sorgsame khonaabafundfbekwazi tswalanongya thuto
relationshipwith them onderwysverhouding ukungenaebudlelwaneni yago ba le tlhokomelo
and the other learnersin met hulle en die ander bezemfundo le bona gammogole
the class leerdersin die klaskamer obunakekelayo nabo baithuti ba bangweka
kanbetree kanyenanabanye phaposingborutelo
abafundiekilasini
pedagogy of care pedagogie van sorg iphedagogi goruta ka
teacherscommit to onderwysersonderneem yokunakekefa tlhokomelo
beingaccountableand om aanspreekliken othishabazibophezela baruti~iba ineelago
responsibleand to create verantwoordelikte wees ukuthl bakwazi ba le boikarabelole
learningenvironments en om leeromgewings ukuphendula go hloladitikologo £fa
in which carecan te skepwaar sorgop ngabakwenzayo futhi go ithuta t~eokago
be expressedin a verantwoordelikewyse bakwaziukubangabantu ~ona tlhokomeloe ka
responsibleway betoon kanword abaqothoukuzebakhe bontshwagoka mokgwa
lzimozokufundalapho wa maikarabelo
khonaukunakekelwa
kwabafundi
kungaboniswangendlela
enobuqotho

Multilingual glossary I 177

••
 English Afrikaans lsiZulu Northern Sotho
philanthropy filantropie imisebenziyomusa boratabatho
is much likecharitable stem baieooreenmet nesihawu/ukuphana go swanale moJomo
work and meansdoing liefdadigheidswerk en kucishekufane wa go thu~ bahloki
thingsfor otherswho betekendatJy letsdoen nomsebenziwokuphana gommego hlalo~ago
arelessfortunate.either vir anderwat minder kant1kushoukwenzela direlabatho bao ba se
becauseit makesyou feel bevoorregis,6f omdat abantuzonkeizinto nago mahlatsego swana
good or becauseyou feel dit jou goed laatvoel 6f ngobabona beswele. le ba bangwedilo,e ka
pity for them and want omdarjy hullejammer nomalokho ukwenza ba e le kagobaneo ikwa
to help kry en hullewil help ngobakukwenza o kgotsofalamoyeng
uzizwekahlenoma goba o ba kwelabohloko
ukwenzangobauzwa gommeo nyakago ba
ubadabukelanje thu~
problem-posing probleemstellings- ikilasl eliletha phaposiborutelo
classroom klaskamer inkinga ya dipotsisotse
a classroomin which 'n klaskamerwaar ikilasilaphokhona hlohlagomonagano
all learnersfeelsafeto leerdersveilig voelom bonkeabafundi phapo~iborutelo yeo
expresstheir feellngsand hul gevoelensen idees bezizwabephephile kago yonaba ikwago
ideas uit te druk ukuthibangavezailaka ba bolokegilego nt~ha
nomaimizwakanye maikutlole dikgopolo
nemicabangoyabo t~ bona
reflective besinnende kennis ulwazi tseboye
knowledge kenn1swat die vraag lokuzicubungula tsweleditswego ka
knowledgethat vrahoekomkennissaak ulwaz,olukwazi go lekodiswa
addresses the questionof maakin leerdersselewe ukubhekananombuzo tseboye e fetolago
why knowledgematters wokuthi kungan,ulwazi pot~•~oyagore
in learners·
lives lubaluleklfeezimpilwenl gobanengtseboe le
zabafundi bohlokwabophelongbja
baithuti
relational ethic ~erhoudingsetiek indlela thuto ya
the relationshipbetween die verhouding enobudlelwano maitshwaro ye e
the carer(teacher)and tussendie versorger ubudlelwano tswalanyago
the one receivingthe {onderwyser)en die een phakathikomnakekeli tswalanogarega
care(learner) war die sorgontvang (okunguthisha) mohlokomedi(morutgi)
(leerder) kanyenalowoothola le yo a amogelago
ukunakekelwa tlhokomelo(moirhuti)
(okungumfundi)

178 I Becominga teacher

Chapter 3
English Afrikaans lsiZulu Northern Sotho
'

accommodation akkommodasie ukwamukela bodulo

one of cwoadaptation eenvan twee lenaenyeyezinhlelo e tee ya ditshepedl~ol~e
•
processes that takes aanpass,ngsprosesse zokukwaz1 ukuhlanganisa ped1t!a tlwae1~0yeo e
placewhen children wat plaasvindwanneer neyenzekalapho bago gona ge banaba
changetheir existing kindershulle bestaande abantwanabezama fetoladipeakanyot~a
schemesbecause skemasverander ukushintshaizindlela bona t~ di lego gona ka
something does omdacietsnie pasnie, zaboezivelezikhona gobanego na le seoses.1
not lit, for example byvoorbeeldwanneer'n ngoba kukhonainto sepedisanele tsedingwe,
when a child learnsto kind leerom te onderskei ethile engangeni mohlata,ge ngwanaa •

distinguishbetween tussendinge deur kahle,,sibonelo,uma ithuta go bona phapang

things by recognising die ooreenkomsteen umncwanaeqala garega dilo kago
the similaritiesand the verskilleraakte sien efundanoma ekwazi lemogaditshwantshwan,
differences ukwehlukanisaphakathi le di phapano
kwezintongokuthiabone
izinto ezefanayokanye
nezintoezingefani
activity theory aktiwiteitsteorie umsebenzi teori ya tiro
accordingto this theory volgenshierdieteorie is wethiyori go ya ka teori ye tiro
activityis the interaction aktiwiteitdie interaksie ngokwalethiyori ke tsenelelanogare
betweenpeopleand tussenmenseen die umsebenziowenziwayo ga bat ho le lefaseka
the world via symbolic wereld deur m,ddelvan yinto ewukuxhumana thuro ya dithulusi~
psychologicaltools,such s,mboltesepsigologiese phakathikwabantukanye monagano,go swanale
aswriting werktule,soosskryf nomhlabaabawakhele gongwala
ngokuth1kusetshenziswe
amathuluziayizimpawu
zomqondo,
njengokubhalanje kanje
assimilation assimilasie ukufanisa khuetsano
one of two adaptation eenvan twee lenaenyeyezinhlelo e tee ya d1tshepedi~otse
processesthat takes aanpassingsprosesse zokukwaziukuhlanganisa pedi tsatlwaet~oyeo e
placewhen the person war plaasv1nd wanneer neyenzekalapho umuntu bago gona ge motho a
triesto understand die persoonietsnuuts ezamaukuqondainto lekago kwe~isaselose
somethingnew by fitting probeerverstaandeur ethileenrshangokuth, seswaka go seamantsha
it into existingschemes dit in bestaandeskemas azameukuthi ayifake le dipeakanyorsedi lego
in te pas ezintweniezindala gona
ezivelezikhona
child-centred kindgesentreerde ukufunda okugxile go ruta ka go
teaching onderrig kumntwana setsa dinyakwa tsa
creatingstimulating die skepvan ukwakhaizimo moithuti
learningenvironments st1mulerende zokulingisaukufunda go hloladitlkologo t~
to providechildrenwith leeromgewingsom ukuzeunikeabantwana go 1thutat~eodi tso~go
challengingexperiences uitdagendeervaringsaan izipiliyonieziyizinselelo kgahlegogo fa bana
kinderste bied maitemogeloa go hlohla
go ithuta

Multilingual glossary I I 1'1

••
 English Afrikaans lsiZulu Northern Sotho
cognitive learning kognitiewe- ithiyori yokufunda teori ya go ithuta ka
theory leerteorie emqondweni go naganisisa
the theory that dealswith die teoriewat te make ithiyori ebhekene teori yeo e amago
the mentalprocesses het met die verstandelike ngqo nokwedluliswa ditshepedisotsa
involvedin learning prosessein leer kwezintongomqondo monaganotseodi
nesetshenziswa akaretsagogo ithuta
ekufundeni
cognitive processes kognitiewe prosesse uhlelo lokucabanga ditshepediso tsa go
mentalprocessesof verstandelikeprosesse izinhlakazomqondo naganisisa
understanding van verstaan zokukwaziukwedlulisa ditshepedirotsa
into ethile ukuze monaganotsago
iqondakale kwesisa
discourse diskoers ulimi olulalisiwe poledisano
coherent,meaningful samehangende, ukulandelana peakanyoya polelo (ka
and structuredsequence betekenisvolleen kolimi,okuqondile. go bolelwagobc;go
of language(spokenor gescruktureerde okunomqondo ngwalwa)ka tatelanoye
written) opeenvolgingvan taal nokuhleleke bonolo,ye e kwesisegago
(geskreweof gesproke) kahle(kungaba le go bopegaka mo go
okukhulunywayonoma swanetsego
okubhalwayo)
empirical empiries -ngokubonwa theilwego go
basedon what we see gebaseerop wat ons nangokulingwa temogo
and experiencethrough sienen ervaardeur kususelwekulokho ye e theilwegogo
experimenting,rather eksperimentering,
eerder esikubonayofuthi
seo re se bonagole
than through theory asdeur teorie esikuzwayongokuthi go itemogelasonaka
sikwenzehhayingokuthi boitekelo,go ena le go
sifundengakhokuphela itemogelaka teori
.
• (ithiyori)
•
equilibration ewew,g ukujika umqondo tekantsho
processinvolving proseswat veranderlng uhleloolufakaizinguquko Tshepedisoye e amago
changesin thinking; in denkebehels; ekucabangenl;isenzo diphetogo go mokgwa
the act of searching die handelingom sokubhekaibhalansi wa go nagana;tiro ya go
for a balancebetween te soekna 'n balans phakathikokwamukela nyakatekatekanogarega
assimilationand tussenassimilasieen nokufanisa tshwantshole bodulo
accommodation akkommodasie
information inligtings- indlela yokwedlulisa mmotfolowa
processingmodel prosesseermodel ulwazi tshomisoya
model describing model wat beskryfhoe indlelanoma imodeli tshedimoso
how sensoryinput is sensoriesetoevoer echazaukuthiulwazi mmotlolo wo o hlalosago
perceived.transformed, waargeneem.omskep, oluyaezinzweni ka moo ~hisimogo
reduced,elaborated. verminder,uitgebrei. lwamukelwakanjani. ya ditho tsa go kwae
stored.retrieved,used geberg,herwin,gebruik lushintshwekanjani, lemogwago,ya fetolwa,
and expressed en uitgedrukword luncishiswekanjani, nyenyefatswa, dirwa ka
lwenabiswekanjani. tlhokomedisiso,bolokwa,
lugclnwekanjani, buswagape,~omi~wale
lukhishwekanjani, go hlagiswa
lusetshenziswekanjani
futhi luvezwekanjani

