Teacher Learning in a Community of Practice: A Case Study of ...

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In this chapter, I present the purpose, scope and rationale ofthe present study which explores the nature ofteacher learning in the TEMS programme. I then provide a partial account ofthe South African teacher development context. The purpose of sketching the broader context is to locate the TEMS programme within national policy development concerning curriculum and teacher development. As will be seen, the need for the TEMS programme was rooted in national curriculum change, while the subsequent form it took had its origins in the inadequacy ofteacher development programmes to support radical curriculum change. The chapter concludes with an overview ofthe research study by providing a preview ofthe chapters to follow. The structure ofthis chapter is as follows: • Origins, rationale and purpose ofthe study • The South African teacher development landscape post 1994: A briefoverview • Preview ofchapters to follow • Conclusion 1.2 ORIGINS, RATIONALE AND PURPOSE OF THE STUDY 1.2.1 Origins of the study The New Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNeS) for grades R-9 (Schools) makes provision for the inclusion ofEconomic and Management Sciences (EMS), a new learning area, in the senior phase in the General Education and Training (GET) band. In the previous primary school curriculum commerce-related subjects were non-existent. Primary school teachers generally held qualifications that lacked a commerce element. Although a small number ofEx-model C schools and private schools did incorporate basic elements of entrepreneurship into their curricula, these were'one off events' designed for school fetes and fairs. Teachers in the senior phase suddenly found themselves in a position ofbeing required to re-skill and to develop the Economic and Management Sciences curriculum for implementation with little or no help from the Department ofEducation (DoE). Ofparticular significance to this study is the fact that 3
teachers lacked content knowledge required to teach this 'new' discipline in the senior GET phase. The introduction ofEMS in the primary school had thus created a need and a demand for EMS INSET in South Africa. In 2002, at the University ofNatal Faculty ofEducation's annual principals' day workshop, there was an overwhelming request from principals for workshops to assist Economic and Management Sciences teachers in primary schools, and it was at this meeting that exploratory ideas for the TEMS project were first mooted. Thus, unlike much INSET such as 'OBE Training' which many teachers felt was imposed on them, the TEMS had its origins in a request from those at the proverbial 'chalkface'. In September 2002, the Commerce Education Curriculum Development team 1 ofthe University ofNatal held a daylong Economic and Management Sciences workshop for teachers ofEMS. This workshop was successfully conducted on a Saturday with twenty two teachers attending. The programme for the day included a slot that outlined the initial ideas ofthe TEMS project. During this session I learnt that teachers in the MariannhiIl Shallcross area had in fact already organised a structure (which they referred to as a cell group) that was a forum where teachers in a learning area met regularly to discuss curriculum issues and to share ideas and resources. A cell group for the EMS learning area had just recently been formed. The coordinator highlighted some ofthe difficulties that the group was experiencing: EMS teachers needed help, as they were uncertain ofthe expectations ofthe new learning area. Ofsignificance was that this 'community of practice' was a structure that had been conceived by a group ofinterested teachers eager to support each other in the absence ofsupport from the Department ofEducation. This presented an excellent research opportunity for me to study the nature ofteacher learning in this context while making a professional contribution to the work ofthis group. TheTEMS (Teaching Economic and Management Sciences) research project was thus conceived at the end of2002. The focus ofthe research study that was conducted alongside my professional contribution was on the nature ofteacher learning in a I I was the team leader. 4
Page 1 and 2: Teacher Learning in a Community of
Page 3 and 4: ABSTRACT Conceptualising teacher le
Page 5 and 6: DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated
Page 7 and 8: DECLARATION I, Suriamurthee Moonsam
Page 9 and 10: ASSOCIATED CONCEPTS UNDER STUDY WIT
Page 11 and 12: Observation ofJohn's teaching after
Page 13 and 14: A SYNTHESIS OF THE STUDy...........
Page 15 and 16: TEMS RNCS EMS GET DoE INSET ELRC SA
Page 17: In describing the subject-pedagogy
Page 21 and 22: acknowledges the importance and pec
Page 23 and 24: some formal Mathematics teacher edu
Page 25 and 26: study, the coordination functions w
Page 27 and 28: It foregrounds the fact that the co
Page 29 and 30: school. Higher education opportunit
Page 31 and 32: frame models for projecting future
Page 33 and 34: teacher education by the state, (as
Page 35 and 36: schools, classrooms, management and
Page 37 and 38: Although the Teacher Audit indicate
Page 39 and 40: One ofthe first curriculum reform i
Page 41 and 42: entrenched design feature of C2005,
Page 43 and 44: In Chapter Five, I set up a narrati
Page 45 and 46: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 INTRODUCTION
Page 47 and 48: As indicated in the previous chapte
Page 49 and 50: This view is supported by Putman an
Page 51 and 52: Learning is social in nature (Putma
Page 53 and 54: Constant reflection on and understa
Page 55 and 56: Teachers drew on their membership i
Page 57 and 58: The above arguments about the lack
Page 59 and 60: change. She highlights the importan
Page 61 and 62: Differences in the cultures oflearn
Page 63 and 64: persons and is not considered solel
Page 65 and 66: and offers insights into how learni
Page 67 and 68: America. Goodson (1992) and Calderh
Page 69 and 70:
learned meaning and value for them
Page 71 and 72:
'accommodation' and intimates that
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staffroom and a 'pragmatic' teacher
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Davisson (1984), Lumsden and Scott
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directive in that it guides choices
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economic discourse, the economics p
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• Understand and promote the impo
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2.7 CONCLUSION This chapter began b
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(Walford 2001; Anderson 1999). With
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• It places value on the research
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The main research question in this
Page 91 and 92:
Lave and Wenger emphasise the centr
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3.3.2 The Work ofWenger (1998): Com
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agree with the way it takes place o
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Figure 3.3: Refined intersection of
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eflecting. The ability of a communi
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object to something that in reality
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practice is not just an aggregate o
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system or institution and the influ
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3.3.2.4 Learning Practice has to be
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new possibilities for meaning. Brok
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These characteristics indicate that
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engage with one another and acknowl
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A structural model ofa community of
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who were regarded as peripheral. A
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Ideally I would have wanted teacher
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they represent key ingredients in s
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that the Wenger framework presents
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more useful and effective than part
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3.6 CONCLUSION This chapter provide
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• While my professional input int
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• Cycle ofhypothesis and theory b
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observer played themselves out. A c
