This inquiry is an autoethnography of my experiences as a Black American male serving as a methods of social studies instructor to preservice teachers. Although some may deem this study as subjective, I have embraced that designation to provide insider information to others that face intersectionality and to inform institutional practices in teacher education programs.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) of teachers is increasingly becoming a priority in most countries throughout the world. It is widely viewed as the most effective approach to prepare teachers adequately, and to improve their instructional and intervention practices, for when they enter the workforce (Fraser et al 2007). Despite the general acceptance of CPD programmes as essential to the improvement of education, reviews of professional development research constantly point out the ineffectiveness of most of these programmes (see Cohen and Hill, 1998 and 2000). Furthermore, many teachers express dissatisfaction with the professional development opportunities made available to them in schools and insist that the most effective development programmes they have experienced have been self-initiated (National Research Council, 2007). There is a consensus that many CPD programmes have yet to understand professional development from a teacher‘s perspective. This perspective acknowledges what drives teachers to enlist in these programmes and how such programmes can make a difference to them and their classrooms. Therefore, this study seeks to return the emphasis of professional development to the teachers. The study explores the teachers‘ perspectives of CPD in general, the personal meaning of CPD, and its meaning in the context of their work. By interviewing the teachers who were part of the Mpumalanga Secondary Science Initiative (MSSI) project (a seven year science and mathematics professional development intervention), I explore: the teachers‘ opinions of the intervention; its meaning to them and their work; and its impact on their classroom practices and students for the duration of the intervention and beyond. In this study, I explore data from an extensive and longitudinal study of teachers who were part of the CPD programme in greater detail. In discussing my data, I propose that CPD, however well intentioned and executed, is received differently by each teacher as a result of their personal circumstances and investment in the programme. I argue that the greater the unity between the personal circumstances and motivations of the teachers and those of the CPD intervention, the more likely the outcome will be meaningful for the participating teachers. In turn, the ability to sustain the benefits of the intervention will be enhanced. / Further Teacher Education / D.Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

This is a qualitative interpretive study undertaken through a case study design. The study was carried out to investigate the responsiveness of Social Studies teacher training curriculum towards democratic citizenship education (DCE) with two colleges of education (primary) in Botswana, and the University of Botswana. The following instruments were used as a means to gather data: individual interviews, group interviews, qualitative-questionnaire and document analysis. The participants for the study were drawn from colleges of education Social Studies lecturers and student-teachers with Social Studies as a major subject and the University of Botswana lecturers in the Faculty of Education. The study was inspired by the quest for democratisation of the school system in Botswana through a responsive curriculum. Botswana is dubbed a shining example of democracy, yet active participation of citizens in the national agenda is far to be admired. The best genesis for this enormous task is with teacher training because teachers play a pivotal role in transforming the society through the diffusion of requisite knowledge, skills, behaviours and attitudes. Thus, this argument positions this study to explore the responsiveness of teacher training curriculum at primary teacher training colleges towards DCE. This study was informed by the constructivist perspective on education and teaching. Constructivism is defined by Darforth and Smith (2005) as a broad set of interrelated theories that suggest that knowledge is human creation. This means that, the ideas, attitudes and practices referred to as constructivism are about how humans who learn by building knowledge cooperatively through social interaction and application of prior knowledge in a continual interpretation of ongoing experiences. Moreover, this explains that people explore events and environments, interact among themselves and confront situations and challenge they encounter. The findings of the study show that the teaching of DCE at colleges of education has not been successful as was expected. Firstly, according to the participants, the curriculum does not have adequate content on DCE. Secondly, the values of DCE which are capable of developing student-teachers to be effective citizenship education teachers are not well included in the syllabus. Thirdly, college lecturers believe in active methods of teaching for DCE but perform the opposite in their classes. Lastly, colleges have a lot of challenges that hamper effective transmission of DCE. These range from lack of appropriate educational material for DCE to college leadership that does not recognise the voices of the students in decision making. This study, however, recognises efforts made by colleges to train formidable Social Studies teachers for the transmission of DCE. The study elevates an argument that in-service teachers need support in their effort to transmit DCE to pupils in primary schools. Thus, in the light of the pervasive influence of findings from this study I recommend that policy makers and curriculum planners should consider updating lecturers about the type of Social Studies teacher they are expected to produce. Also I recommend that colleges should review their study materials to align them to the ideals of DCE, with a view to fill the gaps and deficiencies that exist in some topics. Lastly, the study concludes by raising an essential argument that with the current teacher training curriculum and classroom atmosphere in colleges of education, Botswana’s goal of training effective and functional citizenry is an illusion. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum studies)

