Showing papers in "Education As Change in 2007"
TL;DR: The authors argue that tracing the theoretical roots of service learning is based on arborescent thinking, which is hierarchical and dichotomous, and propose that service-learning might be thought of rhizomatically so as to affirm what is excluded in western thought, creating new knowledge spaces in which indigenous knowledge and western knowledge can be transformed and integrated.
Abstract: As a relatively new education phenomenon community service-learning has been subjected to various criticisms. One of the criticisms is that its theoretical foundation is thin. In this article I review efforts at tracing the theoretical roots of service-learning. Furthermore, I trouble the idea of seeking theoretical alibis for justifying educational work generally and service-learning more specifically. I argue that tracing the theoretical roots of service-learning is based on arborescent thinking, which is hierarchical and dichotomous. I propose that service-learning might be thought of rhizomatically so as to affirm what is excluded in western thought, creating new knowledge spaces in which indigenous knowledge and western knowledge can be transformed and integrated.
56 citations
TL;DR: The challenge for higher education is to understand its history, articulate and accept its role with regard to diverse constituencies in society, and create an "appropriate future" within its social context.
Abstract: Higher education, regardless of social context and geographic location, undergoes change. The challenge for higher education is to understand its history, articulate and accept its role with regard to diverse constituencies in society, and create an "appropriate future" within its social context (Du Pre, 2003; Thelin, 2004). In what ways are service learning and civic engagement shaped by context, and in what ways do these two trends contribute to higher education's trajectory for an "appropriate future" as a mature, responsible, and responsive institution within society?
40 citations
TL;DR: The Community - Higher Education - Service Partnerships (CHESP) initiative as discussed by the authors was the first effort to support service learning in higher education in South African Higher Education (HE).
Abstract: Service-learning (SL) was a relatively unknown term in South African (SA) Higher Education (HE) until the late 1990's. In response to the call of the White Paper on the Transformation of Higher Education for “feasibility studies and pilot programmes which explore the potential of community service in higher education” the Joint Education Trust1 (JET) launched the Community - Higher Education - Service Partnerships (CHESP) initiative in 1999. The major focus of this initiative was to assist SA Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to conceptualise and implement SL as a means of giving expression to the mandate given in the White Paper. This paper tracks the development of the CHESP initiative and its contribution towards embedding SL in SA HE. The paper highlights some of the key outcomes at an institutional and national level and underpins these through the results of a comprehensive external review of CHESP undertaken in 2007, eight years after the initial launch.
40 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present the community perspective on community needs, SL benefits, students' performance and areas of improvement in SL practice and argue that SL practice could improve and its impact on communities could increase if the voice of the community is heard.
Abstract: The growth of service-learning in higher education is attributed to its potential to enhance academic learning and contribute to the quality of life in communities, thus benefiting both the higher education institution and the community. Whilst acknowledging the importance of student outcomes, this article focuses on the community dimensions of service-learning in higher education. The article presents the community perspective on community needs, SL benefits, students' performance and areas of improvement in SL practice. It also highlights a gap in higher education in terms of the lack of research on the community dimension of service-learning. The article argues that SL practice could improve and its impact on communities could increase if the voice of the community is heard. The article calls for increased community involvement and partnerships in the evaluation process that relates to the planning and implementation ofSL. The article therefore attempts to fill a gap that has been noted as a glaring om...
38 citations
TL;DR: This paper explored a more "justice" oriented approach to research the effect of service-learning on the communities that serve as sites for this form of curriculum, and found that participatory approaches to research with communities may be more suited to the complex context of service learning than traditional non-participatory approaches.
