This phenomenological inquiry delved into the lived experience of what it is like to have anaphylaxis, a severe and potentially fatal allergy, for those in the teacher education context. Hence, an understanding of the phenomenon of living with a severe allergy as well as the impact it has on the professional development of teachers emerged. Three pre-service teachers with first-hand experience of anaphylaxis participated in a series of in-depth interviews over the course of five months. Guided by the hermeneutic approach to phenomenological research outlined by Max van Manen as well as the philosophical writings of Bernd Jager on the social experiences of eating, several essential themes surfaced. The lived experience of anaphylaxis can thus be understood through two actions: ‘The Inhale’ which is associated with perceived barriers of anaphylaxis and ‘The Exhale’ which is a sense of relief one experiences when one is managing an anaphylactic allergy. The three most significant contexts where these actions notably hindered or empowered pre-service teachers were: ‘The Habi(table) Environment’, the concept of safe spaces for those with anaphylactic allergies, ‘The Confron(table) Environment’, represented by spaces beyond a safe environment where there is a need to confront the allergy, and ‘The Respec(table) Environment’ which is an inter-subjective space between those with allergies and those without who are able to negotiate their needs with one another, allowing for the creation of respectable community. These themes, comprised of two actions and three contexts, thus serve to offer a sense of what it is like to live with and manage anaphylaxis. They also sensitize educators toward developing thoughtful, pedagogical responses to the increasing rates of anaphylaxis in the classroom.

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This thesis is a documentation of an empirical study in which qualitative methods were employed to investigate the current programmes offered to pre-service Creative Arts teachers at selected South African universities. The subject, Creative Arts, is one of the compulsory learning areas for grades R - 9 in all South African public schools as prescribed by the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement of 2011. In order for learners to gain maximum benefit from the subject Creative Arts, pre-service teachers should be educated to gain an understanding of the interrelatedness of the different art forms. The theoretical framework underpinning this study is Mezirow's theory of transformative learning which is based on critical reflection. Pre-service teachers should therefore be encouraged to critically reflect on the learning process, rethinking their own perspectives and constructing new knowledge in the process of discourse with others. Information on the current programmes offered at five South African universities involved in this collective case study, was extrapolated from interviews with both lecturers of Creative Arts programmes, and pre-service teachers enrolled for courses in Creative Arts. Furthermore, observations were done at various sites to obtain an in-depth perspective of how the arts are presented at these institutions. Findings revealed that most universities offer Creative Arts programmes with an arts specific approach. This corresponds with the demands of artistic disciplines, and especially performance arts, which require the development of practical skills which should be developed over an extended period. Although developing these specialized skills and knowledge in each art form is important, the discrete presentation of these arts may limit opportunities for students to experience integrated arts activities. Moreover, pre-service teachers need practice in school based settings to hone their teaching skills in delivering meaningful arts activities to learners. The recognition of common grounds between the different art disciplines makes the merging of these arts into the broad subject, Creative Arts possible. These commonalities should be further explored, especially in a South African context where African arts are inherently integrated. Benefits of co-operative curriculum planning between the departments of Basic and Higher Education in the provision of competent and skilful teachers for Creative Arts is the key to successful arts education in South African schools. / Thesis (DMus)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Music / DMus / Unrestricted

Language is central to all teaching and learning. The ability to communicate effectively, and more specifically during instruction is one of the key competencies beginner teachers should develop. While English is the home language of ±10% of South Africans, the majority of learners are taught in English from Grade 4 onwards, many of their teachers being non-native English speakers themselves. The English proficiency level of most South African teachers has been identified as problematically low by a number of researchers. This study aimed to investigate the nature of Classroom English and the underlying oral English proficiency of native isiZulu-speaking pre-service teachers as a first step toward being able to better support Classroom English proficiency development of non-native pre-service teachers. Within my conceptual framework for the study oral English proficiency is viewed as part of and foundational to Classroom English proficiency. A mixed methods approach was used. Data were gathered through questionnaires which gauged perceptions of the pre-service teachers’ English proficiency in the classroom as well as voice recordings of lessons they presented during their practice teaching period in rural KwaZulu-Natal schools. Voice recordings of this case study were analysed with the support of existing oral English proficiency rubrics and a self-designed Classroom English proficiency rubric. In a broad sense findings correspond with previous studies in similar fields, pointing to the nature of Classroom English of this case study at a level not considered ideal for effectively facilitating teaching and learning. These isiZulu-speaking preservice teachers require more support to develop better Classroom English proficiency. An approach that specifically addresses development of language proficiencies required in the classroom, with vocabulary and grammar embedded therein, is suggested. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Humanities Education / MEd / Unrestricted

The purpose of this study was to determine fourth-year pre-service teachers’ perceptions of the influence of mentor lecturers on their Professional Teacher Identity (PTI) while on teaching practice. The problem underpinning this study was that the students may not be able to mediate the merging of the academic world with the world of work if the influence of the mentor lecturer is lacking. The significance of this study lies in the student perceptions of the mentor lecturers’ role. The data were collected through the Fourth Years Initiative for Research in Education (FIRE) project. Students reflected in groups on the development of their PTI and the role their mentor lecturers played in this development. In this qualitative, descriptive case study, a document analysis was conducted on transcriptions of the posters that the students created in workshops. The conceptual framework combined a mentorship and a PTI model. The results showed that in PTI development, the mentor lecturers’ influence ranked sixth out of nine. The students felt misunderstood and unsupported. The findings indicate either that the role of the mentor lecturer is a redundant feature of the BEd programme, the mentor lecturer is not meeting the students’ needs, requiring revisitation of the programme, or this millennial generation sample is not open to critical self-reflection and critique. Similar studies may access the mentor lecturers’ perceptions of their own PTI and their influence on their mentees’ PTI development, and why passion for a subject is not a statistically significant influencer of PTI. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Humanities Education / MEd / Unrestricted