180 I Becominga teacher

 English Afrikaans lsiZulu Northern Sotho
intelligence intelligensie ubuhlakani bohlale
the ability to understand, die vermoeom ce ikhono lokukwazi bokgoni bja go kwesisa,
learnand think logically verstaan,te leeren logies ukuqonda,ukufunda go ithuta le go naganaka
•
te dink kanyenokucabanga tlhatlologanyo
ngendlelaeqondile
mediated learning bemiddelende isipiliyoni maitemogelo a go
experience (MLE} leerervaring (BLE) sokufunda esenziwe ithuta ka tsenogare
a specialquality of 'n spesialeeienskapvan (MLE) ya mothusi
human interactionthat is mensllkeinteraksiewat izingabunjalo boleng bjo ikgethileng
intentionaland enhances opsetlikis en wat die eliyisipeshelikubantu bja tsenogareya motho
the cognitiveprocesses kognitieweprosesse elisukelenziwe ka maikemisetsole go
for effectiveintellectual versterkten einde ngokwenhloso godisaditshepediso
functioning effektieweintellektuele futhi lenzangcono tsago nagangisago
funksioneringte izinhlelozokuz.indla kgonagatsakelelogo
bewerkstellig (zokucabanga) ukuze somaka bohlale
umqondousebenze
ngendlelaefanele
outcome uitkomste umphumela dipoelo
what we want learnersto wat ons wil h~ leerders yilokhoesifunaukuthi seo re ratagobaithuti go
demonstrateat the end moet kandemonstreer abafundibaboniseukuthi sebontshamafelelonga
of a significantlearning aan die einde van 'n bayakwaziukukwenza maitemogeloa bohlokwa
experience wesentlikeleerervaring ngemuvakwesipiliyoni a go ithuta
sokufundaesibalulekile
rote learning papegaaileer ukufunda go ithuta ka hlogo o
learningthrough leerdeur herhalingen ngokuphinda- boeletsa gantsintsi
repetitionand memoriseringeerder phinda go ithuta ka go boeletsa
memorisation, asom die inligting te ukufunda le go ichutaka go nyaka
ratherthan through verscaan ngokuphindaphinda go swaraka hlogo,
understandingthe kanyenangokufakainto go ena le go kwesisa
information ekhanda,hhayingokuthi tshedimoso
ulwazlIola olufundayo
uluqondekahlengokuthi
usengaluphinda
nangenyeindlela
scaffolding stellasie-effek izixhumo magato ka tatelano
activitiescheteacher aktiwiteitewat die imisebenzieyenziwayo a gothu!a go
constructsto help onderwyseropstelom neyenziwanguthisha fihlelela kwesiso
learnersto learn leerderste help leer ukusizaabafundiukuthi ditiro t~ morutisia
bafunde di bopagogo thu~
moithuti go ithuta
schemata skemas iskematha sethalo se thusago
learningsetsthat can leerstellewat In amasethiokufunda go hlalosa
be appliedin different verskillendesicuasie angasetshenziswa dlpeakanyocsago ithuta
sitUations toegepaskanword ezimweniezahlukene tse di ka somiswago
dikemongtsedi
fapanego

Multilingual glossary I 181

,•
 English Afrikaans lsiZulu Northern Sotho
zone of proximal sonevan of indawo sekgala sa gare seo
development proksimale yokusondelana se tsebja le seo se ka
differencebetween ontwikkeling nentuthuko fihlelelwago
the learner'sactual die versklltussendie umehlukookhona phapanggarega boemo
developmentalleveland leerdersewerkllke phakathikwezinga bja mannetebja t!welo
their potentiallevel ontwikkelingen hulle lokuthuthuka peleya moithuti le
potensielevlak kwangempelakomfundi boemo bja bokgonibja
kanyenezingaumfundi gagwe
akwaziukuthiatinyelele
kulo ngokwekhonolakhe

Chapter4
English Afrikaans lsiZulu Northern Sotho
assessedcurriculum geassesseerde ikharikhulamu lenaneothuto leo le
knowledgeand skills kurrikulum ehloliwe lekotswego
that aremeasuredto kennisen vaardighede ulwazikanyenamakhono tsebole mabokgoni
determineachievement. war gemeetword om okuhlolwaukuze tseodi lekotswego
objectivesor learning presrasiecebepaal kuqagulweokuzuziwe, go laet~ katlego.
outcomesmet en of die doelwitteof izinhlosonoma maiken1i~et!o goba
leeruitkomstebereikIs imiphumelayokufunda dipoelo ~a go ithuta r~eo
okukwazweukuthi di tihlelet~wego
kuhlangatshezwane
nayo
CAPS KABV{CAPS) I-CAPS CAPS
Curriculumand Kurrikulum-en isifinyezoesisho setatamentesa
AssessmentPolicy assesserings- ukuthi:lsitatlmende Motaotshepetsowa
Statement bele1dsverklaring Esiyinqubomgomo LenaneothutoleTekolo
Yekharikhulamu
.
• Nokuhlola
conscientisation gewetens- ukuqwashiwa/ kgodiso ya temogo
developingan awareness bewustheid ukuvusa/ukwazisa t~eletro ya temosoya
of socialand political die kweekvan 'n ukusungulaukwazi ditabat~ setshabale
issuesthat hasthe power bewustheldvan sosiale nokuqwasha dipolotlki tseodi nago
to transformreality en politiekekwessieswat ngezindabaezithinta le maatlaa go fetola/
die vermoehet om die ezenhlalonezepoliriki mpshafatsakemogo ya
werklikheidte omvorm nezlnamandla kamo e lego kagona
okushintshaisimo
esikhona

182 I Becominga teacher

 English Afrikaans lsiZulu Northern Sotho
covert curriculum koverte kurrikulum ikharikhuf amu lenaneothutoleole
teachingthat is not spelt onderrigwat nie ecashile/eyimfihfo sego nyanyeng
out, but deliberateon uitgespelword nie,maar ukufundisa thucoyeo e sa
the part of the educator met voorbedagterade okungaphinyiselwe hlalo~wagoka botlc1lo,
or school,for example deur die opvoederof ngaphandle,kodwa eupsae no itlela
'play'in earlychildhood skooltoegepasword, okwenziwangumfundisi, kgopolongya rnorutiS1
schooling is used as byvoorbeeld'spel'in noma isikolengenhloso. goba sekolong,mohlala
deliberatecurriculum vroee-kinderontwikkeling isibonelo'ukudlala' 'thaloko'nakongya thuto
strategyto develop word doelbewusas okwenzekakwimfundo ya banaba bannyane
attitudesand skills kurrikulumstrategie yodadokusetshenziswa sekolonge romi~wabjalo
gebruikom houdingsen njengeqhinga kamaanoa lenanethuto
vaardighedete ontwikkel lekharikhulamu leo le no tlago
okuqondwengalo kgopolonggo godisa
ukuthuthukisaimiqondo maikutlole mabokgoni
kanyenamakhono
curriculum kurrikulum ikharikhulamu lenaneothuto
hasitsoriginsin the Latin het syoorsprong1n leli yigamaelisuselwe tlhagoya lereole e t~wa
currere.
which means die Latyncurrere,war egamenllesllathini elithi go lentsula Selathinl
'run'and with further 'hardloop'beteken currere.nelisho'ukugijima' currere,leo fe hlalosago
referencecothe running/ en ook verwysna die kanti uma linwetshwa go 'kitima'gomme ge
chariot tracksor a course hardloop•/koetsbaan lfngashoukugljima/ go ~upsago ya pele le
imigudu okugijinywa ra tselaya (mehlalaya)
kuyonoma indawo go kitima/karikigoba
yokugijima tshepelo
curriculum-in-use kurrikulum-in- ikharikhulamu lenaneothuto la
the curriculumasapplied gebruik esetshenziswayo semmuso
V

in the classroomand die kurrikulumsoos lkharikhulamu lenaneothutobjalo kage

affectedby resources dit in die klaskamer njengalokhu le rom1swaphapo~ingya
and materialscosupport toegepasword en rsetshenziswa ekilasini borutelole go huet~wa
the learningprocess; geraakword deu, futhi njengalokhu ke dithusi,ditlakelogo
disruptionor continuity; hulpbronneen materiaal ith1ntwayizinsiza, thekgatshepedisoya
and the qualityand om die leerproseste yizinto ukweseka go ithuta;t~hitisogoba
moraleof teachers ondersteun;ontwrigtlng uhlelolokufunda; rswelelo;gammogole
of deurlopendheid;en ukuphazamiseka noma boleng le boitshwarole
die gehalteen moreel ukuqhubeka;kanti mafolofolotsabarutg1
van onderwysers nezingabunjalokanye
nomoyawothisha
enacted curriculum ultgevoerde ikharikhulamu lenaneothutofeole
the curriculumas kurrikulum ephasisiwe lego tirisong
it is experienced die kurrikulumsoos ikharikhulumu lenaneothutobjalo ka
or the'nonofficial, dlt ervaarword of njengalokhu ge le lemogwagoba
implicit curriculum'as die 'nie-amptelike, isetshenziswa noma lenaneothutoleo 'e sego
implementedby an implisietekurrlkulum' "lkharikhulamu la semmuro,le le sa
educatorand reOectlng soosdeur die opvoeder engekhoemthethweni hlagiswegothwi' bjalo ka
what isactuallytaught geimplementeeren wat nengacacisiwe' ge le phethagatswake
and learnt weerspieelwat werklik njengalokhulsuke morutlsile go bont~ha
onderrigen geleerword yenziwanguthisha seogabotsebotsese
kanti isukeivezalokho rutwagole go ithutwa.
okusukekufundwafuthi
kufundlswangempela

Mullilingual glossary I 183

••
 English Afrikaans lsiZulu Northern Sotho
experiential ervaringsleer ukufundela go ithuta ka go
learning leergebaseerop ervaring ukuthola amava itemogela
learningbasedon or of war ervaringbehels ukufundaokugxile go ithuta go go
involvingexperience kwlslpiliyonlnoma rheilwegogo goba go go
ukufundaokufaka akarersagoboitemogelo
phakathlisipiliyon,
hidden curriculum verskuilde ikharikhulamu lenaneothuto leo le
learningthat Ishidden kurrikulum efihliwe utegilego
from the educatorsand leerwat weggesteek ukufundaokufihliwe go ilhuta go go sego
learners;anotherform of word vir die opvoeders kubafondisi(kothisha) nyanyenggo barutl~ile
implicit learning,which en leerders;'n ander kanyenabafundl;enye baithuti;mokgwawo
the educatorsdid not vorm van implisieteleer, lndlelayokufunda mongwewa go ithuta
Intendand areprobably wat die opvoedersnie engacacisiweyabekwa wo o sahlagl~wegothwi,
not evenawareof beplanhet nie en heel obala,othishaabasuke woo barutlsiba sao
waarskynllknle eers bengaqondileukukuveza reragogape mogongwe
bewus1svan n1e kodwauthole ukuthl ba sao lemogego
nabo basukebengazl
ngishonokwaZingakho
intended curriculum voorgenome ikharikhulamu lenaneothuto leo le
prescribedcurriculum kurrikulum ehlosiwe ikemiseditswego
servingasblueprintfor voorgeskrewekurrikulum lenayikharikhulamu
• lenaneothutoleo le
teaching wat asbloudrukvir okuyiyonaesuke kgethe~wegoleo le
onderrlgdien 1nqunweukuthi ifundwe ~omagobjalo ka leano
esikoleninethathwa leo le hlalosagothuto ka
nanjengohlelo botlalo
lokufundisa
•
learning leerprogram uhlelo lokufunda lenaneo la go ithuta
programme 'n faselangeprosesvan uhleloolude tshepedl~oya sebakase
a phase-longprocessfor
planning.managingand
.
b~planning.bestuur
. .
en organ1senng van
ngesigabaes1th1le
nokungolokuhlela,
itsegosago logamaano,
go laolale go beakanya
organisingclassroom klaskamerpraktyk ukuphathakanye mo~mo wa phapo~lng
practice nokuhlellsisaukufunda ya borutelo
ekilasini
lived curriculum geleefde kurrikulum lkharikhulamu lenaneothuto ka
how 1hecurriculumis hoe die kurrlkulumervaar ezwakalayo boitemogelo
experienced word indlelaikharlkhulumu mokgwawoo ka
efikangakhona ona lenaneothutole
kwabayenzayo itemogelwago
organising principle organiserings- umgomo wokuhlela mokgwawa
way ,n which knowledge beginsel •
1ndlelaulwazi(lokho peakanyo
(content) 1sorganisedin manierwaaropkennis okuquke1hwe) tselayeo ka yonatsebo
a curriculum (inhoud)in 'n kurrikulum kuhlelwangakhona {diteng)e beakanywago
georganiseerword kwikhankhulamu lenaneongla thuto
rationale grondrede imiqondo tlhathollo ya
principlesor reasonsthat beginselsof redeswat yokuqonda sephetho se
explainwhy a specific verduldellkhoekom imigomo nomaizizathu fihleletswego
decisionor actionIs 'n bepaaldebeslultof ezichazaukuthi kungan, melaogoba mabakaao a
taken optredegeneemIs lsizathunoma ,sinyathelo hlalosagolebakala gore
esithilesithathiwe gobanengsephetho
goba tiro ye e it~egoe
t~rwe