Abstract: Due to increasing popularity and widespread adoption service-learning is in danger of becoming a technical practice with a ‘charity’ oriented form of engagement with communities. The purpose of the current study was to explore a more ‘justice’ oriented approach to researching the effect of service-learning on the communities that serve as sites for this form of curriculum. This was attempted through, firstly, developing an understanding of how two communities (learners and schools) experienced a service learning programme run as a psychology module at the University of KwaZulu Natal, and secondly, exploring what the use of participatory techniques might be in service-learning research. The results revealed that participatory approaches to research with communities may be more suited to the complex context of service-learning than traditional nonparticipatory approaches. The effect of service-learning on the communities involved in the research revealed that practitioners need to move beyond notions of ‘be...
36 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the experiences and observations of a group of Free State educators of learner-on-learner, learneron-educator and educator-on learner violence and violence-related behaviour against the background of a literature study.
Abstract: This paper examines the experiences and observations of a group of Free State educators of learner-on-learner, learner-on-educator and educator-on-learner violence and violence-related behaviour against the background of a literature study. The research instrument was an adapted version of Joshi and Kaschak's violence and trauma questionnaire. The data revealed that Free State learners and educators are mostly exposed to verbal and physical violence. Furthermore, it was found that school size, age, as well as location, have a statistically significant influence on most forms of violence and violence-related behaviour. Secondary schools, schools with 500 or more learners, as well as schools located in rural areas, were identified as the groups with the highest incidence of most forms of learner and educator violence and violence-related behaviour. Based on the results of this study, a few short-, as well as long-term strategies to prevent school violence are made.
35 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a socio-systemic approach is adopted in analysing the importance of the personal mission and purposes of academic staff for curriculum reform, and it is argued that increasing attention will need to be paid to the personal missions of academics, which underpin academic staff members' commitment to change processes.
Abstract: This article is based on a theory of educational change and sets out new pathways for thinking about Curricular Community Engagement with the emphasis on Community Service-Learning. In particular, three different segments in educational change processes are examined - the external, the internal and the personal. A socio-systemic approach is adopted in analysing the importance these three segments have for educational change. It is noted that the external forces of change (national policies and audit criteria) influencing Curricular Community Engagement (CCE) and specifically Community Service-Learning (CSL) are dominant but internal processes at higher education institutions (HEIs) and the personal beliefs and missions of academics do not feature strongly at present. It is argued that increasing attention will need to be paid to the personal mission and purposes of academics, which underpin academic staff members' commitment to change processes for curriculum reform. Without a fully conceptualised notion ...
26 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the underlying assumptions that inform current practices -explicitly or implicitly -and propose reflexivity as a strategy that may assist to more critically interrogate the ways in which we recruit service learning and community participation into higher education in South Africa.
Abstract: In recent times there has been a proliferation of community service learning projects within universities. The aim of this paper is not to refute community service learning initiatives within higher education, but rather to draw attention to the ways in which power relations might be concealed within them, ultimately subjecting them to the very same forces they claim to be resisting. We urge for the need to go beyond rhetoric and to examine the underlying assumptions that inform current practices -explicitly or implicitly. Foucault's work on power and empowerment has been found to be useful in understanding the relationships between service, power, participation and learning. We conclude by pointing out that all is not lost and propose reflexivity as a strategy that may assist to more critically interrogate the ways in which we recruit service learning and community participation into higher education in South Africa.
22 citations
TL;DR: In the context of higher education, the assumption is that not only will academic, discipline or professional needs be met, but that community members will benefit and gain new knowledge.
Abstract: Policy in Higher Education in South Africa is urging tertiary institutions to become socially responsive in regard to community development, to produce new knowledge and to produce graduates who are critical and responsive citizens. One method of achieving this is through service-learning initiatives. Community-based service-learning values the principle of institutions of higher education working in partnership with communities to develop education programmes for students. Through collaborative engagement in developing the programmes, the assumption is that not only will academic, discipline or professional needs be met, but that community members will benefit and gain new knowledge. There is an assumption that there will be mutual benefit and learning. Most research on service-learning has focused on student learning, course outcomes and issues surrounding faculty or university. Very little research has been conducted regarding what communities or community services bring, or could bring to health scien...