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Micro-teaching provides a framework for teachers’ professional development with emphasis on the teach and re-teach cycle as a practical procedure for the development of micro-teaching skills. One fundamental element in this teach and re-teach cycle is the use of digital technology tools as a recording device which may help aid the understanding and application of micro-teaching skills. This study explores micro-teaching skills with the use of digital technology (cell phone) in B.Ed. programmes at a Western Cape university. The study aims to merge the past and present strategies to initiate the development of a simple model to improve micro-teaching methodology using a simple and mostly available digital technology tool which can allow for self-evaluation and personal reflection. The study seeks to investigate how a digital technology, through a cell phone, can guide practical learning to support pre-service teachers in the micro-teaching presentation. The underpinning theories that frame this study were Vygotsky’s Socio-cultural Theory, Bandura’s Social Learning Theory and Mishra & Koehler’s Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) Theory. These theories emphasize social interactions, modelling and the use of technological tools as a significant aspect of skills development. The combination of these theories informs the conceptually developed knowledge acquisition, knowledge construction and the implementation with technology (KACIT) model with the aim to encourage the construction and implementation of micro-teaching knowledge with available digital technology tools. The study employs a sequential explanatory design, using a case study approach, which draws on both quantitative and qualitative methods as sources of data collection. The quantitative procedure adopted video recording as a form of data collection, using a conceptually developed teaching skills rubric, with a three level Likert-scale rating. SPSS version 25 was used to get the aggregated descriptive statistical values of each teaching skill. The qualitative procedure employed unstructured interviews, lesson plan observation, and thematic and content analysis was used to interpret and analyse the interviews and lesson plans respectively. The sample size of this study is drawn from the B.Ed. students in the Faculty of Education at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). Two hundred and sixteen (216) participants were involved in the quantitative data collection phase, while the qualitative data collection phase consisted of twelve (12) participants for the focus group discussion, five (5) school-based supervisors, five (5) pre-service teachers and (5) five lesson plans from the students-portfolio documents. The findings attest to the general context of micro-teaching as a strategy for developing pre-service teachers‟ teaching skills. It further highlights the high theoretical knowledge levels of micro-teaching of the B.Ed. students, and the relative lack of practical knowledge of micro-teaching of the students. In addition, the findings reveal the high technological knowledge levels of the participants and the need to deepen the professional knowledge of the B.Ed. students along the lines of authentic teaching experiences within the university environment. As part of the recommendations, the study emphasises the use of a digital video platform as a complementary strategy and as a form of reflective practice in micro-teaching presentations. Importantly, the study further recommends that the Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications (MRTEQ) policy document, on the knowledge mixes for teaching competences in terms of the observation outcome, should be re-considered with a clear guideline for South African universities to have a uniform framework and a clear picture of its implementation.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor Of Education (D.Ed.) in the Department of Curriculum and Instructional Studies at the University Of Zululand, 2018 / The study examined pre-service teacher training in Open and Distance Learning based Universities in South Africa and Nigeria. The specific focus of the study was on the initial teacher education programmes at Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) and Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE/PGDE) phases in the two ODL based universities. The theories of self determination, humanism, transformational learning, distributed learning, and transactional distance served as the frameworks for the study. Information for the study was gathered through survey. Anonymous web-based questionnaire was designed and used to obtain information from the pre-service teacher trainees in the two ODL based universities. Interviews were conducted for a selected number of academic and support staff members from the two universities. A combination of purposive and stratified random sampling was used to generate the sample frames of the participants for the study. The sample of the pre-service teacher trainees that participated in the study was drawn from the nine (9) Provinces of South Africa, and six (6) Geo-political zones of Nigeria. One thousand, two hundred and sixteen (1216) ODL based pre-service teacher trainees in their B.Ed. and PGCE/PGDE programmes responded to the web-based questionnaire from the two countries. In addition, a total of ten (10) academic and support staff members were interviewed from the two Universities. The overall results revealed that the majority of pre-service teacher trainees by distance are young people between 18 and 29 years of age, unemployed or engaged in voluntary works with no stable source of income. Furthermore, flexibility of the programme and desire to work full time while studying were found to be the major factors that motivated majority of the participants to enrol in pre-service teacher training by distance. Electronic mail (E-mail), postal services, Learning Management Systems (LMS), radio programmes, and social media were found to be the major platforms through which the selected ODL based universities reached their pre-service teacher trainees. Moreover, mobile phone and tablet were found to be the major devices that the sampled student teachers used to access learning materials.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This qualitative study sought to explore reasons why social studies teachers chose to teach controversial issues and counternarratives in their classroom in an era where doing so is dangerous for teachers and their job security, and how they go about doing so in their classrooms. The theoretical framework of this study encompassed the notion that the five selected teachers embodied and practiced elements of Foucauldian parrhēsía, which is teaching the truth despite the risk of doing so, despite not having explicit knowledge of this particular philosophy, and utilized counternarratives and controversial issues as a means of challenging dominant social norms to bring about a more just and equitable society. The existing literature suggests that their pre-service teacher education provided little influence on their decisions, despite the positive historical, personal, and democratic outcomes from teaching a curriculum exploring controversial issues and counternarratives. Five teachers were recommended for this study due to their reputations for teaching controversial issues and counternarratives in their social studies classrooms. After interviewing and observing these teachers, a number of interesting findings came to light, including a list of best practices for how to teach controversial issues in the classroom, reasons why the teachers taught controversial issues in the classroom, structures of support and barriers for teaching a critical social studies curriculum, and differences between those who believed they taught controversial issues in their classroom but did not, and those who actually did.

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