Philosophiae Doctor - PhD (Education) / The National Policy Framework for Teacher Education and Development in South Africa of
2006 (NPF) outlines seven principles which underpin this policy as expressed in the Norms
and Standards for Educators (2000). These principles require a teacher to be: a specialist in
a particular learning area, subject or phase; a specialist in teaching, learning and assessment;
a curriculum developer; a leader, administrator and manager; a scholar and lifelong learner;
and a professional who plays a role in community development, citizenship education, and
pastoral care. Beginner teachers have difficulty adapting to these new roles as they have not
had efficient exposure to the actual, often harsh realities of the classroom situation as it
unfolds on a daily basis.
A qualitative research approach is employed in the research study to explore beginner
teachers' perceptions of school support to enhance their capability sets in relation to teacher
education policy. Generally, a qualitative study lends itself to developing an understanding of
a particular phenomenon of interest without formulating a hypothesis. In this explorative
study, the investigation was underpinned by the elements of Amartya Sen's Capability
Approach which include "Freedoms", "Unfreedoms", "Capabilities" and "Functionings" (Sen
1992). These elements were used to understand the nature of beginner teachers'
competences and the impact of policy on their performance. In this regard, the achievement
of quality learning outcomes concerning the basic competences of beginner teachers could
be linked to Sen's vision for reaching achieved functionings (those valuable activities and
situations that make up a person's well-being, which is also referred to as that which a person
ultimately manages "to be and to do").
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uwc/oai:etd.uwc.ac.za:11394/6297 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Esau, Dorothy Elizabeth |
| Contributors | Maarman, Ruaan |
| Publisher | University of the Western Cape |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | University of the Western Cape |
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