21 citations
Abstract: This study investigates pre-service teacher education students’ engagement with service learning at a South African university. The service learning module was premised on a framework of caring and social justice. A critical discourse analysis technique (Fairclough, 2003) along with content analysis and a hybrid form of ethnomethodological analysis (EA) was used to explore students’ meaning making. The findings show that students performed mainly as ‘technicians’ of service who largely misunderstood the purpose and intention of service learning. Students also positioned themselves as observers of the ‘other’ in a troubled world and took up positions as subjects in the service learning, pathologising the ‘diseased other’. In addition, the investigation reveals that students were challenged by service learning as an experienced/experiential curriculum and that for the majority of students there was only a transient development of their personal and professional knowledge.
21 citations
TL;DR: The authors argues that the WSE policy, in its present form, will not achieve its intended outcomes and proposes a different form of school monitoring and evaluation system which is more appropriate to the context of South African schools, is needed to achieve the desired outcomes.
Abstract: This article engages with the challenges of school change, and the conceptual framework and assumptions of using accountability and support as improvement tools, It looks at lessons from various conceptual and empirical ,analyses and evaluation studies of school change,interventions to critically examine the Whole-School Evaluation (WSE) policy introduced in South African education in 2001. It analyses the content, form and underlying assumptions that schools can be improved through monitoringievaluation and development. This article argues that the WSE policy, in its present form, will not be able to achieve its intended outcomes. A different form of school monitoring and evaluation system, which is more appropriate to the context of South African schools, is needed to achieve the desired outcomes.
TL;DR: The authors argue for an African discourse on lifelong learning in South Africa, in so doing exploring its impact on education policy statements, and how it plays itself out in issues related to the nature of learning, equity and redress, and access to higher education.
Abstract: In this essay we argue for an African discourse on lifelong learning in South Africa, in so doing exploring its impact on education policy statements, and how it plays itself out in issues related to the nature of learning, equity and redress, and access to higher education. Our exploration is located within the context of the African Renaissance and educational discourse. We prefer to speak of ‘resourceful human beings’, which we believe is a more humane metaphor, emphasising the social imperative of such a discourse. This essay posits learning as central to both economic and social cohesion, which suggests that lifelong learning cannot simply be driven by a need to secure economic prosperity but has to focus on the ‘capacity of citizens to exercise and enforce democratic rights and participate effectively in decision making’, as the National Plan for Higher Education (Ministry of Education 2001:7) indicates. We discuss endeavours towards equity and redress in terms of the creation of a more humane socie...
TL;DR: In this article, a model was developed to facilitate an increase of self-efficacy beliefs in educators, to render them more confident in the teaching of this learning area, and the model was implemented via the inclusion of a module in the Advanced Certificate in Education (Life Orientation: FET).
Abstract: Life Orientation has become a compulsory learning area for all Grade 10-12 learners in South Africa, and is aimed at developing effective, productive and responsible citizens who will meet both the economic and interpersonal requirements of society. However, the teaching of this subject is a daunting task for most educators, since they do not believe themselves equipped to be effective instructors and modelers of life-skills. Using a theory-generating research design, a model was consequently developed to facilitate an increase of self-efficacy beliefs in educators, to render them more confident in the teaching of this learning area. This article will describe the qualitative evaluation of the model to develop self-efficacy in teachers. The model was implemented via the inclusion of a module in the Advanced Certificate in Education (Life Orientation: FET). The evaluation revealed that the educators did experience an increase in their self-efficacy beliefs about the teaching of Life Orientation after havin...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors make a case that self-study practitioner enquiry has a vital role to play in the development of new theories of practice which will contribute to the transformation of the epistemology of educational enqu...