184 I Becominga teacher

 English Afrikaans lsiZulu Northern Sotho
SKVAs VKWHs ama-SKVA diSKVA
skills,knowledge.values vaardighede,kennis, les,yifinyezoesfmele mabokgoni,tsebo,
andanitudes waardesen houdings ukuthi:skills,knov'lledge, mekgwaya boitshwarole
valuesandotr,tudes- tshwaro
nokusho:amakhono,
ulwazi,amagugukanye
nemiqondo
I
summative sommerende ukuhlola tekolothumo
assessment assessering okufinyeziwe tekolomafelelonga
assessment at the assesseringna afloop lokhu ukuhlolwa pakaye e it~egoya thuto
conclusionof a specific van'n spesifieke okwenziwaekupheleni go ~upakamoo thuto
instructionalpefiod to onderrigperiodeom te kwesikhathisokufundisa e bilegole khuet~oka
establishhow effective bepaafhoedoeltreffend eslnqunyiweukuthola gona
the teachingwas die onderrigwas ukuthfngabelokho
okufundfsiwekusebenze
kanjaniukusizaIowa
obefundlswa
syllabus slllabus isilabhasi thalathalo ya thuto
hasa Greekorigin Grieksvanoorsprong y1gamaelisuselweoliminl ye e itseng
and means·aconcise en beteken'na bondige lwesiGrlkikanti llsho e na le tlhagoyaSegerika
statement'or·1ableof the Stellingof 'n tabelvandie 'isitatimendeesifushane' gommee hlalo~ gore
topicsof a discourse·or dtskoersonderwerpe of noma1thebulale21hloko ke'setatamentese
the 'listof contentsof a die lysvanfnhoudvan zokufunda'noma'uhla sekopana' goba'tlhopho
subject' 'nvak lwalokhookuqukethwe yadihlogo t~ kgang
yisifundo' ye e ngwadllwegoka
sehl090seseit!eng·
goba'lenaneofa dlteng
tsa1huto'
whole school heleskool- ukuhlelela isikole go loga leano
planning beptanning sonkana tlhabollong ya
involvesall stakeholders betrekalle rolspelers kufakaphakathibonke sekolo ka moka
10considerthe activities om die ak11w1teiteen ababambiqhaza e akaret~ kamokabao
and interestsof the belangstelhngs vandie ukubhekakanye ba nagole kgahlego
school,and to decideon skoolln oorwegingte imlsebenZiyesikole go naganadttiro le
the goalsfor the school neemen om te besluit kanyenezintoez1ngaslza dikgahlego~ sekolo,le
overa certainperiodof oor die doelwinevan lsikolekanyenokuthatha go t~easephethokaga
time,makingsurethe die skoaloor 'n sekere isinqumongezinhfoso dinepot~ sekofopakeng
schoolis readyfor the tydperkten eindete zeslkolengemuva ya nakoye e it~ng, kago
learner versekerdat die skoal kwes1khathfes1thlle, netefat~ gore sekolose
gereed1sv1rdie leerder ukuzekuq1nlseklswe tkeml~it~ moithuti.
ukuth,fslkofesimlindele
umfundl

Multilingualglossary I 185

..
 •

Chapter 5
English Afrikaans lsiZulu Northern Sotho
Assessmentfor Assesseringvir Leer Ukuhlolela Tekolo ya bokgoni
Learning (Afl) (Avirl) ukufunda bja go ithuta (Afl)
assessment asa process assessering as'n proses ukuhlolanjengohlelo Tekolobjaloka
to help learnersto learn om leerderste help om lokusizaabafundlukuthi tshepedisogo thusa
throughthe tasksthey te leerdeur die cake bakwazlukufunda baithuti go ithuta ka
performin relationto wat hulle uitvoer,n ngemisebenziethile mesongwanaye ba
the moduleoutcomes ooreenstemmingmet abayenzayo ehambisana e diragomalebanale
and their reflectionon die module-uitkomste nemiphumelayokufunda dipoelo tsammotsulole
feedback,focusingon en hul nadenkeoor yalesosifundokanye tekoloya bonago pego,
continuousimprovement terugvoering,met die nendlelaabakwazi go seditswekaonafatso
and fosteringself- fokusop deurlopende ukubukangakhona ye e tswelelagole go
development;learners' verbeteringen die emuvakubhekwa garelelago itswetsapele;
abilityto reflectand bevorderingvan ukuthuthukakwabo bokgonibja baithutigo
deepenown learning selfontwikkeling;leerders okuqhubekayonokufaka lekolale go kgonthisa
throughself-assessment severmoeom na re usikolokuzithuthukisa go lthuta ka nosikago
dinken hul ele teerdeur kubafundi,ukukwazi lekolabokgonlbja bona
selfassesseringte verdiep kwabafundiukuzlbheka
laphosebekhona
baJullse
ukufundakwabo
ngokuthibazlhlolebona
ngokwabo
Assessmentof Assesseringvan Ukuhlola kokufunda Tekolo ya go ithuta
Learning (Aol) Leer (AvanL) ukuhlolanokuviVinya (AoL)
standardisedtesting to gesrandaardiseerde okullngen, go dira diteko 1~ di
determinestandards; toetsingorn standaarde nokusezingeni; lekanedit~wego go
usuallyassociatedwith te bepaal;hou lsikhathlesiningi ~upaboemo;gant~i
summativeassessment of gewoonlikverbandmet kuvameukuhamb,sana t~ di tswalanegole
performanceat a specific sommerendeassessering nokuhlolwa tekolothumoya tiro
point van prestas1eop 'n kwangemuvakokufunda nakongye e itsego
bep~aldetydstlp ukubhekaukusebenza
• komfundiephuzwinl
elithile
capstone sluitsteen- ukuhlola ditekolo tsa
assessments assessering okuhambisana ne- bokgoni bjo
finalassessments in a finaleassesseringin caps fihleletswego
coursethat areused 'n kursuswat gebruik izivivinyozokugdna dicekolot~ mafelelo
to determinethe word om die leerderse ezifundweni thutong t~ di
learners's1rengthsand sterk-en swakpunteom nezlsetshenziselwa romi~wagogo ~upa
weaknesses in achieving die nodlge ultkomstete ukutholaamandlakanye maatlale bofokodi
the necessary outcomes; behaalte bepaal;inter-/ nobuthakababafundi t~abc1lthutige ba
inter-/transdlscipllnary
In transdissiplin~re
van aard ukukwaziukuthola fihleleladipoelo tre
nature lmiphumelaefanele di swanet~ego;ka
kanti lezizifundozifaka mokgwawa dlthuto ~
0

amagatshaehlukene nyalelanago
ezifundophakathi

186 J Becominga teacher

 English Afrikaans lsiZulu Northern Sotho
cohort kohort ontanga sehlopha ka nepo
a group of peopleof a 'n groep mensevan iqembulabantu yagoswana
similarageor sharing dieselfdeouderdom elinemlnyakaelinganayo sehlophasabatho
someother statistical of wat een of ander nomaefanayonelabelana ba mengwagaya go
characteristic,
usedfor statistiesekenmerk ngeZintoezefanayo lekanagoba ba na le
researchpurposes gemeenhet,wat vir nezlsetshenziselwa pharofogan~hoye
navorslngsdoele,ndes izinhlosozokwenza nngweya go ela datha,
gebruikword ucwaningo bao ba somi~wago
mererongyadinyaki~iso
criterion-referenced kriteriumverwysde indlela ehambisa mmotlolo wo o
model model ngokwemibandela lebisitswego go
a model to showlearners' 'n modelom leerdersse indfelaethile selekanyo
competencein a learning bevoegdheidgemeet esetshenziselwa mmodologo bontsha
activityagainsta given teen'n gegewestel ukubonisaulwazioluthlle botsebibja bairhuti
setof criteria krireria,n'n leeraktiwiteit ekufundeniumsebenzi tirong yago ithura
aante toon othlle owenziwakanti kgahfanongle sehlopha
isukelsetshenziswa sadilekanyotsedi
nemigomoethile fifwego
deep learning diepteleer ukufunda okujulile go ithuta go
meaningfullearning betekenlsvolleleermer ukufundaokunomqondo tseneletsego
Withthe focuson die fokusop begrip nokusukekugxile go 1thutakago kw~isa
understanding(making (maaks,nuir persoonllke ekuqondenl(ekwazini go lebelet~wego kw~ig
senseor personal betekenis)van die nomaekuhlaziyeni)
lokho direng tsathuto (go
meaningof) the content inhoud okuqukethwe bona tlhafoganyogoba
kabowenago kgonago
fa tlhalo~oya selo)
norm-referenced normverwysende indlela ehambisa mmotlolowo
model model ngokwenkambiso
' lebisitswego
model usedto comparea modelwar gebruikword ' lndfelaesetshenziselwa tlwaelong ye e
learner'sperformanceto om ·n leerderseprestas,e ukukalaukukwazi itseng
that of peersin the same te vergelykmet die komfundiumsebenzi
classor cohort mmotlolowoo
portuurgroepin dieselfde kanyenalokho ~omi~wago go bapet~
klasof kohon kusebenzakanzima ttroya moithuti le ya
nangokuzikhandfa dithakaphaposinggoba
kontanganabangani sehlophengsago swana
bakheekilasinielefanayo
rubric rubriek irubhrikhi ditlhahlo tsa
a dear and transparent 'n duidellke ithuluzielicacile meputso
scoringtool to assess en deursigt1ge nelicacisayo ukuthi sedirfSwa sese
fearnfngby usinga set puntenutsmiddelom leer kufaneleumfundianikwe kwe~i~ago seose
of criteriaand a setof te assesseer deur'n stel lmihlomuloengakanani
standardstied directly
sautegoselosago fa
kriteriaen standaarde ngokusebenzisa isethi meputsogo lekolago
to the statedlearning wat dlrekskakelmet ethileyemigudu ithuta kago ~omi~
objectives gesteldeleerdoelwitte okumeleilandelwe sehlophasadilekanyole
kanyeneseth1 yamazinga sehlophasamaemot~eo
athlleanamathelene di sepelelanagothw1 le
kwizinhlosozokufunda maikemi~etroa go ithu1.1
ezisukezishlwo aoa begilwego

MultlllnqucJIqlo-.o;,uy I I 117

•
 English Afrikaans lsiZulu Northern Sotho
surface learning oppervlakteleer ukufunda okukha go ithuta go sa
learningwith the leermet die fokus phezulu tsenelelago
focuson reproducing op die weergeevan ukufundaokugxite go ithuta ka nepisoya
content (associated
with inhoud(geassosieer kakhuluekukhiqizeni go tsweler~ diteng cg
rote memorisationof met papegaaileervan lokhoobekufundwafuthi thuto ka moo di lego ka
appa,entlyunrelated klaarblyklikonverwante (kucishekuhambisane gona(go sepelelanale
facts) feite) nokufundangokusho mokgwawa go swaraka
into ngomlomo) hlogo wo o theilwegogo
poelet!o gan~i ya dintlha
tsego bonalagodi sa
sepelelane)
triangulation of triangulering van ingxubevange kgonthisiso le
•
assessment assesser,ng yokuhlola nepagalo ya tekolo
assessing a learner die assessering ukuhlolaumfundi go lekolamoithuti ka go
usingvarious/multiple van 'n leerderdeur kusetshenziswa somig mesongwana
assessment tasksin gebruikte maakvan ingxubevange ya tekoloye fapanego/
combination,suchas verskeie/veelvuldige yemisebenzi. efa na ye mmalwakago e
the marksof a class assesseringstake in namamakiesivivinyo kopanya,go swanale
test.the feedbackon komb,nasie,byvoorbeeld sasekilasini,
amamaki meputsoya molewana
a portfolio taskand a die punte in ·n klasroecs, ephothifohyokanye wa phaposingborucelo,
competedrubricon die terugvoeringoor nerebhrlkhieyenziwe pego ya mosongwana
how an experimentwas 'n portefeuljetaaken ·n eshoukuthlngabe wa potfolio le tlhahlo
conducted voltoo1derubriekoor umsebenziobonisa ya go fa meputso
hoe 'n eksperiment ukwenzaokuthile ye e rshepegagoya
'
u1tgevoer .1s kwenziwakanJani ka moo maitekeloa
phethagaditswegoka
gona

Chapter 6
English Afrikaans lsiZulu Northern Sotho
Augmentative Ougmentatiewe Okunye Kgokagano ya
and alternative en alternatiewe ukuxhumana tlaleletso le ya
communication kommunikasie okwesekelwe (AAC) sebakeng se sengwe
(AAC) (OAK) amasunamaqhinga {AAC)
•
communicauon kommunlkasiestrateglee okuxhumana Maanoa kgokaganogo
strategiesfor people vir mensewat nie kwabantuabangakwazi batho bao basa kgonego
who cannotspeak duidelikgenoegkan ukukhulumakahle go bolelagabotsegore
clearlyenoughto be praatom verstaante ngokwaneleukuthi batho ba ba kwesi~e;
understood;including word nie;sluit in gebare, bazwakale;kuhlanganisa go akaret~wadika,
gestures,communication kommunikasieborde en ukusebenzisaizandla, papetlaya kgokaganole
boardsand devices toestelle amabhodiokuxhumana didiri~wa•
kanyenezinyelzinto
ezlsetshenzlselwa •
ukuxhumana

188 I Becominga teacher

 .

