EDITORIAL
EDITORIAL
THE TEACHING FORCE AND WORKING CONDITIONS
BEGINNER TEACHERS IN SOUTH AFRICA
ARTICLE BY F ARENDS AND M PHURUTSE. HUMAN SCIENCES RESEARCH COUNCIL (HSRC) “
There is a growing realisation that a high number of beginner teachers leave the profession in their early years of teaching. The government’s investment in subsidising initial teacher train- ing translates into a waste of resources when new teachers resign from teaching or if new trainees do not take up teaching positions.
The study covered teachers in the Free State, Gauteng, KwaZu- lu-Natal, Mpumalanga and the Western Cape. These provinces were selected on the basis of earlier research that showed that they were hiring new teachers in higher numbers in relative terms to the other provinces (Crouch 2001). While turnover patterns have stabilised in the interim, at the time of this study these provinces still had the greatest potential to absorb begin- ner teachers in both urban and rural areas.
The study included an investigation of the perceptions of prin- cipals and heads of departments (HoDs) about the skills and knowledge of beginner teachers. The study also sought to evaluate efforts by individual schools and by district, regional and provincial education offices to support and assist beginner teachers in their work.
The evaluation was informed by observations that found that without the necessary support (mentor- ship, induction programmes), many beginner teachers develop burnout symptoms in a short space of time.
FINDINGS
Analysis of the data indicates positive comments about the current sole provision of teacher education by universities. Research participants noted that some universities offer good teacher education programmes, while others do not. The data showed that many of the participants had no problem with the duration of teacher education programmes. Most were satis- fied with beginner teachers’ content knowledge (theoretical knowledge of the learning area or subject they teach).
For many, however, the pedagogical knowledge of beginner teachers was an area of concern and it was suggested that the final year of teacher education should be set aside for teaching practice to give teacher trainees enough practical experience of working in classrooms. Overall, beginner teachers’ quality of teaching was not considered problematic.
As with beginner teachers’ content knowledge, the data showed that most of the school managers have no reservations about beginner teachers’ assessment practices. This includes their as- sessment strategies and whether they are able to use assessment to improve teaching and learning.
Besides assessment, the research findings dealt at some length with support provided to beginner teachers, noting that most research participants were not aware of any support specifically
meant for beginner teachers. Some schools, through their school govern- ing bodies, raise funds for the induction and mentoring of new teachers, while other schools predominantly in rural and township areas, do not have support structures and programmes for beginner teachers.
It was noted that salary incentives, sufficient teaching and learning re- sources and well-paced education changes would contribute to beginner teachers staying in the profession.
An interesting are is the confidence beginner teachers expressed about their classroom teaching ability. Beginner teachers were confident that they were more than adequate in lesson preparation, content knowl- edge, making key concepts explicit to learners, relating content knowl- edge to everyday experiences, helping learners to engage with text, and creating a stimulating classroom environment.
This was in contrast to findings reported in similar studies and by school managers. Possible explanations for the contraindications were explored, for example, that beginner teachers may feel pressure to be seen to be coping; the teaching experiences may be threatening beginner teach- ers’ sense of self, and portraying competence may be a coping strategy; teachers may perhaps not be capable of self-reflection in the early stages of their career; or the teachers may genuinely be competent when they start teaching but the schools may erode their confidence and compe- tence, reducing them to incompetent, inexperienced teachers.
Both beginner teachers and school managers reported the challenge of ill discipline in schools. Beginner teachers also expressed the desire to learn more in this area. Managing classrooms and the ill discipline in schools is a challenge for both beginner teachers, who have not yet developed discipline-management strategies and may still be struggling to assert their authority early on in their career.
School managers, probably as a result of their experience, have concrete ideas on how young teachers could be supported to succeed in the pro- fession. Those same school managers, however, are not necessarily pro- viding the needed support or even facilitating beginner teachers’ access to that support when it is not within the school. The school managers also tend to point fingers to the DoE and its officials for the unfavourable teaching conditions beginner teachers are exposed to. This is because some of the school managers were also once enthusiastic young teach- ers but have now become disillusioned about their profession or their employer, and are therefore not in a position to motivate and mentor young teachers.
The education system in South Africa does not have formal structures, policies and strategies for teacher retention. Some schools and provinces, especially those in urban areas, by virtue of their proximity to resources, easily attract teachers, as opposed to rural provinces and schools that struggle to recruit and retain qualified teachers.
” 132 CHAPTER 7 | THE TEACHER AND THE TEACHING CAREER
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IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY-MAKERS AND SCHOOL MANAGERS
THE FINDINGS CALL FOR:
n Differentiated intervention programmes and strategies to tackle the problems ex- perienced by beginner teachers;
n The fleshing out of school- or district- based beginner teacher support, with the primary aim of ensuring that these teach- ers teach well and stay in teaching;
n The national DoE to set clear targets and how these can be achieved;
n The DoE to invest substantially in the twin roles of the school managers (being an in- structional and an operational leader at the same time);
n The DoE to continue its training course for all school managers to improve their man- agement of schools;
n Longer immersion in practical experience;
n The DoE to come up with implementable intervention strategies as well as ensuring the monitoring of proper implementation and support;
n The DoE to put in place programmes and plans for the periodic assessment of the impact of educational changes on teachers;
n Efforts to ensure that learners in poor con- texts have competent teachers;
n The prioritising of issues of equality and equity in education;
n A multi-sectoral approach to pool resourc- es with other government departments, notably the departments of social develop- ment, health, and arts, sport and culture;
n A high premium being placed on the con- stant and continued investigation of teach- ing and learning, including teacher compe- tency.
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