Abstract: Transformation, based on the values of social justice, inclusion and respect for human dignity, is currently a repeated refrain in the corridors of Higher. Education and Training Institutions (HETIs) in South Africa. The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University is no exception and espouses transformation as a core value. However, there is a danger that transformation and its accompanying values will remain empty rhetoric unless they are incorporated into everyday practice at microlevels. In this article, we pose the question, “How can we ensure that our institutional values (that promote transformation) are incorporated into our teaching practices?” We contend that action research provides an ideal opportunity to realise these values, thereby ensuring that transformation does take place at ground level. We make a case that self-study practitioner enquiry has a vital role to play in the development of new theories of practice which will contribute to the transformation of the epistemology of educational enqu...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors report on a phenomenological study intended to explore the possible reasons why educator-parents based at township schools transfer their own children to former Model C schools, and conclude that education choice relies heavily on reasons associated with quality education.
Abstract: The aim of this article is to report on a phenomenological study intended to explore the possible reasons why educator-parents based at township schools transfer their own children to former Model C schools. By making use of focus group interviews and written responses, sixty-one primary and secondary educator-parents from township schools in two districts of the Gauteng province, South Africa, participated in the research. From the research responses, ten themes emerged. When these themes are compared with a review of available literature on school choice, a remarkable correspondence is evident. Following this correspondence, it is evident that educator-parents' school choice relies heavily on reasons associated with quality education. If the latter is regarded as being the central reason for learner migration from township schools to former Model C schools, radical and committed intervention strategies are required to improve the quality of township schools.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the gap that exists between the rhetoric of a renewed focus on community engagement and service learning in particular and the reality of staff members' perceptions in respect of the lack of substantial support for their efforts.
Abstract: Over the past five years or more, the innovative, challenging educational approach of service learning has been introduced at an ever-increasing number of South African higher education institutions. In this article, the focus will be on the gap that exists between the rhetoric of a renewed focus on community engagement (and service learning in particular) and the reality of staff members' perceptions in respect of the lack of substantial support for their efforts. The distinction made by KerryAnn O'Meara (2003) between intrinsic and extrinsic motivators for staff to engage in service learning will set the stage for the discussion. In addition, O'Meara's suggested reframing of incentives and rewards from different vantage points (i.e. the structural, human resource, political and symbolic frames) will form the basis for the evaluation of data acquired through a service learning staff survey conducted at the University of the Free State (UFS). This institutional example will illustrate how the UFS has only...
TL;DR: In this article, the status of classroom acoustics in primary schools in the Johannesburg area was investigated and the relationship between the number of learners and background noise level in the classroom was also investigated.
Abstract: The purpose:of this study was to investigate the status of classroom acoustics in primary schools in the Johannesburg area. Grade 1 classrooms from 15 different schools participated in this study. Background noise levels and amount of reverberation (echo and sound reflection) in unoccupied and occupied classrooms were measured in each classroom. The relationship between the number of learners and background noise level in the classroom was also investigated. Background noise levels measured in unoccupied classrooms were then compared to the South African National Standard specification for maximum background noise allowed in an unoccupied classroom. It was found that 14 out of the 15 classrooms had unoccupied background levels that exceeded the maximum classroom background noise limit recommended. 13. of the ,15 had acceptable amounts of reverberation. Classrooms with more learners per classroom area generally had higher occupied classroom background noise levels. Overall, the majority of classrooms that ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the reported experiences of children growing up in same-gendered families, with a specific focus on their experiences in their respective school settings, focusing on whether or not the children disclose their family structure, therefore focusing on disclosure and silence.
Abstract: In this article I explore the reported experiences of children growing up in same-gendered families, with a specific focus on their experiences in their respective school settings. In this article the focus is on whether or not the children disclose their family structure, therefore focusing on disclosure and silence. I propose certain factors that might increase the possibility of open disclosure with positive outcomes, as well as investigate the factors that might encourage silence. In this article I argue that schools can be either places of tolerance and acceptance or of intolerance and prejudice. Those two standpoints are not, however, fixed but exist simultaneously in any given school. This article is structured by first offering an overview of how the children perceived different school climates / atmospheres, and is organised around the themes of tolerant and less tolerant school environments. Thereafter the focus is on individual narratives, to illuminate the way in which children in same-gendered families disclose and negotiate their lives in a school system. This discourse concludes with recommendations for schools and further research.
