A post-graduate certification in education (PGCE) programme as preparation for Foundation Phase teachers : the experience of novice teachers in KwaZulu-Natal primary schools.
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Date
2012
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Abstract
This study seeks to investigate the extent to which novice Foundation Phase (FP) teachers
who are former Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) students, perceive the
programme as adequate for preparing them to become Foundation Phase teachers.
Traditionally, the PGCE programme focuses on Senior and Further Education and Training
(FET) teachers and it is clear what disciplinary knowledge these students bring from their
undergraduate degrees. The disciplinary content knowledge that FP students bring to the
PGCE is less clear. Students with at least one major (third year level) subject and two
subjects at first year level, from the subject areas like Languages, Psychology and Sociology,
are accepted into the PGCE FP programme. The PGCE focuses primarily on developing
teaching skills. This study also seeks to determine in what ways the undergraduate degree
was of help in preparing them to become Foundation Phase teachers.
Individual interviews were conducted with six participants, who were practicing teachers,
from a group of thirty six students who completed the PGCE in 2008/2009. The study is
underpinned by Grossman's theory about teacher knowledge and teaching. Five of the
participants who were teaching in rural schools perceived the programme to be adequate.
They said that they acquired knowledge of psychological, sociological and linguistic
foundations of reading and writing; process and instruction; and that they gained knowledge
on how to plan for and use a wide range of curriculum materials. However one teacher, who
was teaching at an urban school, indicated that the programme was not very useful in
preparing her for Foundation Phase teaching. Rather, she perceived the knowledge she gained
at the school where she taught after completing the PGCE as being relevant. She cited that
she received support mainly from her mentor teacher who was her Head of Department.
These findings seem to suggest that novice teachers learn more in well-resourced schools
where there is good support and mentoring, whereas in poorly resourced schools that lack
instructional mentoring, teachers tend to rely more on what they learn in formal programmes
like the PGCE.
Description
Theses (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.
Keywords
First year teachers--KwaZulu-Natal--Attitudes., Primary school teachers--KwaZulu-Natal., Universities and colleges--KwaZulu-Natal., Education, Higher--Social aspects--KwaZulu-Natal., Theses--Higher education.