English Afrikaans lsiZulu Northern Sotho

.. .

barriers to learning leerstruikelblokke imigoqwane evimba maphekoa go

difficultiesblocking of-versperrings ukufunda ithuta
accessto learningand moeilikhedewat toegang ubunzimaobukhona mathataao c1th1bc·l11qo
development,located tot leer en ontwikkeling obuvimbelaukuth1 phihleleloya go ithut,I
either In the education blokkeerwat in die kube nokufunda le tswelo pele,ao
system.the schoolor the onderwysstelsel, skoolof kanyenentuthuko, hwet~wagopeakanyoriq
learner die leerdergesetelis kuyenzekaurhole ukuthi ya thuto, sekolonggol>d
isohlelwenilwemfundo gomoithuti
olusetshenZiswayo.
esikoninoma kumfundi
'
-
uqobo
category of kategorie van uhfa lwezinhlobo legoro ra bogolof adi
• •
d1sabllity gestremdheid zokukhubazeka lenanela bjale
the current list of die huidige lyskategoriee uhla olusetshenzJswa la magoroleo le
categoriesusedin war in skoleen in die njengamanjeezikoleni ~omi~wagodikolong le
schoolsand in the spesiale-onderwysstelsel kanyenasohlelweni peakanyongya thuto
specialeducation gebruikword. lwemfundo ye e ikgethilego,e lego
system,namelymultiple naamlikveelvuldige yabakhubazekile. go golofala dithong
disabled,deaf,hardof gestremdheid,doof, lapho kukhulunywa t~ mmalwa.bofoa,
hearing,blind, partially hardhorend,blind. khonangabantu go se kwe gabotse,
sighted,deaf/blind, swaksiende, doof/blind, abakhubazekekaningi, bofofu,go sebone
cerebralpalsied,specific serebraalgestremdheid, abangezwa.abezwa gabotse.bofofu/bofoa.
learningdisabled, spesifieke kanzima,abangaboni, bothata bja tshepet~o
behaviouraldisorder, leergesrremdheid, ababonakancane, ya mmele,go palelwa
mild or moderate gedragsversteuring, abangezwa/abangaboni, kego ,thuta dithuto
intellectuallydisabled. mat,geverstandellke ukungakwaZi t~ 1tseng,bothata bja
severeintelleaually gestremdheid, ukunyakazakomzimba boltshwaro.bofokodi
disabled,physically ernstigeversrandelike wonke,abakhubazeke bja go se swareka pela
disabled,autistic gestremdheid, ngokuqondene dlthutong, bofokodi
spectrumdisorders, llggaamllke nokufunda, bJobo tsenelersegobja
epilepsy,anention deficit gestremdheid, abakhubazeke go somi~ tlhaloganyo
disorderwith/without outistiesespektrum- ngokuziphatha, dithutong. go golofala
hyperact1v1ty versteurings.epilepsle, abakhubazeke kancane mmeleng,bofokodibJa
aandagafleibaarheid- noma ngokuphathi go tsenelelanale go
sindroommet/sonder nendawongokomqondo. kgokaganale batho.
h1peraktiwiteit abakhubazeke bolwetsibja dikotwane,
emz,mbeni,izindlela bofokodi bja go hloka
zokukhubazeka sedika/gobantle le
ngokungakwazi mafolofoloao a feriggo
ukuxhumanakahle tekanyo
nabanyeabantu,
isithuthwane.is1mo
sokungakwaz,ukunaka
I okuthile ngenxa
yokuqinakakhulunoma
'----~~-~------'"---~-------)--
kungekhoukuqinalokho

I
Multillnqu,11qlc,•.•,,11y 101

..
 •

- - - -

.English Afrikaa ,ns 1

lsiZulu Northern Sotho
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190 I B coming a eacher

 - -- ---
- -

- - - - - - - - - --- ~

English Afrikaans ls.iZulu Northern Sotho --- -

•
I I 1e I se ol
sch 'n ool
communi y e islko e
coll o s I zozi Ii m
on e r Ii , UKWtai I a
•
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as cc s o oor. r U m Q.IT\Ul,/Dn

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onsuf 0 h1mba I JS
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• •
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I sou

Mui n t
 •

English Afrikaans lsiZulu Northern Sotho

level of support vlak van izinga lezinsiza boemobja
needs ondersteunings- zokweseka dinyakwa tsa
a standardisedwayof behoeftes lndlelaehlelenjlwe thekgo
rankingsupportoptions 'n gestandaardiseerde yokubekangononina mokgwawoo
for schools,teachersand manierom izindlelazokweseka lekanrswegowa go bea
learnersaccordingto ondersteuningsopsies izikole,othishakanye dikgethotsa thu~ogo
their scopeand intensity vir skole,onderwysers nabafundikuye dlkolo,baruti~ile baithuti
of supportinvolved en leerdersin rangorde ngokwezlngalalokho boemongbjo rilego
te plaasvolgensdie okuhlelwayokanye go ya ka ponagalole
omvangen intensiteit nobubanz,bokwesekwa bogolo bja thu~oye e
vanondersteuningwat okudingekalayo akareditswego
betrokkeis
social isolation sosiale isolasie ukukhishwa peelothoko
being removedfrom the om uit die sosialegroep inyumbazane setshabeng
socialgroup verwyderte wees emphakathini go tlo~wasehlophengsa
ukususwakubantu setshaba
I bonkeabayiqembu
elisemphakathini
social rights rnodel sosialeregtemodel indlela yamalungelo mmotlolowa
accordingto this volgenshierdiemodel enhlalo dltokelo tsa
modelall learners het alleleerdersgelyke ngokwalendlelabonke setshaba
haveequalrightsto regtetot geleentheid, abafundibanamalungelo go ya ka mmotlolo wo
opportunity,self-reliance, selfstandigheid, alinganayookuthola baithuti ka mokaba na
independence,idealsand onafhankllkheid,ideafe amathuba,okukwaz, le ditokelot~ go lekana
dreams,and to belongin en drome en om aandie ukuzimela,okuzenzela, go dibaka,boipoto,
the community gemeenskapte behoort okutholaiz1mo boikemelo,dikgopolole
ezibavunayokanye ditoro le go ba malokoa
namaphupho,kanye set~haba
nokubayingxenye
yokubayilungu
lomphakathi
-
•
special schools(SSs) spesiale skole (SSe) lzikole Oikolo tse
schoolsequippedto skolewat coegerusis eziyizipesheli (SSs) ikgethilego (dlSS)
delivereducationto om onderrig te voorsien izikoleezakhelwe dikolo t~ di diret~wego
learnerswho needhigh· aanleerderswar hoogs ukuhlinzekangemfundo go fihli~ thuto go
intensiveeducational intensieweonderwys kubafundiabanezidingo baithuti bao ba nyakago
and other support en anderondersteuning ezidingaukuqashelwa thuto le thekgoye
nodig het kakhulukanyenokunye nngwe ye e tseneletsego
ukwesekwa

192 I Becominga teacher

 English Afrikaans lsiZulu Northern Sotho
Special schools/ Spesiale skole/ lzikole Oikolotse
Resourcecentres Hulpbronsentrums eziyisipesheli/ ikgethilego/
(SpS/RCs) (SpS/HBS's) lzizinda disenthara tsa
specialschools spesialeskolewat zokuhlinzeka (SpS/ dithusi
transformedto ingerigisom leerders RCs) fikolo t~edi lkgethilego
accommodatelearners wat hoogsintenslewe izikoleeziyisipesheli t~eodi fetot~wegogo
with high-intensity ondersteun,ngbenodig ezishintshelwe t~eabaithuti bao ba
supportneeds,and te akkommodeer ukubhekelaabafundi hlokagothekgoye e
to providea rangeof en om 'n reeks abanezidingoezidinga tsenelet~ego, le go fa
supportservicesto ondersteuningsdienste ukuqashelwakakhulu, dittrelot!a thekgo t~
ordinaryand full-service aangewone en kanyenokuhlinzeka mehutahutago dlkolo
schools voldiensskolete voorsien ngezinsizazokwesekwa r~atlwaelole r~ go fa
kw1zikoleezejwayeleklle ditirelo kabotlalo •
nez1nezinsiza ezigcwele
support needs ondersteunings- ukuhlola izinto tekolo ya dinyakwa
assessment(SNA) behoefte- zokuhlota tsa thekgo
the processof assessering {OBA) ezidingekayo (SNA) tshepedi~oya go ~upa
determiningthe die prosesom te bepaal uhlelo lokunqurna thekgoyatlalele~oye e
additionalsupport watteraddisconele ukwesekwa nyakegago,ka rlhahloya
needed,guided by the ondersteun1ng nodig okwengeziwe mokgwawa SNA
SNAform is aandie hand vandie okudingekayo,nolusukc
OBA-vorm luholwaukumakwe-SNA
support package ondersteuning- iphakeji ngatd ya thekgo
a packageof resources, spakket yokwesekela ngatayadithu~i.e ka
eitherhuman, 'n pakhulpbronnewat iphakejiyezinsizakalo, ba batho,dipopego,
physical.materialor a mensllk,fisies.materieel okungaba ditlakelogoba kopanyo
combination,to help of 'n kombinasiekan ngezingabantu, ya t~onaka moka,go
the learning,learneror weesom leer,die leerder okuyizinto thu~ moithuti yo a
school;packagesmay of skoolte help;pakkette ezibambekayo. ithutago goba sekolo;
varyin intensityfrom kanwisselwat betref okuyizimpahlanoma dingatadi ka fapana
level I to level S intensiteitvanvlakkeI inhlanganiselayakho go ya ka tii~ogo tloga
tot S lokhu.ukukwazi kgatongya 1 go ya go
ukubhekananomfundi kgatoya 5
ofundayonoma
nesikole,amaphakeji
ayash,yashiyana
ngobubanZibawongoba
asukelakumazingaI
kuyakwizinga5
support ondersteunings- izinhlelo zokweseka mananeo a thekgo
programmes programme iz1nhlelozokungenelela mekgwayee
structuredInterventions gestruktureerde ezlhleliwenezethulwa beakant~wego ya
deliveredat schoolsand ingrypingsbinne ezikolenikanye go tsenagareye e
in classroomswithin spesifieketydsraamwerke nasemakilaslnl kant1 fiwago dikolong le
specifictimeframes by skoleen in klaskamers z1nezlkhathlezithile diphapo~lngborutelo
eziqondlle dlnakongt~eit~ng