This is a qualitative interpretive study undertaken through a case study design. The study was carried out to investigate the responsiveness of Social Studies teacher training curriculum towards democratic citizenship education (DCE) with two colleges of education (primary) in Botswana, and the University of Botswana. The following instruments were used as a means to gather data: individual interviews, group interviews, qualitative-questionnaire and document analysis. The participants for the study were drawn from colleges of education Social Studies lecturers and student-teachers with Social Studies as a major subject and the University of Botswana lecturers in the Faculty of Education. The study was inspired by the quest for democratisation of the school system in Botswana through a responsive curriculum. Botswana is dubbed a shining example of democracy, yet active participation of citizens in the national agenda is far to be admired. The best genesis for this enormous task is with teacher training because teachers play a pivotal role in transforming the society through the diffusion of requisite knowledge, skills, behaviours and attitudes. Thus, this argument positions this study to explore the responsiveness of teacher training curriculum at primary teacher training colleges towards DCE. This study was informed by the constructivist perspective on education and teaching. Constructivism is defined by Darforth and Smith (2005) as a broad set of interrelated theories that suggest that knowledge is human creation. This means that, the ideas, attitudes and practices referred to as constructivism are about how humans who learn by building knowledge cooperatively through social interaction and application of prior knowledge in a continual interpretation of ongoing experiences. Moreover, this explains that people explore events and environments, interact among themselves and confront situations and challenge they encounter. The findings of the study show that the teaching of DCE at colleges of education has not been successful as was expected. Firstly, according to the participants, the curriculum does not have adequate content on DCE. Secondly, the values of DCE which are capable of developing student-teachers to be effective citizenship education teachers are not well included in the syllabus. Thirdly, college lecturers believe in active methods of teaching for DCE but perform the opposite in their classes. Lastly, colleges have a lot of challenges that hamper effective transmission of DCE. These range from lack of appropriate educational material for DCE to college leadership that does not recognise the voices of the students in decision making. This study, however, recognises efforts made by colleges to train formidable Social Studies teachers for the transmission of DCE. The study elevates an argument that in-service teachers need support in their effort to transmit DCE to pupils in primary schools. Thus, in the light of the pervasive influence of findings from this study I recommend that policy makers and curriculum planners should consider updating lecturers about the type of Social Studies teacher they are expected to produce. Also I recommend that colleges should review their study materials to align them to the ideals of DCE, with a view to fill the gaps and deficiencies that exist in some topics. Lastly, the study concludes by raising an essential argument that with the current teacher training curriculum and classroom atmosphere in colleges of education, Botswana’s goal of training effective and functional citizenry is an illusion. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum studies)

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) of teachers is increasingly becoming a priority in most countries throughout the world. It is widely viewed as the most effective approach to prepare teachers adequately, and to improve their instructional and intervention practices, for when they enter the workforce (Fraser et al 2007). Despite the general acceptance of CPD programmes as essential to the improvement of education, reviews of professional development research constantly point out the ineffectiveness of most of these programmes (see Cohen and Hill, 1998 and 2000). Furthermore, many teachers express dissatisfaction with the professional development opportunities made available to them in schools and insist that the most effective development programmes they have experienced have been self-initiated (National Research Council, 2007). There is a consensus that many CPD programmes have yet to understand professional development from a teacher‘s perspective. This perspective acknowledges what drives teachers to enlist in these programmes and how such programmes can make a difference to them and their classrooms. Therefore, this study seeks to return the emphasis of professional development to the teachers. The study explores the teachers‘ perspectives of CPD in general, the personal meaning of CPD, and its meaning in the context of their work. By interviewing the teachers who were part of the Mpumalanga Secondary Science Initiative (MSSI) project (a seven year science and mathematics professional development intervention), I explore: the teachers‘ opinions of the intervention; its meaning to them and their work; and its impact on their classroom practices and students for the duration of the intervention and beyond. In this study, I explore data from an extensive and longitudinal study of teachers who were part of the CPD programme in greater detail. In discussing my data, I propose that CPD, however well intentioned and executed, is received differently by each teacher as a result of their personal circumstances and investment in the programme. I argue that the greater the unity between the personal circumstances and motivations of the teachers and those of the CPD intervention, the more likely the outcome will be meaningful for the participating teachers. In turn, the ability to sustain the benefits of the intervention will be enhanced. / Further Teacher Education / D.Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

