Prospective Teachers’ Role in the Construction of Authentic Pedagogical Content Knowledge

The views and experiences presented in this chapter highlight the initiative of the teacher educator to adapt ideas that characterise twenty-first century teachers. An emerging trend in teacher education and training pioneers critical thinking and reflective classroom practice which are considered to be pillars for the development of competent teachers who are equipped with theoretical and applied competences. The foundations of conceptual ideas shared in this work are: ‘engagement scholarship’ and ‘critical reflections’, which propose the discourse in the education and training. Critical analysis of these two broad concepts provides a conceptual framework to articulate techniques and strategies to engage prospective teachers in collaborative learning activities. The observations of engagement and critical reflective collaborations of students were analysed. The findings of the action research contribute to the practical knowledge of engagement scholarship and development of critical reflective practitioners. This chapter upholds the perception that the shift from traditional practices and strategies entails analysis of the needs of teachers in a democratic, open and non-discriminatory society. The findings of the action research prove that prospective teachers have the potential to develop pedagogical content knowledge, which is relevant to real-life classroom experience

Assessment of group work in initial teacher education and training

This study records findings of a study carried out in a group of 100 students at a South African university. This study examines the group’s assignments as a way of gathering evidence about pre-service teachers’ achievements in the process of education and training. The empirical study was based on comparative analysis of scores obtained by students in group tasks and scores obtained by the same students doing the same task. The results indicated a discrepancy between marks obtained in the group task and marks earned through individual effort. Findings based on assessment of the results are displayed in the frequency distribution tables: inconsistency in the scores, trustworthiness of group assessment, and equitable allocation of marks to undeserving individuals in groups. High marks are allocated to students who did not warrant them. Moderation of marks (obtained by a group on the task is necessary to validate the reality of students’ performance in a group assignment). Findings highlighted that group assignments do not provide a valid reflection of student performance which could mean that some fourth-year students obtain the qualification without earning it.Keywords: assessment; group work; moderation; pre-service teachers; progressio

Towards the Development of the Decolonized Pedagogy for Higher Education in South Africa: A Students’ Perspective

This chapter presents views, opinions, and perceptions about the curriculum theories that propagate educational perspectives of social injustice, cultural exclusion, supremacy, socio-economic inequality, and inequity. The data collection method was question and answer and deductive reasoning conducted in small groups in education studies classes. Pieces of information recorded in video clips during the COVID-19 lockdown were analysed through qualitative procedures, transcribing verbal data, and sorting coded categories of data. First, the frequencies of statements indicating trends in thoughts form themes classified as convergent and divergent perspectives. The interpretation of themes identified during data analysis seeks to address the problem statement in this chapter, which is the paradigm shift for a conceptualised decolonised curriculum in South Africa. Thus, the research question asked in the study is “what principles should underpin pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of pre-service teacher education and training?” The source of data was interviews and document analysis. The synthesis of the results drawn from the raw data was based on the theoretical and conceptual framework established from the works of scholarship researchers on decolonised education. The interpretation of the findings addressing the problem statement and the research question was presented through convergent and divergent perspectives that characterise the beliefs and thoughts of students about curriculums for decolonised education in South Africa. The study highlights uncertainties about the concepts, divergent conceptual stances on decolonised education, and the lack of uniformity in the perceptions of philosophical principles or foundations of perspectives on decolonised education

Difficulties in developing a curriculum for pre-service science teachers

Course outlines for science teachers, designed and developed at 6 universities, were critically analysed and compared with the guidelines for science education set out in the national policy framework known as the Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications (MRTEQ) to identify the characteristics of a competent science teacher. Researchers used qualitative means to elicit data from the curriculum documents and in-depth interviews with science teacher educators at the institutions that participated in the study. The analysis of data focused on identifying views and perspectives that informed selection and organisation of curriculum content and pedagogical approaches. The findings that emerged from the data analysis point to both convergence and divergence among science teacher educators in terms of (i) interpretations of the policy on the minimum requirements for teacher qualifications, (ii) conceptualising hybridisation of academic content knowledge from different disciplines in the fields of science, and (iii) conceptualisation of pedagogical content knowledge for integrated approaches to teaching and learning of knowledge. A lack of uniformity in the conceptualised academic content and the conceptual framework to develop pedagogical content knowledge for the interdisciplinary school subject, Natural Sciences, pointed to the challenges facing departments of sciences education to produce competent teachers.Keywords: conceptualisation; curriculum development; knowledge integration; science disciplinary content knowledg