TL;DR: The authors report on a formative evaluation study of the experience of its first year at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, focusing on responses of lecturers, administrative staff, first year students and faculty learning and teaching committee members.
Abstract: There are strong calls for the use of the first language and for a multilingual approach to language in higher education in South Africa. There are a variety of reasons why it is a highly complex exercise to devise and implement a language policy at an institutional level, especially if it is based on unitary notions of language and groups of people. A policy emphasizing the value of multilingualism and endorsing the value of Afrikaans as default language of learning and teaching was implemented at Stellenbosch University in 2004. This article reports on a formative evaluation study of the experience of its first-year. The research design was multileveled, focusing on responses of lecturers, administrative staff, first year students and faculty learning and teaching committee members. The study made use mainly of the survey approach. The analysis of the results showed a varied response to the policy, with strong endorsement for the use of Afrikaans, especially amongst the first-year students. The various ...
TL;DR: In this article, the integration of assessment and recognition of prior learning (ARPL) at postgraduate level in one South African university is reported. But the authors focus on the assessment of ARPL in a learner-centred manner.
Abstract: The article reports on the integration of assessment and recognition of prior learning (ARPL) at postgraduate level in one South African university. An analysis of interviews with administrators, lecturers and students who have been involved in the ARPL process provides insight into the implementation practices that accompany the formal introduction of ARPL into the institution. The factors necessary to support ARPL policy implementation, the scope of assessment procedures and the facilitation of ARPL in a learner-centred manner are discussed as focal areas for quality assurance in ARPL integration.
TL;DR: A service-learning elective incorporating health promotion was designed and implemented to provide students the opportunity to achieve the critical cross-field outcomes to which Rhodes University aspires and to empower the community with knowledge for the prevention and management of priority chronic health conditions in South Africa.
Abstract: Health promotion is an effective strategy to address the increasing global burden of non-communicable diseases. A paradigm shift in pharmacy practice requires pharmacists to be more proactive in dealing with community health issues. In order to prepare pharmacy students for their changing role, a service-learning elective incorporating health promotion, was designed and implemented. This was to provide students the opportunity to achieve the critical cross-field outcomes to which Rhodes University aspires; and to empower the community with knowledge for the prevention and management of priority chronic health conditions in South Africa. Under supervision, groups of final year pharmacy students researched these health conditions and designed interactive health promotion activities. These were presented at the 2007 Sasol National Festival of Science and Technology (SciFest). A cross-section of children and adults visited the exhibit. Feedback indicated that this interaction between students and the communit...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on a case-study that shows a degree of incompatibility between community engagement and institutional research culture, and show that the link between Phumani Paper and its core research and teaching programme has the potential to transform relationships between higher education and the community.
Abstract: This paper focuses on a case-study that shows a degree of incompatibility between community engagement and Institutional research culture. The paper draws on the experience of managing a national community programme through the bureaucratic structures of a tertiary institution. It evaluates the outcomes of a poverty alleviation programme funded by government that began with idealistic aims - to use the University environment to transfer new research and technologies for rural development, and establish hand papermaking as a new cultural industry in South Africa. The research component set out to challenge the rigid boundaries that often exist between formal and informal learning environments. The findings show that the link between Phumani Paper and its core research and teaching programme has the potential to transform relationships between higher education and the community. Furthermore, the 'transformational nature of that relationship has the ability to open a window of activity which is rapidly closi...
TL;DR: In this article, a research project aimed at assessing student learning in a Community Service Learning (CSL) project is described, where a group of 50 student teachers in a Language Teaching program in the Faculty of Education at the University of Johannesburg were required to offer their "language" services to community organisations, in particular, their writing skills as a form of service.