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organised events and linked communi
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In keeping with ethnographic princi
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In this qualitative study, my inter
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collection. He questions whether co
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physical context, the complex body
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completed, final text: rather, they
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the teacher over classroom events (
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'connoisseurship'. I realised that
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In this study, the criteria for the
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In Chapter One I described the sequ
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tactic by indicating to research pa
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On the occasions that I delivered b
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"Confidentiality involves a clear u
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were cordial and professional. The
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CHAPTER FIVE HOW HAD TEACHER LEARNI
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individual participants changed dif
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He received his schooling under the
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school regularly updated the books
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gone on to become really wealthy. I
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John noted that in planning the cur
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Significant changes had thus occurr
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just transfer it. For example, bank
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Extract from the lesson: John: Pupi
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schoolwork as 'economic work'. This
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John: Now we are not looking at thi
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cardboard and drawing or sticking i
Page 189 and 190:
John: Now I want you to remember wh
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John succeeded in drawing on the sp
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at her maths books to which the tea
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issues that his pupils were raising
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5.5 JOHN'S CHANGING PROFESSIONAL ID
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to achieve their joint enterprise o
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5.6 JOHN'S INCREASED PARTICIPATION
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John regarded the close interaction
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As stated earlier, because the 'con
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CHAPTER SIX USING WENGER'S CONSTRUC
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6.2 SECTION ONE AN ANALYSIS OF TEAC
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understanding it at all. I just don
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In the final interview that took pl
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MM: Shirley: learning outcomes and
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the little things like we started i
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understandings and conceptions ofth
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Extract from Mary's final interview
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Teachers were able to describe the
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The essential differences between D
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Debbie's school, Eden Primary was l
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what he's saying. And in that lesso
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they were excellent, really good. I
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Extract from first lesson observati
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out of the material that they had.
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largely recall, repetition or were
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Third extract from Debbie's second
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From the above extracts and discuss
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with a new set ofsubjects. Without
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was three kilometres away from the
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In the next extract, Ben referred t
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for making bread. The difficulty an
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T: P: T: P: T: P: T: Look again. Is
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stemmed from a discussion at the TE
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Key to the table A = Good/substanti
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was doing the budget and where they
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ofher school and the TEMS community
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Extract from Beth's final interview
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fox the invitations and arrange for
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Table 6.6: Teachers' learning in te
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CHAPTER SEVEN AN ANALYSIS OF TEACHE
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As we saw in Chapter Six, the core
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who did or did not want to become f
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The following extract offers a narr
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difficulties (ibid.). In the above
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A community moves from the potentia
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Cindy began the workshop with a tho
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oundaries" (Wenger et al 2002:97).
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7.4 AN ANALYSIS OF THE TEMS GROUP A
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necessary to learn what they needed
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Figure 7.2: Brokering relationships
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the group. Wenger (1998) notes that
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knowledge ofothers. It is therefore
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MM Shirley MM: Mary: MM: Mary Have
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The following extract from a worksh
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MM: Shirley: How many EMS workshops
Page 309 and 310:
Table 7.2: Criteria for the emergen
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Soudien, a leading South African ac
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hand, adopts a 'narrow' perspective
Page 316 and 317:
As mentioned earlier, Wenger's work
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literature review revealed that the
Page 320 and 321:
Another important feature ofWenger'
Page 322 and 323:
'Identity' namely, 'learning as bec
Page 324 and 325:
(Hargreaves 1995). Teacher professi
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for the purposes ofprofessional dev
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teacher growth. CPD in Africa subsc
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knowledge of subject content is ser
Page 332 and 333:
South Africa, due cognisance must b
Page 334 and 335:
8.3.7 An arena for engaging and con
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the provision of appropriate profes
Page 338 and 339:
level conceptual thinking". They wa
Page 340 and 341:
Collaboration within teacher learni
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has for teacher learning in a South
Page 344 and 345:
Bourdieu, P. (1986) The Forms ofCap
Page 346 and 347:
Department ofEducation (2002) Revis
Page 348 and 349:
Homan, R. (2002) The principle of i
Page 350 and 351:
Mattson, L. (2000) Teacher identiti
Page 352 and 353:
Smylie, M.A., Bay, M. & Tozer, S.E.
Page 354 and 355:
Westheimer,1. (1998) Among schoolte
Page 356 and 357:
APPENDIX 2 INTERVIEW SCHEDULES (INI
Page 358 and 359:
2. What information have you been g
Page 360 and 361:
APPENDIX 3 EXAMPLE OF JOURNAL ENTRI
Page 362:
APPENDIX 5 EXAMPLE OF INDEPENDENT O
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