Teachers’ perceptions of how they develop self-regulated learning

The aim of this paper is to present a case study of the perceptions of self-regulated learning (SRL) of 14 secondary township schoolteachers and their teaching behaviour to develop SRL strategies in their learners. A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive research design was used. Semi-structured interviews and lesson observations were conducted with 14 purposively selected secondary school teachers. Specifically, this study explores how participants use teaching strategies to promote various SRL strategies such as goal-setting and planning, time management, peer learning, and self-evaluation. Findings indicate that participants’ teaching behaviour differ in terms of opportunities to encourage learners to become conscious of their learning processes as they use SRL strategies in different subjects across Grades 8-12 in the two township schools. Discrepancies have been noted between some lesson observations and teachers’ perceptions of how they integrate strategies to develop SRL. The findings underline the importance of developing teachers’ knowledge and the use of SRL teaching strategies to foster SRL learning and, hence, academic success

A study of copper diffusion through Pd₂Si thin films

It is now generally recognized that unless an alternative for aluminium is found the resistivity of the metal interconnects will soon limit device performance. Copper, with its low resistivity and greater resistance to electromigration is one of the obvious substitutes. However, before aluminium can be replaced by copper, a careful study of the reactivity of copper with metal-silicides used in devices needs to be carried out. This study involves a dynamic RBS investigation of the reaction of copper with Pd₂Si films grown on Si and Si substrates. It was found that copper diffused through the Pd₂Si layer and reacted with the single crystal silicon substrate at relatively low temperatures. The onset temperature observed for copper diffusion was found to differ for Pd2Si films grown on the two different substrate orientations, Si and Si. Measurements of the activation energies for Cu-silicide growth on Pd₂Si/Si and Pd₂Si/Si were also made

Towards decolonising teacher education: Reimagining the relationship between theory and praxis

We live in a dynamic world, characterised by major economic, technological and social change. Decolonising teacher education is embedded in a critical approach that aims to create counterhegemonic intellectual spaces in which new worldviews can unfold, in ways that can lead us toward change of praxis. The idea for this article was born out of discussions that took place during the various workshops of our recent curriculum renewal process and provides an explication of the subsequent outcome of the process; the newly developed, integrated Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) curriculum of the Nelson Mandela University’s Faculty of Education. This curriculum is underpinned by a critical, conceptual framework of teacher development, progressing from ‘bridging,’ through ‘becoming’ and ‘being’ towards ‘belonging’ as a teacher in the teaching profession. Drawing upon key themes which emerged during our curriculum renewal process, we explore possible strategies to intervene and disrupt various forms of oppression that are manifest in the current composition of a colonised higher education in South Africa.Keywords: curriculum renewal; decolonisation; developmental model; teacher educatio

Humanising pedagogy: An alternative approach to curriculum design that enhances rigour in a B.Ed. programme

The minimum requirements for teacher education qualifications (MRTEQ) draws attention to the complexity of teaching as an activity that is premised upon the acquisition, integration and application of different types of knowledge practices or learning. As such, all initial teacher education programmes in South Africa should be designed such that they include disciplinary knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, practical knowledge, fundamental knowledge and situational knowledge. These types of knowledge underpin a teacher’s ability to facilitate meaningful learning in the classroom, which in turn facilitates higher education’s responsiveness to societal needs.In this article, we reflect on the faculty’s recent curriculum renewal journey towards designing a coherent and rigorous B.Ed. programme. We locate our curriculum renewal journey in critical theory and our new curriculum itself is grounded in humanising pedagogies, critical reflection and inquiry. We also describe the consultation and collaborative processes we engaged in to ensure that our new B.Ed. programme would be responsive to the needs of our students and society

Transforming teacher education: Using community mapping to read the word and world

The development of critical pedagogical approaches in teacher education (TE) in the South African context is imperative given the deepening crisis in the public schooling system in the country. Public discourse and debates amongst scholars suggest that education for critical citizenship and the development of substantive democracy are under threat. In order to advance education in support of substantive democracy, TE requires critical reflection and engagement with teaching practices that promote the development of citizenship for critical engagement and participation in the socio-economic transformation of South Africa. This paper argues for the development and application of innovative approaches to teacher preparation that challenge the neoliberal attack on public education and the suppression of emancipatory practices amongst teachers. These approaches include a conscientious examination and application of community mapping as a pedagogical instrument that acquaint student-teachers with, and deepen their understanding of, the contextual realities of educational experiences in poor and working-class South Africa. Drawing on case studies of community mapping, this paper argues for critical engagement within the teaching academy with the theory and practice of teacher preparation towards transformative work and an exposure to educational praxes that better prepare student-teachers for a vocation that embraces the philosophies, methodologies and ethics of critical pedagogy. The main thesis of this paper is that community mapping is a critical and transformative pedagogical tool which should be integral to teacher preparation in South Africa

Self-determination theory as a lens to explore motivational factors and leadership influences in sustainable school improvement: A South African case

Many South African schools are underperforming academically and are labelled as trapped or yo-yo schools. The motivation and commitment of school leadership and educators play a critical role in realising improved academic results and sustainable improvement. In the study reported on here a 2-fold perspective was used to explore the problem of motivation: (a) motivational factors influencing sustainable improvement in performing, trapped and yo-yo schools and (b) how the self-determination theory (SDT) can cast light on the issue of motivation and sustainable improvement in schools. Following a qualitative, exploratory, descriptive design, purposive sampling was used to select 6 secondary schools. We conducted individual and focus group interviews with the 6 school principals and 36 educators and heads of department who participated in the study. The findings reveal external factors that operate as negative and positive influences on the participants’ controlled motivation, amotivation and autonomous motivation. Reactions to the labelling of the schools and the motivation brought about by the school leadership styles enabled the participants to internalise the goals of the interventions of the Department of Basic Education for school improvement. One-size-fits-all interventions for school improvement are not effective in all trapped schools. Interventions should be based on individual analyses of root causes of problems and not on the symptoms

Reflecting on lecturer dispositions to decolonise teacher education

An increasingly diverse student population is becoming more and more the norm at South African (SA) universities with culturally and linguistically complex classrooms being the new reality. Lecturers are challenged not only to prepare students to participate in an increasingly diverse democracy, but also to respond to such diversity within their own sites of learning and teaching. Most of the current lecturers at Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s) were schooled during the “Apartheid era” and were predominantly exposed to Western ideologies and fundamental pedagogics. This complicates curriculum transformation at HEI’s as a mind-shift is required to bring about the change required to address the needs of the new generation of students. Despite the transformation and curriculum renewal efforts at universities in SA; students still claim that they feel the effects of colonialism in lecture halls and in the rendition of the curriculum – and calls for the decolonization of the curriculum. Changing the curriculum without changing the curriculum maker is especially difficult under conditions of radical social transformation. Changing the curriculum too far ahead of the lecturers who have to implement it, is unlikely to rearrange the epistemological order of things in the classroom. This paper seeks to understand lecturer dispositions to decolonizing teacher education and reflects on three dispositions – a disposition of resistance, a disposition of inertia and a disposition of possibility

Assessment of routine laboratory screening of adult psychiatric patients presenting to an emergency centre in Cape Town

Our study suggests that routine laboratory screening provides no additional information to that obtained from a thorough history and clinical examination in patients at high risk of having an underlying medical cause of presenting psychotic symptoms