Abstract: This paper reflects on a research project aimed at assessing student learning in a Community Service Learning (CSL) project. A group of 50 student teachers in a Language Teaching programme in the Faculty of Education at the University of Johannesburg were required to offer their ‘language’ services to community organisations, in particular, their writing skills as a form of service. Apart from the writing they did for and with the community, the students also wrote about the community as part of the Due Performance requirements of their Language Teaching programme. While offering their services, these students generated a wealth of multimodal texts and artifacts, ranging from posters, flyers, and advertisements, to educational supplements and brochures. Positioning the research in the theoretical frameworks of Service Learning theory and the Multiliteracies Project of the New London Group the aim of the project was to assess the learning these students had done as a consequence of their Community Service....
TL;DR: In this article, the authors report on research that they conducted on how an academic service learning module can advance critical citizenship in students, which is a pedagogy that lends itself to such reorganisation and outcomes.
Abstract: To educate university students to be critical engagers of ABET requires the reorganisation of the educational sites in ways that enable students to make rulings about how society is historically and socially constructed. Academic service-learning is a pedagogy that lends itself to such reorganisation and outcomes. In this article I report on research that I conducted on how an academic service learning module can advance critical citizenship in students. After the initial lecture sessions in the university classroom, the students are placed at an ABET center where they experience first hand the academic and social environment of the ABET learner. Data was collected through reflective journals and a focused reflective interview with the students after their service period was completed. Based on my analysis of their reflective journal entries and transcriptions, the findings show that the B Ed Honours students grew personally and professionally. The narratives that they produced were emancipatory in that s...
TL;DR: This paper explored how theoretical frameworks are evident in Master's dissertations and doctoral theses in Educational ICT research and found that studies that were theoretically developed, yielded data that could be interpreted in more depth, while a substantial number of researchers that employed their theoretical frameworks in a very limited way, presented findings that were no more than descriptive in nature.
Abstract: This article explores how theoretical frameworks are evident in Master's dissertations and doctoral theses in Educational ICT research. These studies (n = 103) were purposively selected from seven South African universities. We argue that theoretical frameworks are epistemological devices that account for the knowledge that is produced in a study. We furthermore argue that they explicitly fimplicitly account for the type of design of an inquiry. The findings of the document analysis conducted reveal that studies that were theoretically developed, yielded data that could be interpreted in more depth, while a substantial number of researchers that employed their theoretical frameworks in a very limited way, presented findings that were no more than descriptive in nature. We argue that the reason for the theoretically impoverished studies is complex; part of it may be due to students' training in methodology, supervision that students received, conditions at the institution and so forth. We argue that theory...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the development of the pharmacotherapy service-learning module as a case study which can be used as an exemplar for other service learning modules, and the fourth year students participating in the service learning module were the focus of this study.
Abstract: The pharmacy profession necessitates continual revision of undergraduate training to meet both changing and challenging health needs. Service-learning is a teaching methodology that assists health professions and academic training institutions in facilitating curriculum changes to improve the competence of pharmacy graduates. This method addresses the core requirements as stipulated by the South African Pharmacy Council for entry-level pharmacists. The aim of service-learning was to introduce an educational intervention for students that would enable them to rotate between the classroom and the workplace with the goal to provide them with the opportunity to accumulate learning experiences in both contexts. This article presents the development of the pharmacotherapy service-learning module as a case study which can be used as an exemplar for other service-learning modules. Fourth year students participating in the service-learning module were the focus of this study. Data was collected in various ways thr...
TL;DR: This article explored the nature of researcher identity, which in this context translated into both insider and outsider positions, and made a contribution to the researcher status debate that challenges the simplistic insider-outsider dichotomy evident in popular qualitativeliterature, and suggests, rather, that we begin to imagine the possibility of a continuum in which the researcher is located.
