Loading...
Bridging the gap of a professional learning community as a support system in South Africa for multigrade teachers and principals: working together for collective learning and its implementation
Author(s)
Gomes, Martin Luther
Date Issued
2013
Type
Thesis
Publisher
Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Abstract
Teacher education for multigrade education in South Africa is poor, since multigrade
teachers and principals involved in multigrade education have not received formal training in
this form of education, and therefore lack support. Owing to this lacuna in multigrade
pedagogy, and teachers' limited knowledge of such pedagogy, multigrade teachers and
principals struggle to interpret subject matter and settle for different ways to present and
make it accessible to learners. This has a severe impact on the potential of multigrade
schools to play an important role as educational units in underserved rural areas.
Research shows that pre-service and in-service training does not enable multigrade teachers
and principals to develop a knowledge base within the complexities of the actual classroom
situation. Such a knowledge base would enable them to solve the endemic problems of
multigrade education, thereby enhancing their task as multigrade teachers and principals.
Training can have an impact on trainee teachers, but the successful transfer of this newly
acquired knowledge to learners in the classroom is questionable.
Owing to the extent of the problem experienced at each level of multigrade education in the
educational system in South Africa, chances are slight that support to multigrade teachers
and principals will emanate from officials and curriculum advisers. It is clear that the problem
of supporting multigrade teachers and principals is substantial and daunting, and that a
solution to the problem will lead to significant advances in learning, or at least a significant
reduction in malfunction in the multigrade educational system. Therefore, bridging the gap
between newly-acquired teacher competence and teachers' performance in the classroom is
a major concern for the future.
This research aims to understand the dilemmas and address the shortcomings as teachers
implement new practices within classrooms. There needs to be a transitional process through
which multigrade teachers and principals move as they gradually learn, come to understand, and
become skilled and competent in novel ways of education. This research introduces a
Professional Learning Community (PLC) as a model of support and guidance to multigrade
teachers and principals, bridging the gap between knowledge acquired at a workshop, and
concomitant support and guidance, in order to understand and address the dilemmas that
emerge as they implement new practices within multigrade classrooms.
This research employs a design research approach to determine design guidelines and
principles to facilitate the process of supporting and guiding multigrade teachers and
principals, working together as a network cluster for collective learning and its
implementation. The research process in design research encompasses educational design
processes and is therefore cyclical in character: analysis, design, evaluation and revision
activities are iterated until a satisfying balance between ideals ('the intended') and realisation
has been achieved.
To develop solutions for this research, a prototyping approach was employed towards a final
deliverable. The Prototyping Phase in this research comprised three cycles, and focused
during the evolutionary prototyping process on elaborating on the components of the
possible support system to multigrade teachers and principals. It was envisaged that this
would concretise the situation, and obviate problems before implementation in the day-to-day
user setting. Formative evaluation was applied in order to uncover shortcomings during the
development process, in order to generate suggestions for improvement. The results of the
evaluation of each preceding prototype were used in the development of the next prototype.
Design research is an effective method of developing various prototypes in collaboration with
multigrade teachers and principals to ensure contextual appropriateness of what works at a
given time, as well as solutions to the specific problems of multigrade teachers and principals
in South Africa.
Keywords: Design research, Educational design processes, Educational design research,
Multigrade, Multigrade pedagogy, Network cluster, Professional Learning Community,
Support system.
teachers and principals involved in multigrade education have not received formal training in
this form of education, and therefore lack support. Owing to this lacuna in multigrade
pedagogy, and teachers' limited knowledge of such pedagogy, multigrade teachers and
principals struggle to interpret subject matter and settle for different ways to present and
make it accessible to learners. This has a severe impact on the potential of multigrade
schools to play an important role as educational units in underserved rural areas.
Research shows that pre-service and in-service training does not enable multigrade teachers
and principals to develop a knowledge base within the complexities of the actual classroom
situation. Such a knowledge base would enable them to solve the endemic problems of
multigrade education, thereby enhancing their task as multigrade teachers and principals.
Training can have an impact on trainee teachers, but the successful transfer of this newly
acquired knowledge to learners in the classroom is questionable.
Owing to the extent of the problem experienced at each level of multigrade education in the
educational system in South Africa, chances are slight that support to multigrade teachers
and principals will emanate from officials and curriculum advisers. It is clear that the problem
of supporting multigrade teachers and principals is substantial and daunting, and that a
solution to the problem will lead to significant advances in learning, or at least a significant
reduction in malfunction in the multigrade educational system. Therefore, bridging the gap
between newly-acquired teacher competence and teachers' performance in the classroom is
a major concern for the future.
This research aims to understand the dilemmas and address the shortcomings as teachers
implement new practices within classrooms. There needs to be a transitional process through
which multigrade teachers and principals move as they gradually learn, come to understand, and
become skilled and competent in novel ways of education. This research introduces a
Professional Learning Community (PLC) as a model of support and guidance to multigrade
teachers and principals, bridging the gap between knowledge acquired at a workshop, and
concomitant support and guidance, in order to understand and address the dilemmas that
emerge as they implement new practices within multigrade classrooms.
This research employs a design research approach to determine design guidelines and
principles to facilitate the process of supporting and guiding multigrade teachers and
principals, working together as a network cluster for collective learning and its
implementation. The research process in design research encompasses educational design
processes and is therefore cyclical in character: analysis, design, evaluation and revision
activities are iterated until a satisfying balance between ideals ('the intended') and realisation
has been achieved.
To develop solutions for this research, a prototyping approach was employed towards a final
deliverable. The Prototyping Phase in this research comprised three cycles, and focused
during the evolutionary prototyping process on elaborating on the components of the
possible support system to multigrade teachers and principals. It was envisaged that this
would concretise the situation, and obviate problems before implementation in the day-to-day
user setting. Formative evaluation was applied in order to uncover shortcomings during the
development process, in order to generate suggestions for improvement. The results of the
evaluation of each preceding prototype were used in the development of the next prototype.
Design research is an effective method of developing various prototypes in collaboration with
multigrade teachers and principals to ensure contextual appropriateness of what works at a
given time, as well as solutions to the specific problems of multigrade teachers and principals
in South Africa.
Keywords: Design research, Educational design processes, Educational design research,
Multigrade, Multigrade pedagogy, Network cluster, Professional Learning Community,
Support system.
Additional information
Thesis (DEd in the Faculty of Education and Social Sciences)--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2013
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Loading...
Name
Gomes_ML_DEd_2013.pdf
Description
Thesis
Size
1.99 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum
(MD5):60364dc95b26a1a70a607a7ab41ef66a