The potential of teaching schools in enabling student teacher learning for the teaching profession

Abstract

In 2011 the Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Education and Development in South Africa was promulgated. This framework proposes the establishment of teaching schools to strengthen pre-service teacher education. This study arises from this initiative. A generic qualitative study was undertaken to explore the views of research participants from selected teacher education institutions and schools in South Africa on the potential of teaching schools to enable student teacher learning for the teaching profession. The key findings are that teaching schools can potentially make a distinctive contribution towards enabling student teacher learning for the teaching profession through student teachers experiencing good teaching in a model environment and through coordinating experiences in coursework and at the school. The discussion of the findings points to the distinctive potentialities of teaching schools for strengthening teacher education. The notion of hybridity and third space is invoked as a heuristic to shed light on the developing of a true collaborative relationship between the teacher education institution and the teaching school for enabling student teacher learning for the teaching profession.

Keywords:

• Teacher education
• school practicum
• school–university partnership
• mentor teacher
• hybridity
• third space

Acknowledgements

Data for the broader project was collected by a team consisting of Sarita Ramsaroop, Nadine Petersen, Gerda Bender, Kakoma Luneta, Pierre du Plessis, Gadija Petker, Coert Loock, Senoelo Nkhase and Dirk Postma.

Notes

1. Hereafter referred to as the Framework.

2. WIL mostly takes place in classrooms and can include aspects of ‘learning from practice’ such as reflecting on lessons taught by others. It also includes ‘learning in practice’ which includes preparing, teaching and reflecting on lessons taught by oneself (DHET, 2015, p. 10).

3. Grade R refers to the reception year—the first year of schooling.

4. The programme at the Soweto campus is a four-year Bachelor’s degree. Student teachers spend time in the teaching school in all four years of study. They are also placed at schools for practicum.