Abstract: This paper is a reflexive account of a number of methodological issues that arose in the field as I was conducting a study of the relationship between identity and participation in school governance in six African, Xhosa speaking communities in the Eastern Cape. I conducted this study periodically in four phases between April 2002 and May 2005. I collected data using 'residence' methodology, and included surveys, in-depth interviews and participant observations. Research sites comprised four rural and two townships. This paper aims to explore the nature of my own researcher identity, which in this context translated into both insider and outsider positions. This shows the fluid nature of my identity as a researcher. This paper intends to make a contribution to the researcher status debate that challenges the simplistic insider-outsider dichotomy evident in popular qualitativeliterature, and suggests, rather, that we begin to imagine the possibility of a continuum in which the researcher is located. In this I suggest that positionings of oneself as 'native' and 'stranger' shift, providing the researcher with a complex challenge of constantly having to 'read' his or her location. Such a reading, I argue, can be utilized to inform and enhance the research experience. Reflections are made on the advantages of being an insider, and the challenges, incompleteness and destabilizations that come with recognition of this status. Recommendations are made for young researchers to be conscious of the complexity of fieldwork politics, which at times require one to adjust to unexpected situations.
TL;DR: This paper found that despite the democratic changes in South Africa in 1994, which resulted in integrated education, many undergraduate student-teachers at the University of the Witwatersrand School of Education find it difficult to establish and maintain interracial and intercultural relationships with their peers.
Abstract: Interaction with peers is central to the social development of student-teachers. Despite the democratic changes in South Africa in 1994, which resulted in integrated education, it is noticeable that many undergraduate student-teachers at the University of the Witwatersrand School of Education find it difficult to establish and maintain interracial and intercultural relationships with their peers. Exploring and discussing themes of race relations, discrimination and social rejection in young adult fiction during lectures and in tutorial groups offers students opportunities to imagine a world larger than their own. These discussions can help them , to construct wider friendships and bridge racial and cultural divides. All titles referred to in this article were published after 1990, and include the following: The strollers by Lesley Beake, The red-haired Khumalo by Elana Bregin, Dianne Case's 92 Queens Road, The mending season by Kagiso Lesego Molope and Jenny Robson's Because pula means rain. Students' res...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors look at whether social capital is a public good and how other societal factors shape it and how communities can influence schools in South Africa, and they show that community involvement in education is crucial.
Abstract: It is a critical commonplace that many schools in developing countries are failing for a number of reasons. Lack of physical and human resources are some of the cited problems in historically disadvantaged schools in South Africa. Social scientists such as Coleman, Dasguta and Bourdieu have investigated the concept of social capital and its propinquity to efficiency and progress of various societal institutions. Among other things, social capital in education refers to the building of social networks and the involvement of communities in educational institutions. When we talk of social capital in schools, we are more interested in the manner in which communities can influence schools. The article looks at whether social capital is a public good and how other societal factors shape it. Studies by Fukuyama (1995) and Putnam (1993) have argued that trust or social capital determines the performance of institutions in the society. Many studies have also shown that community involvement in education is crucial...
TL;DR: Hussein et al. as discussed by the authors used fieldwork as an opportunity to move away from the more procedural and routine tasks of the teaching practicum to the more desirable focus on teaching as research and an inquiry-oriented practice.
Abstract: In this paper we offer fieldwork as an opportunity to move away from the more procedural and routine tasks of the teaching practicum to the more desirable focus on teaching as research and an inquiry-oriented practice (Hussein, 2006; Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999; Zeichner & Teitelbaum, 1982). Moore (200331) points out that fieldwork “holds great potential for ... reflective practice”, and we feel that it offers prospective teachers opportunities to think about learning, about how learners learn, and about what is most useful to them. Through empirical research practices of fieldwork, prospective teachers can construct their own understandings about teaclzing in complex contexts. They can also develop their competencies towards becoming 'scholars, researchers and lifelong learners. Fieldwork has a long history as a form of social science research. At a very basic level, it involves long-term observations of an area of study, interviews with people involved, and narrative data collection in the form of field...