Acompanha: Caderno pedagógico: inserção da pegada hídrica nas aulas de ciências do Ensino Fundamental / A inclusão de discussões associadas ao consumo de água nas aulas de Ciências assinala para a necessidade da contextualização e ampliação desse tema, direcionando-o a abordagens mais atualizadas, frente à crise hídrica do Brasil e de vários outros lugares do mundo. Deste modo se promovem discussões mais aprofundadas no contexto educacional, levando em conta a Pegada Hídrica. Este estudo diz respeito a uma investigação cujo problema central reside na seguinte questão: como a utilização de estratégias didático-metodológicas embasadas por elementos decorrentes da ferramenta denominada Pegada Hídrica contribui para a compreensão de assuntos relacionados à utilização/destino e conservação da água por parte dos estudantes, a considerar a crise atual envolvendo esse recurso natural? A investigação é de natureza qualitativa, desenvolvida com 35 estudantes do 6º ano do Ensino Fundamental em uma escola de Curitiba. O recorte metodológico é do tipo participante com a utilização de múltiplos recursos para a constituição de dados. Para estruturar a composição de tais estratégias realizou-se, antes do trabalho em sala de aula, uma pesquisa de levantamento sobre questões relativas à água, especialmente quanto à percepção dos estudantes frente aos níveis de consumo em diferentes contextos (agricultura, indústria e doméstico). Isso permitiu a elaboração de um questionário investigativo (levantamento) sobre a forma como os estudantes percebem, relacionam e compreendem aspectos relativos aos recursos hídricos. Aliou-se a isso a opção de instrumentos que facilitam a apreensão de dados, tais como: diário de campo (espécies de memorandos), manuscritos de participantes da investigação e gravações em áudio. Diante desse contexto, a análise de conteúdo, proposta por Laurence Bardin, se mostrou mais apropriada para a apreciação dos dados, uma vez que tal método constitui-se em uma pré-análise, seguida de exploração do material para tratamento dos dados e por fim, sua interpretação. Os resultados da investigação salientaram que os estudantes participantes têm se mostrado reflexivos e abertos às discussões sobre o conteúdo tratado. A análise dos dados nos informa que as proposições de estratégias didático-metodológicas diferenciadas e contextualizadas, embasadas por elementos decorrentes da Pegada Hídrica, objetivou de modo mais acurado, na compreensão de assuntos relacionados à utilização/destino e conservação da água. Deste modo, entendemos que o uso de temas de caráter socioambiental pode se configurar em importante ferramenta para propiciar discussão e contribuir para o aprendizado em ensino de Ciências, como no caso a crise atual dos recursos hídricos no Brasil. / The inclusion of discussions about water consumptions in Science classes highlights the need of contextualization and expansion of the theme, in particular the need to deal with the theme accor-ding to more updated approaches due to the current water crisis lived in Brazil and in many other places around the world so that more profound discussions are carried out in the educational context; examples of this are discussions that focus on water footprint. This investigation refers to a study which main research question was: how does the use of didactic-methodological strategies based on elements of water footprint contribute to students´ understanding of issues related to the use and water preservation considering the current crisis of this natural resource? This qualitative inves-tigation was carried out at a post-graduate level – Master´s degree – with the participation of 35 (thirty-five) 6th grade students at a Basic Education school in the Curitiba. The methodology involved participants and the use of multiple tools for data generation. In order to structure the teaching strategies, before the work in class, a survey was developed about issues related to water, especially students´ perception about the level of water consumption in various contexts (agriculture, industry and domestic). The survey supported the design of an investigative questionnaire about how students perceive, relate to and understand aspects related to water resources. In addition to the survey, tools that facilitate the generation of data such as: field diary (similar to memos), participants´ manuscripts and audio recordings were used. From this perspective, content analysis proposed by Laurence Bardin, seemed the appropriate approach for the data analysis, as this method represents a pre-analysis followed by the exploration of the material for later treatment of the data and, finally, the interpretation. The research results point out that participating students have shown reflective and open to discussions about the treaty content. Data analysis tells us that the propositions of educational-methodological strategies differentiated and contextualized, supported by elements stemming from the WF, the objective of accurate way in understanding issues related to use / destination and water conservation. Thus, we noted that the use of social environmental issues, can set an important tool to foster discussion and contribute to learning in science teaching, such as the current crisis of water resources in Brazil.