Multilingual glossary I 193

..
 English Afrikaans lsiZulu Northern Sotho
traditional medical tradisionele indlela yokwelapha mmotlolo wa kgale
model mediese model isidala wa kalafo
accordingto this model volgenshierdie ngokwalendlela go ya kammotlolowo
learnersarediagnosed modelword leerders abafundibayaye bairhutiba phekolwago
as•physicallydtsabled: gedlagnoseer as •fisies bahlonzweukuthi ba"baoba sartekanelago
"slow:•mentallyretarded: gestremd:"stadig: •bakhubazekile mmeleng:"basa
"hearingimpaired:etc. ·verstandellkvertraag: emzimbeni:•bathatha swaregokapela:"ba
and seenasspecial, "hardhorend:ens.en kude/benzakancane: fokolagomonaganong:
inferiorand deficient, beskouasspesiaal, "imiqondoyabo "basakwegogabotse:
with the emphasison minderwaardigen aylsebenzikahte: bjbj gomme babonwa
theirlimitationsand gebrekkig,met die klem •abezwanokuzwakahle bjaloka ba ikgethilego,
weaknesses op hul beperkingeen ezindlebenibenjalonje, ba nyatsegagogapeba
swakhede njll.futh, bathathwa hlaelago,ka kgacelelogo
ngokuthibayisipesheli. mellwanele bofokodi
babukelwaphansifuthl bjabona
kuthiwaabaphelele
kahle(azithimzala),
kugcizelelweukuthl
kubhekweamaphutha
kanyenobubuthaka
babo
transformative transformatiewe uthisha onoguquko morutisi wa go tllsa
teacher onderwyser uthishaokwaziukwenza diphetogo
a teacherwho develops 'n onderwyser indawoevumela morutisiyo a tsweletsago
an Inclusivelearning wat 'n inklusiewe ukuthiwonkeumunru tikologoyago ithuta
environmentby using leeromgewingontwikkel afundengokusebenzisa
differentteaching
ye e akaretsagodilo ka
deurverskillende amaqhingaokufundisa mokatse swanetsegoka
pracucesto foster onderrigpraktykete ehlukeneukuphoqa go somisamekgwaya
criticalcitizensand gebrulkom kritiese ukuthiabafundi go rucaye e fapanego
who implements burgerste kweeken wat bakwaziukuzicabangela go garelelabadudi
equity,redress,non- gefykheld,regstelllng, ngokwabobengafunzwa bao ba kgonagogo
discrimination,access, nie-dlskrlmlnasie, kantilo thisaukwazi swayadiphosogape
justice anddemocracy toegang.geregtlgheiden ukwenzaukuthl kube yo a phethagac~go
demokrasiebevorder nokulingana,ukulungisa tekatekano,toki!o.go se
okwakonakele, kgetholle,phlhlelelo,toka
ukungacwasl, le remokerasi
ukufinyelela
kwezemfundo,
ubulungiswakanye
nentandoyeningi

194 j Becominga teacher

 asezin,geniJesikhungo(ama IL ) t I
Index also institution-level up r ,
azinzeezifundeni190 seeal o l h I
Entriesare listedin letter-by-letteralphabetical support teams
order.Acronymsappearin alphabetical .anal1ysing why it happened (Step 2) • , 1
sequencewithin the index. anary .isactivities 98
A:NAsseeAnnual ',NationalAsse smen
A Annual National Assessments(ANAs)91
AA.Cseeaug1mentafveand alternative Aot see.learningunder assessmentof
communication apprenticeship in thi nl<lngmodel 62
aanvoerendeprofessionele191 seealso lead Arts and Culture 92, 115, 129
prof essionar assessering
abafundiabehlukene190 seeal'solearn,ers, van leer (AvanL)186 seealso learning under
diverse asse ,smentof
abafundisiabakwaziukuzikalalukuzinuka vir leer (AvirL)186 seealso for learn~ng
amakhwapha175 seealso practitioners underassessment
underreflective assessment90 95, 114
1
,

abstractsand abstract think in.g53, 54, 67

1

authentic 120, 129

accom,modation53, 143, 179 capstone 129, 144, 186
accountability 30, 117, 120 challenges to meaningful l 23-126
achievement 84, 91, 1'12, 167 changes 91
adequate 9'1 concepts asso,ciatedwith 113
elementary 91 criteria 9,S,1.01
evidence of 85, 86 demanding 120
full range of 118 and diverse abilities and needs of (,earners
learnerand student 78, 127, 128, 12.9,130 140-143
level of 138, 140, 143 and evaluation 114-118
measuring 102 formative and summative 116-117, 119
imeritorious91 general principles of 1·19-121
moderate·91 incremental 120
outstand.ing1 91 informal 98, 11.2
prior 100 in large classes130-134
substantial 91 for lea.rning(Afl) 111, 1116,117-118, 1'24.
on tasks 1.35 128,142,144, 163, 186
achievement of methods and:tasks 102, 124
a certain leve, of education 91 models and approaches 121-123
equality 15,1 _. pointing out extend ed challenges for
1

a ting to test theory in practice (Step 4) l 4, 16 learnersfro,m th,e 136

acfv"ty·and activ·ty theory 55, 179 practice.sto deepen lea,rning 126-129
.affective,value of the 37 programme 10'.3
affektieweleer 176 seealso a,ffect.iveunder purpose of 112-113
teaching reflect·ng on 127
Afl seefor I.earningunderasses ment r•esuIts 142
aims 90, 95, 98, 1011 standards 94
akkommodasie179 seealsoaccommodation support needs 17.2,193
aktiwiteitsteorie 179 seealsoactivity and 1

te hn ique 102
activctytheory tools of 102
aUgnment124 triangulation of 114, 115, 144, 188
ama~ephistemofoji 176 seealso epistemologies assessment,formal 1,12
amagugu1·75 seealso values progiramme of 98
amaqembuanganakiwe 177 seealso assessmen of
marginalised groups
1

rearners'reflections 127
ama-SR'VA 185 seealso SKVAs learning (Aol) 111, 116, 117-118, 14 , 18
amathimbaokweseka AssessmentReform Group 117

It I I I
 assessmentthat promotes C
meaningful learning 127 CAPSseeand AssessmentPolicy Statement
reflection 127-129 under Curriculum
assidere114 capstone assessments129, 144, 186
assimilasie179 seealso assimilation CASSseeassessmentunder continuous
assimilation 53, 179 charity and charitable work 43, 153
attitudes 80-81 CHEseeCouncil on Higher Education
augmentative and alternative communication child-centred teaching and pedagogy 52-58,
(AAC)171,188 155, 179
AvanLseevan leerunder assessering clarity of focus 85
AvirLseevir Jeerunder assessering classroom
awarenessof intrinsic and extrinsic factors 161 behaviours 7, 167
creating a pedagogy of care in the 34-42
B discourse and knowledge construction
baithuti ba dinyakwa tsefapanego 190 seealso 63-64
learners,diverse practicesand experiences,actual 76, 98
barriers to learning 4, 32, 100, 102, 143, 158, code of ethics 8, 9, 174
160, 161, 162, 171 cognitive
barutisi bao ba naganisisagole go sekaseka175 construction 60-61
seealso practitioners under reflective learning theory 66, 180
Beginning Knowledge 92 processes35, 50, 52, 180
behaviour revolution and child-centred teaching
adoption and demonstration of different 52-58
96 cognitivism SO
disruptive 167-168 cohort 123,144,187
behaviourism 50-51 collaboration 55, 97, 140, 152
bemiddelendeleerervaring(BLE)181 seealso Common Tasksfor Assessment(CTAs)91, 103
mediated learning experience community 33, 83, 152, 157, 170
besinnende classroom35
kennis 178 context of 101
onderwyspraktyk175 seealso teaching democratic 154
practice under reflective environment 158
praktisyns175 seealso practitioners under members 25, 129, 164
reflective needs 99
besinningsdagboek175 seealsojournal under partnerships 156
reflective role 65
bio-ecological model 142 school 153
BLEseebemiddelendeleerervaring compassion 9
bodily kinaesthetic intelligence 57 competence, seven-point scalefor the
bodulo 179 seealso accommodation description of 91
boemo bja dinyakwa tsa thekgo 192 seealso concepts, core 98
•
level of under support needs conceptual progression 101
bofokodi bja go ka ithuta 191 seealso concrete operational stage of cognitive
impairment under learning growth 53
bohlale 181 seealso intelligence conscientisation 84, 182
boikgopolelobja morutisi ka ga go ruta 175 see consideration of others 141
also philosophy of teaching under teachers' consistency (of curriculum) 97
boratabatho 178 seealso philanthropy Constitution of the Republic of South Africa,
Bronfenbrenner,Urie 142 1996 9, 151, 157
budget 99, 103 constructive alignment 124
Bullough, R.V.33 constructivist perspective on learning 60-62
bullying and bullies 22, 23-24, 31, 162 content 90, 94, 95
knowledge 4, 6, 79, 89 seealso pedagogical
content knowledge

196 I Becominga teacher

 outlines 94 seealso and AssessmentPolley Staten~ent
contexts 5, 99, 142 under Curriculum; curriculum
contextualism 61-62 interpreter, designer and
continuous implementer under teacher as
assessment(CASS)103 curriculum, quality
formative evaluation 98 criteria 97
cooperative learning rubric 141 of the 97-98
core knowledge and concepts 101 Curriculum
Council on Higher Education (CHE)112 and AssessmentPolicy Statement (CAPS)
course of study 76 65,66,74,76,85,88,89-91,94,95,98,
craft knowledge 68 101,102,103,104,123,182
CreativeArts 92, 93, 101 ReviewCommittee 87
Criteria for the Evaluation and Recognition 2005 85, 87
of Qualifications for Employment in
Education {2000) 88 D
criterion-referenced model of assessment121, DangerousMinds (movie) 33
122-123, 187 DATA(description, analysis,theorising and
critical education theory 22, 25-29, 34, 40, 176 action)
CTAsseeCommon Tasksfor Assessment process12-14, 174
curriculum 28, 39, 75, 103, 104, 125, 183 -proses174 seealso processunder DATA
accessto 152, 157 Davydof,Vasili 55
adapting and adjustment of 158, 162 DBEseeBasicEducation under Department of
aspectsof the 77-78 DBOS'eseedistriksgebaseerde
assessed78, 182 ondersteuningspanne
and assessmenttechniques 158 DBSTsseedistrict-based support teams
caring 22, 34, 38 dee/name177seealso participation
changes 91-93 deficiency 153
coverage 16 deficit 155
covert 77, 183 Department of
definitions and approaches 78-81 BasicEducation {DBE)74, 87, 88
delivery 171 Education (DOE)87, 88, 152
development 89-90 Higher Education (DHET)88
documents 123 describing what happened (Step 1) 13, 14
enacted 77, 183 descriptors 140
hidden 77-78, 184 Dewey,J. 36, 37
implementation of the 95-98 DHETseeHigher Education under
inclusions in the 79-81 Department of
inflexible 161 diepteleer187seealso deep under learning
intended 184 dignity and status of the teaching profession 9
-in-use 183 dihlopha tsa thekgo
knowledge 4, 80-81 boemong bja institusene191 seealso
language 40 institution-level support teams
learner-centred 35, 177 tse theilwegodileteng 190 seealso district-
lived 184 based support teams
nature of 74-84 dihlopha tsedi beetswegomellwane 177see
official, explicit intended 77 also marginalised groups
policy 64, 65-67, 76 diko/o tsa ditirelo tsefeletsego190seealso
school 41, 49 service schools under full-
South African national 87-88 diko/o tselkgethilego (diSS)192 seealso special
strategies 154 schools
traditionally accepted 40 I disenthara tsa dithusi 193seealso I
use of the 79 resource centres under special school'>
dipoelo 181seealso outcomes
direction, giving clear 167

lrHII' I I 11/

•
 d,isabUity,category of 157, 171, 189 experiential knowledge 7
disabled 155 external annual assessment91
discourse 28, 36, 63-64, 75, 76,104, .28, 44, exrinctfo,n51
152-153 180 extrinsicfactors, awarene·s of intrinsic and 161
di.sequiribrium53
diskoers180 seealsodiscourse
diSKVA185seealsoS.KVAs fairness30, 119, 126
dis,placement of motivation 31, 176
1

