A foundation for foundation phase teacher education: Making wise educational judgements

Abstract

We start our paper with a critical exploration of the current 'back to basics' approach in South African foundation phase teacher education with its emphasis on strengthening the teaching of subject knowledge. We claim that such a proposal first demands an answer to the question 'what is foundational in foundation phase teaching?' We propose an answer in three stages. First we argue that teacher education should be concerned not only with schooling or qualification (knowledge, skills and dispositions) and socialisation, but, drawing on Gert Biesta's work, also with subjectification (educating the person towards the ability to make wise educational judgements). Secondly, these three aims of education lead to five core principles, and we finish by showing how these principles inform our storied, thinking and multimodal/semiotic curriculum. Our answer to our leading question is that pedagogical 'know-how' and views of 'child' and 'childhood' constitute the subject knowledge that is foundational in the foundation phase curriculum.

How a professional development programme changes early grades teachers’ literacy pedagogy

“…Although the module supports the phonics-based and whole language approaches in teaching how to read, more emphasis is put on balanced approaches. However, according to several studies, many FP teachers have not been adequately trained to use these approaches (Murris & Verbeek 2014). Overall, the ACT programme's literacy content supports the principles in the school curriculum, namely emergent literacy, language acquisition approaches, reading components, reading approaches and strategies.…”

“…A great deal of state funds has been spent on upgrading teacher qualifications and increasing the PD activities for the teachers in the last three decades. However, findings on learner achievement indicate that PD seems to have little or no impact on learner achievement (Meyer & Abel 2015;Murris & Verbeek 2014;Taylor & Taylor 2013). This may be because learning from formal PD programmes does not meaningfully contribute to the teachers' knowledge base, competences and/or practice (Green et al 2011;Verbeek 2014).…”

Imagination and literacy: Introduction to the special issue

“…Pointed out elsewhere (e.g. Murris & Verbeek 2014), one argument that is increasingly gaining traction is that the country's teachers are deficient in content knowledge and that greater emphasis should be placed on 'the basics' of developing teacher knowledge (NEEDU [National Education Evaluation and Development Unit] 2013). While this is clearly a central problem, certain effects arise from this perspective, including a curriculum with highly prescribed, specified, sequenced and paced guidance regarding the content that should be taught in schools (see the National Curriculum Statement: DBE 2011).…”

“…While this is clearly a central problem, certain effects arise from this perspective, including a curriculum with highly prescribed, specified, sequenced and paced guidance regarding the content that should be taught in schools (see the National Curriculum Statement: DBE 2011). In addition, teachers' guides for textbooks as well as materials produced by the Department of Education provide teachers with scripted lessons in an attempt to address the lack of teacher content and pedagogic content knowledge (Murris & Verbeek 2014). These textbooks on the one hand represent the world to learners, presenting language as almost the sole mode of communication.…”

Critical reflections on the PGCE (Foundation Phase) qualification in South Africa

“…In addition, teachers need knowledge about questioning and their own higher order questioning skills need to be developed so as to grow children's capacity for independent critical and imaginative thinking from the early years (Murris 2014). Furthermore, as Murris and Verbeek (2014) propose, foundation phase teachers need deep knowledge of children and conceptions of childhood, including how children learn and develop.…”