FALsee First Addition,al Lang,ua.ge

diSSsee.dikolotse ;kge.thilego, feedback59, 127, 132
distrjct-basedsupport teams (DBSTs)158, 169, giving constructive 167
171, 17 2, 190
1
FETPhaseseeFurther Ed'u:cationand Training
distriksgebaseerde ondersteuningspanne Phase
(DBOS'e)190seealsodistrict-based Feuerstein,Reuven52
support teams .filantropie178 seealso phil nth,ropy
dite'ko/otsabokgonibjo fihleletswego1.86,s·ee finding.sand uses 11S.
alsocapstoneassessments f,ir-stAddit onal Language(FAL)90, 91, 92,,.93,
dltlhahlo tsamepu.tso187seealso rub·rics 100, 101
ditshepedisotsogo naganisi!a 180 seealso fitness for purpose 120
processesundercognttive flexibHity 119
,diversefe,erders 190 see,alsolearners,diverse focus,•Of activity 115
diversity 152, 155 fo,rm,aJ operational stage of cognitive growth
documentation 95 54
DOEsee Hi9h,erEducationunderDepairtm,entof Foundation Phase90',91, 92, 100
G,rade3 101
E framew,orksthat ,informtea.ch,ing, theoretical
Economicand Management Sciences92, 93, and conceptua f 5
101 Fraser,. J. 75
Grade7 94 Freedom·writers(movie) 33
educational Freire,Paol·o83-84, 85, 86
env,ironment5 FSSsseeservicesch,oolsun·derfull-
purposes82 full-
support, levels and types of 159 servicesch,ools(FSSs)157, , 58, 171, 172,
educators87 se,ealsote cher; teacher as 190, 193
effectiveness(of curricurum)97 time placemen in specialeducation
efficiency 119,156 cf .ssroom:in a general ed,ucation
Eisner,E.75 school'159
el'ectives9,3 Further Educati,onand Training (FIET) .Phase
e.motions31,.35,.37, 1·11, 142 90,91
empirical 55, 68,.180 Grades10-112 101
empiries180seealsoempirical Gr de 12 10·1
English24
e:ngrossme·nt 31, 32, 176 G
envir,on.ment,educational 5, 158 Gard,ne,.Howard 52, 57-58
eplstemologiee176see·alsoepist mologies geassesseerde kurrikulum 182-seealsoassessed
epistemol,ogies28, 43, 176 under•curricuIum
1

equHtbration53, 180 gedagskode174 seealsoco e of eth,ics

equitability 119 geleefdekurrikulum 184seealsolived under
quity, qu Htyand sociatjustice 151 curriculum
ervar;ngsleer184 seealsoexperiential,u.nder geleidebesinnlngs.protokol174 seealsoguid d
learning reflection pro ocol
eval'uation82, 114, 115 gemarginafis,eerde groepe177see·also
ewew1g180 •eealso·equiUbratlon marginalised groups
exam wr pp rs 131 gender equ. Uty9
e istential intelUgence57 gener I

t 98 I B comin a eact er
 education primary schools 158 guideHnesfor providing m ,
kn,owledgeabout the teaching and 135-137
learning proc,ess4
general education classroomwith H
cooperative teaching or co-teac,hing159 heleskoolb,eplanning185 seealso I I
specialist con·s,ultation159 developmen plan,ning
gewetensbewustheid 182seealso HEQCseeQuarity Committee underHigh, •
conscientisation Education
goithutago HEQFsee·QualificationsFrame •.ork under
sa·tsenelelago188seealso surface under Higher Education
rearning, Higher Education
tseneletsego187 seealsodeep under ,QualificationsFramework(HEQ,F) (2007)
Jea.rning 88,89
goithutaka Quality ,Committee(HEQC)112, 1:14,
go,itemogela184 seea.Isaexperienti.al 124 seealsoImproving Teachingond
underlearning Learning(.ITL)
hlogo o boelet!agantsin.t!i181 seealso rote Resources
underlearni:ng HIV
go loga leano tlhabollongya se.koloka moka /Aids 56
185seealsowhole school development -po itive261 150
pl,anning status 152
Goodman, B. 76 HL seeHome language
gorutakago hoUstic
naganelab'aithuti 176 seealso,affecti.ve approach 155
underteaching, social righ,tsapproach 153
!etsa dinyakwa tsa 1moithuti 179seealso home and co.mmunity environment 158
chHd~cenred teach·,ngand pedagogy homebound instr,uc ion 159
go ruta ,katlhokomelo177 seealso careunder Home,Language(HL)9'1,92, '93, 100, 101 1

p dagogy of human rig,hts9, 151, 157, 166

Government ,Gazete .o.
24467 112 11

36041 88 I-CAPS182seealsoand AssessmentPo.licy

Grade Statement underCurriculum
391,101 ident ity 5, 35
1

4103, ijenaliyoku,bhekaemuva'175 seealsojournal

556,103 underreflective
6911,101,103 ikharlk/1ulamu183 seeals,o,curriculum
7 92, 94 ecashile/eyimfihlo183 seeatsocovert under
9 91 l 01 curriculum
12 101 efihli . e 184 seealso hidden under
grade curric,utum
plan l01-l02 egx le kubafundi 177 seeal o learner-
-specific 103 ce,ntredundercurriculum
Grades, eh,loliwe182seealso assessedunder
A-3 91, 100 curriculum
4-691 ehlosiwe184 seealso intended under
7-991 curriculum
10-12 91 ephasisl e 183 seealsoienac d und r
grondrede184 seealsoratlonale curriculum
grou,p esetshenzisayo 183seeal: o -iin-u un I
feedback 34-137 curriculum
,goals141 ,ezwakalayo184 seealsoliv d ,unrl r
grouping 95 curriculum
guided r fl ction protoc,ol 14-17, 174

In I
 •

ikilasi eliletha inkinga 178 seealso problem- inheemsekennisstelsels(IKS)176 seealso

posing classroom indigenous knowledge systems
IKSseeindigenous knowledge systems; inklusiewe
inheemsekennisstelsels onderwysin Suid-Afrika190 seealso
ILSTsseeinstitution-level support teams education under inclusive
imfundo efakawonke umuntu eNingizimuAfrika skoal 191 seealso schoolsunder inclusive
190 seealso education under inclusive inligtingsprosesseermodel 180 seealso
imiqondo yokuqonda 184 seealso rationale information processing model
imigoqwaneevimbaukufunda 189 seealso input
barriersto learning phase (of information processing)59
imisebenziyomusanesihawu/ukuphana178 see stimuli 59
also philanthropy Insights 5, 8, 127, 130, 131, 132
impairment 150, 155, 165, 169 institution-level support teams (ILSTs)169,
implementation 76, 82, 83, 87, 88, 90, 95-96, 171, 191
97, 104, 153, 155 instituutsvlakondersteuningspanne (IVOSe)191
Improving Teachingand Learning(/TL)Resources seealso institution-level support teams
(HEQC)114 Integrated Quality Management System
inclusion, support strategy and degree of 159 (IQMS)88
inclusive integration 99
education 83, 150, 151-153, 155, 156, 157, intelligence 50, 53, 54, 57, 181seealso multiple
158,160,166,171,190 intelligences
learning environment 160-163 quotient (IQ)testing SO
schools 152, 154, 191 intelligensie181 seealso intelligence
indawo yokusondelananentuthuko 182 seealso interaction and collaboration, stimulating 97
zone of proximal development Intermediate Phase90, 91
indigenous knowledge systems(IKS)40, 41, Grades4-6 100-101
43,176 Grade 6101
individuality 83, 155, 156 interpersonal intelligence 57
individual support plans 111, 191 interviews 68, 142
indlvidueleondersteuningspan191 seealso intrapersonal intelligence 57
individual support plans intrinsic and extrinsic factors, awarenessof 161
ind/eta inzululwazikathishayokufundisa 175 seealso
enobudlelwano178seealso relational ethic philosophy of teaching under teachers'
eqondislweyokubhekaemuva 174 seealso iphakejiyokwesekela193 seealso package
code of ethics under support
yamalunge/oenhlalo 192 seealso model iphedagogi 174 seealso pedagogy
under social rights yokunakekela177 seealso care under
yokufundisaenokuzikala175 seealso pedagogy of
teaching practice under reflective IQMSseeIntegrated Quality Management
yokuziphatha 174 seealso guided System •
reflection protocol IQtesting seequotient testing U(lder
yokwedlullsaulwazi 180 seealso intelligence
information processing model irubhrikhi 187 seealso rubrics
yokwelaphaisidala 194 seealso model isikhuluesiphambili 191 seealso lead
under traditional medical professional
ind/ela ehambisa isikoleesifakawonkeumuntu 191 seealso
ngokwemibandela187 seealso criterion- schools under inclusive
referenced model of assessment isilabhasl 185 seealso syllabus
ngokwenkambiso187 seealso norm- isipiliyonisokufundaesenziwe181 seealso
referenced model of assessment mediated learning experience
information processing model 58-60, 180 iskematha181 seealso schemata
ingxubevangeyokuhlola 188 seealso ithiyori
triangulation of assessment ebalulekileyezemfundo176 seealso critical
education theory

200 f Becominga teacher

 yokufunda emqondweni 180 seealso kritiekeonderwysteorie176 seealso critical
learning theory under cognitive education theory
IVOSeseeinstituutsvlakondersteuningspanne kurrikulum 183 seealso curriculum
izikole ezinemisebenziyonkana 190 seealso -ingebruik 183 seealso -in-use under
service schools under full- curriculum
izikoleeziyizipesheli192 seealso special schools Kurrikulum-en assesseringsbeleidsverkloringsee
I izizinda zokuhlinzeka193 seealso I KABV
resourcecentres under special schools
izinga lezinsizazokweseka192 seealso level of L
under support needs Language90, 92, 100, 115
izinhlelozokweseka193 seealso programmes language
under support of learning and teaching (LolT) 27, 43, 90,
izixhumo 181 seealso scaffolding 100, 177
positive 137
K languages 92
KABV(Kurrikulum-en laroplan 75
assesseringsbeleidsverklaring)182 seealso lay 153
and AssessmentPolicy Statement under lead professional 172, 191
Curriculum leanothekgola motho 191 seealso individual
kategorievan gestremdheid189 seealso support plans
disability, category of learned helplessness142
KeepingLearningon Track•programme 132 learner
kgathotema 177seealso participation ability 121
kgodisoya temogo 182 seealso -centred curriculum 35, 177
conscientisation school readinessfor the 99
kgokaganoya tlaleletsole ya sebakengse learners,diverse 160, 168, 190
sengwe188 seealso augmentative and learner'sschoolwork 142
alternative communication learnerswith 167
kgonthisisole nepagaloya tekolo go 188 see disability 155
also triangulation of assessment diverse educational needs 156
khuetsano 179 seealso assimilation impairment 155
kindgesentreerdeonderrig 179 seealso child- special needs 155
centred teaching and pedagogy Learnerswith Special Educational Needs
knowledge 78, 80-81 (LSEN)150
border40 learning
content4,6,79,89 active and critical 36, 65
contribution of 141 activities 95
core 98 areas92
formal 8 barriersto 189
high 65 content 96
of learnersand their characteristics4 deep 116, 124-125, 132, 187
knowledge of educational difficulties 169
contexts 4 expectations, sharing of 132
ends, purposes and values 4 experiential 85, 86, 129, 184
kognitiewe impairment 169, 191
leerteorie180 seealso learning theory individual 85
under cognitive outcomes 94, 101
prosesse180 seealso processesunder plans 75
cognitive programmes 65, 74, 81, 91, 98-103, 104,
kohort 187 seealso cohort 162, 184
kovertekurrikulum 183 seealso covert under requiring more self-regulation over the
curriculum learning processto extend the 136
kriteriumverwysdemodel 187 seealso criterion- rote 60, 65, 68, 124, 181
referencedmodel of assessment

l11d1• I II) I
 surface 124-125, 188 Maitem,o,gelo a go ithura ka tsenogareya
theo,ryin SoutihAfrican classrooms64-67 mothusi 181 seealso mediated learning
leetdergesentreerde kurrikulum 177seealso ,experien.ce
lea.r:ner-centred undercurriculum mananeoa thekg,o193s,eealso programmes
/eergestremdheid191 see,alsoimpairment un,dersupport
under learntng Mani,f@sto o,nValues,Educatio,nand,
/eerplan75 D'emocracy152
leerprogram184seealso programm,esunder maphekoa go ith,uta 189 s,eea'lsobarriers to
re.arning learning
leerstruikelblokke, of-versperrings189 see.a/so ma1rginalised groups 26,.40, 84, 177
barriers to learning materiaIs and .resources95
legorola bogolofadl 189 se,ealso disability, Mathern tics 24,,90, 91, 9.2,93, 100 101, 114
1
,

ca egory of /M them ttcal Literacy 93, 101

.Lehrplan75 m,eaniin,g,stimulating acti,veconstruction of 97
Lelemela go ,Golthuta le go Ruta l 77 seealso of means-end r tionality 82-83
learn·ng and teaching under lan,guage m •diated,lear.n,ing, experie,nc,e( · LE)55, 58,
lenaneola go ithuta l 84 seealso progr mmes 181
under learnin,g mekgwayamaleba 175seealso values
lenaneoth.uto1,83see alsocurricu,lum m·elaotshepediso ya tlhahlo ya go itekola 174
ka boitemogelo184se,ealso Uvedunder seealso guided reflection protocol
curriculu,m me acogniti·onand met· cognitive proc -sses
la semmuso183see,also-in-use under 5,9-60
curri,cuJum1

metadenke174 seealso mieta•thiinking

lenaneothutoleo le meta-thi·nking 5, 17
lkemisedits·w:ego l 84 seealso intended .methodsand methodologies 2, • 2, 48, 61,
un,dercurriculum 1

75, 78, 79, 01, 02, 84, a,6,89, 90, 1oo,1o1,

lego tiritong 18.3seealso enacted under 102, 112, 1,13, 118,124,130, 171seealso
curriculum ,pedagogy
lekotswego182see,a/soassess,edunder Minimum Req,uirementsfor he Qu lincatIons
currlcutum Standards 112
segonyanyeng183 seealso covert under minimu,m,requi:re• en ,s for t cher educa 10n
curr,fculum • quaUfic tions (MRT~Q) 88 seealso P,olicy
setsagomoit'huti 177seealso,l'earner• on Minl1mumRequir mens for Teacher
ce,ntredundercurriculum EducationQuaHfications
utegilego 184 seealso hidden under Mi ist,erof
,curriculum BasicEducation 88
lessonplans aindplan1ning102,,103 Education8,7
Life mission99, 103
Orientation 92, 9'3,10 1, 129, 164, 166
1
mmotlolowa
SkUls92,100,101 kgalewa ka/afo 19 • see,a/som,od,elu.nder
life-long learn,ing127 trad,itionaJ:medical
Uneartechnical productio,n82 d'itokelo,tsasetshaba192 see~alsomodel
Lit· racy 90 under social righ s
loc tlon 40, 95 tshomifo ya tshedimofo 180 seealso
logic .I-mathe.matica.linte1Ugen,ce 57 informa1ion proc,essi1ng modeli
Lo J seeof learnlng a·ndte ching' under mmotlolowo
I nguage lebi itswegotJ,waelong ye e .itseng 87
LSENse,eLearn rs wi h Sp ci •I Educ-,tional seealso norm refere,nce.d ; • odel o,f
Needs ssessm n
o /e.bisit!wefJO g,oselekanyo187see
,_ I also criit rion-.r fer nc d model of
Magato ka tatelano a go 'thusago .fihlele.la ass ssment
kwesiso181 seealso sc.affoldin,g modifiability of cri . ria 11S
mokgwatiriso 174se,ealso prac ice

202 I B co ing .cher

.mo.kgwawa go -n,gokubonwanangokulingw 1. I
ruta ka boitekolo 175seealsoteaching •em·pirica
I 1

practice under reflectiv•e Noddings'thinking on car ..in u ,I

tlisa ,diphetog.o194 seealso ransformative non-discriminaition 1S 1
underteacher nor.m-referencedmodel of as ssm, n
mokg :awo p·eako.nyo184 seealso pri·n.cipte 18,7
under organising 1
, •Ormsand S,tandardsfor Ed•uctors (N . ) •7,
MRTEO' seeminimum req· irements for te.acher 88,95
e.ducationqualifications ·n Sc,ho,oUn·g
(2000)89
mu,ltiplei.nteltigences57 normverwysendemodel 187 se.ealso n.or,m-
musical intelligence 57 referencedmodel of assessment
,.•amwenda,T.S.54 NPAGradesR-12 seePro ocol for Assesment
GradesR-12 under National
I
I
NSEseeNor sand Standardsfo,rEduca·ors
national advocacyand'information. ·umeracy90
progra.mm,e158
Nationa:I 0
Commiss·on on SpecialNeeds1n Education OAKseeougmentatieween .a/ternatiewe
and Train·,ng( CS ',ET)157
1

kommunikasie
Com.mitteefor .EducationSupport Services OBAseeondersteunin·gsb.ehoefteassessering
(. CESS)157 OBEsee-based,educationunder ou com,es.
ait,ionalcu,r.iculum S ate,ment(' CS),65,66, objecti-ves.as, 95
85,, 87, 88, 94 observationsof th,elear,ner'sfearnfng
Grad.e,s
1
R-1.2 88, 89-91,. 94, 104 behavio,ur142
ational official pol·cy documents 88-89
1

Education 91 okunyeu.kuxhumanaokwesekelwe188see
Protocol for Ass ss·m nt ( PA)·GradesR-12 also augme.ntative·and alternative
1

95 c,ommun·ication
Qualifi,caions Fr.am.ewo,rkct 67 of 2008 o.ndersteuningsbehoefteass,essering (OBA)193
88 seealso assessmentundersupport needs
,Natio:nalEducationPo•l'icy o,ndersteuningspakket 1'93.seealso p,•,ckag
Act ( o. 108 of 1996) under support
lni iat,ve (NEPI)7,6 ondersteuningsprogramme l 93 se·ea'/so
Nati'onal.Policy programme.sundersuppor
,Frameworkfor Te c ,erEducation n:d 1
onderwysersseonderrigfilosone175 seealso
O,evelopmentin South Afr,ica88 philosophy o,ft-eachln,g1 undertea,chers'
Pert. in ·ng to the Pr,ogrammeand ontonga 187 seeals•ocohort
Promotion Requirementsof the NCS oppervlakteleer188seeal o surfaceun·der
Grad s R-12 95 lear.ning
Natura:rScienc s 92, 93, l·0l opportunities#expanded 86
and Technolog·y92, 1:oo orchestra ion 5
n. tura,Ust1cinte.tHgncie57 order of con.en,ts75
NC 5.5seeC,ommiitteefor Edu·ction Su·pport 1
organiserings.beginse.I184 seealso·p incrpf.
Se vices.under a io,nal under ,organising
1

CSsee· ation ·ICurriculum St t men organising

·NCS'ETseeCommissionon S ecial Needsi,n and man ging 82
Educ.,,ion. n,dTrain1ing.underN · io.nal principl ~ 8·0-81·,184
nega iivereinforcement 51 ougmen:tatieween alternotlewekommuniko i
N ·Pl'seelniiti tive•under •. 1onalEduca ion (OAK)188seealso augm •n . iv nd
Policy a:tternativ"communic ti on,
1

,Ne·therl.nds Institute fo,rCu1rriculum outcomes.4, 5, 16, 50, 5 ·, 68, 7 •.,78,. 7 , 0, ,

!Develo1pment (SLO)75 85, 86, 88, 90, 94, 97, 0•1,110, 11 , 11/,
I

ngaraya thekgo 193seealso pack· ge un,der 1'20, 122, 124.,125, 1' 7, 1 I 1' f1 ,
su.·pot 144, 174, 1,81

t I
 -based education (OBE}65, 66, 84, 87, 89, Pol"cyon Minimum :Requirementsfo Teacher
114, 123 Educa ion Qualifications (MRTEQ)88, 95
out-of-school chil·dren,mobilisation of 158 portfolios 112, 114, 1 1·S.,129, 138, 144
output 59 positive reinforcement 41, 51
phase (of information processing)59 potential investors 122
p acticali.ty(of curriculum) 97
p practice 4, 174 seealso·pedagogy; and pracfce
papegaalleer181seealso rote under learning under theory; and reflective practice under
parental involvem,ent169-170 reflection; as reflective practice under
parents as partne·rsin education 9
1 1
teaching
pa:rticipati.on35-36, 100, 140, 157, 158, 177 praktyk 174 seealso practrce
partetime placement in special education pre-operational stage of cogni 1vegrowth 53
classroom 159 prrincipleof he subject 81
PCKsee .pedagogicalcontent knowledge probleemsteflingskfaskamer 178 seea·lso
peda.gogicalcontent knowfed.g {PCK)4, 11- problem-posing classroom
12, 18, 96, 143, 174 seealso and f,earning problem~posingclassroom 37-39, 178
underteaching process 136
pedagogie 174 seealso pedagogy factors 142
sorg 177 seealso care underpedagogy •Of processing59
pedag,ogiese inhoudskennis174seealso phase (of information process·ng),59
pedagogical content knowtedg;e profess1ional values an,dethics 8-9
pedag,ogy11, 18, 174
1
progression ,65,66, 79, 80, 81, 99, 1·04,11 2 see
1

child~centred 155 also sequencing

teaching 124 punishment 23, 24, 25, 41, 51, 135
pedagogy of purpose 79
are 22, 29-30, 3 2, 34-42, 151, 160, 177 of assessmentl 12-113
hope84
the oppressed84 Q
pee/othokosetsh.abengl 92 seealso isolation questioning 132
undersocial R
performa1nce,gathering and rationa·le1·0 1 75, 79, 95, 96, . 84
evaluatin,g:evidenceof aga.instagreed redeemability 120
criteria 1:15 reflection
performances,making inferencesfrom and for a.ctio,n7
estimating the worth of 114 in action ·6
Personaland SocialWellbeing 92 on action 6
personal devel·opment78 and reflective :practice5-6, 9, 1 1, 12
1

person factors 142 r,eflective

phaposi.boruteloya dipotsi·o tsehlohlago journal 17 18, 175
monagano178 seealso,p,roblem-posing knowledge 178
classroom practitioners 5-6, 9, 111,12, 175
phethagatsoya ditshepedisogo datha , 74 see teaching practice 5-6, 9,.11, 12, 175
also processunder DATA reinforcement 41, 51, 96, 135
phil:anthropy 30·, 43,. 178 relationaf ethic 30, 178
•
physicat barriers 166-167 rel,ati:onbetween learners 115
Physica·1 Education 92 re.lationshipof teacher and'learner 35, 40, 49.,
Piaget,Jean 52-54 76, 115, 160
planning 8.2,100-103 r,elationships5, 23, 29, 30-32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39,
for first-day activities in advance 167 82,115,142
a learning programme/curriculum 98- 103 re·levance(of curriculum) 97
.seealsoand As-essmentPolicy Statemen.t reliability 119
underCurriculum; curr,iculum; research,form of 114
reflection res.'dential scho,ols159
po.ledisano180seealso di.scourse resourcecentres 1.58

204 I Becominga t,eacher

 resource , avaUabilit'yof 102 sehlop.haka nepoya go swana 1187 seealso
respect 13, 7'9,80, 83.,151, 155, 156·,171 coho1rt
RevisedNational ,curriculum Statement (RNCS)' Sekgalas.ag'areseosetsebjafeseoseka
(2002) 87, 94 flhlelelwago182 seealsozo,neof p,roximal
RN,CS seeRevisedNational Curriculum deve,lopment
Statemenit sekolaseseakaretsago191s,e,e also sch,ools
Rogoff,B.62 un,derinctusive
TheRonClarkeStory,(movie),33 selection and negotiati'on,99-1 oo,
Rousseau,Je,an-Ja,cq u,es52 self 137
rubrics .25, 102, 114.,115, 130, 131,.133, 138- and :peer . ssessment130-1,34
l40~ 141,,144, 187 regulati,on 136
rubriek 187 seealso ru.brics self-
confidence 127
s d irect:edne,ss
1
1.27
SACEseeSouth African Council for Educators responsibiUty·1.27
SalamancaStatem,ent,onPri:ncip,les .an,d Senior Phase90, 91
Practicein Special NleedsEducation Grades7-9 1:01
(U:N.ESCO, 1994) 155-156 Grade9101
SAT(Scho:lastic
1
Apti ud·eTest) 103 senson-motor stage of cognitive growth 53
scaffol1ding, 55, 65, 66, 181 sequ,encing98, 101'
~ - " - -
scenarios: setatamentesa Molaotshepetsowa
a,b,use of p,owerin th,ec~assoom 24-25 Len·aneothuto le Te.kola182seealsoand
are my learne,rslearning·?60-61 A s ssment P.oUcy Staitem,ent under
car,i.ngpedagogy in acti,on40-41 Curricu:lum
critical education and:marg:inatisation,ina Sethalosethusagogo hla'l,osa1181 seealso
school 27 sch· m ta
curricurum discus.sions 74-75 s,etseb; sa kapele 1:91 se,ea'isolea:dprofes,sional
deallin9with b,uUy:ing
1
in a schooJcon ext v •n-po:int ca:f,,t:orthe descdpt1onof
22 ,compet,ence 91
•differ,entteaching methods 48 si/la,bu 185 seealso,syUabus
impl:,ementin,ga carfng pedr,ag,ogy in th· situation analysis 1103,
1
163-1170
clas room 38-39 skemas181seealsoschemata
Jodi'sc1assroo,.m1
164 killo:f,execution5
,Mari:aquestions her decisio.nto become a skills80-81
teache,r2 high 65
Maria'steaching experi:enc,e 14, 1s, 16-17 specific90
Peter'sfaHed,lesson12-13 SKVAs(skills,knowledge, va,luesa,n,dattitudes)
unfair pu1nishment?24 49, 7,8,8,0-81, 86, 120, 129, 185
value of existing knowledge 64 sluitsteenassessering 1

186 seeoJs,o,ca,pstone
Victoria 150-151 a,ssessments
what are we·m,eantto assess? 110 111 SNAseeassessmentundersuppo.rtneeds
what ;s,·CAPS? 89 social
what went wrong? 113 constructivism 62
schemata 52, 53, 61, 62,.68, 181 isolatio.n154, 192
Scholasti'C Aptitude Test eeSAT preparation 78
schoof readinessfor the fea,rner99 socia:Iright
schoo.ls approach 155-157
full,-se:rvice, 171, 190 model 161-162, ·.92
spe,eial159, 17.2,192-1.93 SociailSciences92, 93, 100, 101
sch,oo,lwork ,of learners142 socio-eco,nomicbarriers 169
s-ientific concepts 55 sommerendea'Ssessering 185,see,afs,o
sedi ka botla.lio176 seealso engrossment su,m,mativeassessment
segregated facilities 153 sonevan of proksimale,ontwikkeNng 182see
also.zo,neof proxima,11 developm1ent

ind' x I 70

.•
 sosialelsolasie192 seealso isolation under T
social Taalvan Onderrigen Leer(TVOL)177 seealso of
sosialeregtemodel192 seealso model under learning and teaching under language
social rights Taba,Hilda 75
South African tasks 135, 136, 144
FederalCouncil on Disability 156 teacher
SchoolsAct (No. 84 of 1996) South African learning 96-97
Constitution (1996) 156 roles of the 65, 95
South African Council for Educators (SACE)8, term of87
88 transformative 194
Act No. 31 of 2000 8 teacher as
Code of ProfessionalEthics8 agent of inclusivity 148-173
spatial intelligence 57 assessor108-144
special needs 155 caring professional 20-45
special schools (SSs)158, 159, 165, 172, curriculum interpreter, designer and
192-193 implementer 72-107
I resource centres (SpS/RCs)158, 172, 193 educational theorist 46-71
specific subject methodology 81 reflective practitioner 1-19
spesialeskole(SSe)192 seealso special schools Teacher'sGuide 101
I hulpbronsentrums(SpSIHBS's) 193 seealso (UNESCO)163
/ resourcecentres under special schools teachers'
spontaneous concepts 55 philosophy of teaching 9-10, 124, 175
SpS/RCsseeI resourcecentres under special work, perspective of 76
schools teaching
standards of measurement 115 affective 37, 176
Statement and Frameworkfor Action report as a challenging profession 3-5
{1994) 156 and learning 50-63 seealso pedagogical
stellasie-effek181 seealso scaffolding content knowledge
Stenhouse, Lawrence83, 85, 86 materials 96, 98
'story' 23 pedagogy 124
strategies philosophy 9-1 O, 124
advising on differ.ent;l 36 practice 9, 16-1 7
of classroom management and as reflective practice 6-7
organisation 4 techniques and materials 158
for screening, identifying, assessingand Technology 92, 93, 101
supporting learners 158 tekantsho 180seealso equilibration
structures, nature of 52-54 tekolothumo 185 seealso summatlve
study programme 76 assessment
subjects 90, 91, 92 tekoloya
successfulnessof the curriculum 81 bokgoni bja go ithura 186 seealso for
summative assessment116, 117, 120, 129, 144, learning under assessment
185 dinyakwa tsa thekgo 193seealso
support assessmentunder support needs
broad approach to 161-163 go fthuta 186 seealso learning under
package 172, 193 assessmentof
programmes 172, 193 teoriya
strategy 159 go ithuta ka go naganisisa 180 seealso
supportneeds learning theory under cognitive
assessment(SNA)172, 193 thuto ya go swayadiphoso 176 seealso
level of 172, 192 critical education theory
Swaffield,Sue 111, 116 tiro 179 seealso activity and activity theory
SWOT(strengths, weaknesses,opportunities terminology 155
and threats) 100, 103 thafathalo ya thuto ye e itseng 185 seealso
syllabus 75, 76, 104, 185 syllabus

206 Becominga teacher

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theilwegogo temogo 180 seealso empirical triangulering van assessering188seealso

themes 99 triangulation of assessrnent
theories of learning 49 tsebole bokgoni tsetsweleditswegokesetshaba
theorising to improve practice {Step 3) 13-14, 176 seealso indigenous knowledge
15 systems
theory tseboya
and practice 7-8 thuto 174 seealso pedagogy
of knowledge 80 maano a go ruta 174seealso pedagogical
rhutotlhahlo ka ga boitshwaro 174 seealso code content knowledge
of ethics tseboye tsweleditswegoka go lekodiswa178
thotoya tshekatshekoya ka moo o naganogo 174 see
maitshwaroye e tswalanyago178 seealso also meta-thinking
relational ethic tshutisoya tlhohlefetso176 seealso
tlhago ya tsebole kwesiso176seealso displacement of motivation
epistemologies TVOLseeTaalvan Onderrigen leer
thuto ye e akaretsagotsohleka Afrika Borwo 190 Tyler,Ralph 82-83, 85
seealso education under inclusive
time 95, 120 u
allocation and weighting 101 ubuhlakoni 181seealso intelligence
factor 96 uh/a lwezinhlobozokukhubazeka189 seealso
frames 98 disability, category of
and timing 126 uhlelo
time, allocation for lokucabanga 180 seealso processesunder
FETPhase{hours per week) 93 cognitive
Foundation Phase(hours per week) 92 lokufunda 184 seealso programmes under
Intermediate Phase(hours per v.ieek)92 learning
Senior Phase(hours per week) 93 lokwesekaumfundi siqu sakhe 191seealso
timetable 103 individual support plans
timing 115, 142 lolwazi lomdabu 176seealso indigenous
tiredness 23, 150 knowledge systems
tlharhollo ya sephethosefihleletswego184see /we-DATA174 seealso processunder DATA
also rationale uitgevoerdekurrikulum 183 seealso enacted
rokomaneya dlntlha tsa boitekolo 175seealso under curriculum
journal under reflective uitkomste 181 seealso outcomes
toleranee 151 ukubambaiqhaza 177 seealso participation
tools to guide reflection 12-18 uk(lbekwaendaweniengafanelekwesikhuthazo
topics 91, 94 176 seealso displacement of motivation
tradisionelemediesemodel 194seealso model ukucabangaokuyisiyingi 174 seealso meta-
under traditional medical thinking
traditional medical ukufanisa 179seealso assimilation
approach 153, 154, 194 ukufunda
model 161, 194 ngokuphindaphinda 181 seealso rote under
traditional model of assessment121-122 learning
transformatieweonderwyser194 seealso ukufunda okugxilekumntwana 179 seealso
teachers under transformative child-centred teaching and pedagogy
transformation of South Africa'seducation okujulile 187 seealso deep under learning
system 1S1-152 okukhaphezulu 188 seealso surface under
transformative learning
approach 160 ukufundelaukuthola amava 184 seealso
teachers 26, 160, 194 experiential under learning
transparency 120 ukufundisaokuthinta kwandawo 176seealso
treatment centres 159 affective under teaching
triangulation of assessment114, 115, 144, 188 ukuhleleloisikolesonkana 185seealso whole
school development planning

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ukuhlola values4,8-9, 10, 15, 18,34-35,80-81, 175

izinto zokuhlolaezidingekayo193 seealso variety and sufficiency 126
assessmentunder support needs verbal-linguistic intelligence 57
kokufunda 186 seealso learning under verdiepin 176 seealso engrossment
assessmentof verhoudingsetiek178seealso relational ethic
okufinyeziwe185 seealso summative verplasingvan motivering 176seealso
assessment displacement of motivation
okuhambisananecaps186seealso verskuildekurrikulum 184 seealso hidden under
capstone assessments curriculum
ukufunda 186 seealso for learning under views and attitudes, changing of 96
assessment vision 103
ukujika umqondo 180seealso equilibration visual barriers 165-166
ukukhishwainyumbazaneemphakathini 192 VKWHs185seealso SKVAs
seealso isolation under social vlak van ondersteuningsbehoeftes 192 seealso
ukunakakonke 176 seealso engrossment level of under support needs
ukunqindekaukufunda 191seealso impairment voldiensskool(VDSe}190 seealso -service
under learning schools under full
ukuqwashiwa/ukuvusa/ukwazisa182seealso voorgenomekurriku/um 184seealso intended
conscientisation under curriculum
ukwamukela179seealso accommodation Vygotsky, Lev 51, 52, 54-56
ukwenzaumsebenzi174 seealso practice
uli,ni w
lokufunda nokufundisa(LoLT)177 see waardes175 seealso values
also of learning and teaching under weaknesses,focus on 154
language Weighting of Continuous Assessment(CASS)
olulalisiwe180 seealso discourse 91
ulwazi White Paper
lokuzicubungula178 on Education and Training (1995) 156
oluqukwethweyizlndfelazokufundisa 6 on SpecialNeeds Education (2001)
174 seealso pedagogical content 157-159
knowledge whole school development planning 99, 103,
umgomo wokuhlela184 seealso principle 104, 162, 170, 185
underorganising WIL see-integrated learning underwork
umphumela 181seealso outcomes working and sharing with others 141
umsebenziwethiyori 179 seealso activity and work
activity theory -integrated learning (WIL)263,284
UNESCOseeUnited Nations Educational, schedule 101-102
Scientific and Cultural Organisation World conference in
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Jomtien, Thailand (1990) 155
Cultural Organisation {UNESCO)161, 163 Salarnanca,Spain (1994) 1'55-156
universal principles 85 ♦

untapped potential and value of individual y

learners 155 year plan 101-102
uthisha onoguquko 194seealso teachers under youth of school age with disabilities,
transformative mobilisation of 158

V z
validity 119 zone of proximal development (ZPD)55, 56,
value of 97,143,182
the affective 37 ZPOseezone of proximal development
participation 35-36
problem posing 37-38

208 I Becominga teacher

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