Open AccessTeaching schools as teacher education laboratories
Author(s) -
Sarah Gravett,
Sarita Ramsaroop
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
south african journal of childhood education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.15
H-Index - 2
eISSN - 2223-7682
pISSN - 2223-7674
DOI - 10.4102/sajce.v7i1.527
Subject(s) - practicum , affordance , cognitive apprenticeship , teacher education , foregrounding , pedagogy , apprenticeship , mathematics education , teaching method , student teaching , inclusion (mineral) , psychology , sociology , student teacher , social psychology , linguistics , philosophy , cognitive psychology
This study emanated from the Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Education and Development in South Africa . This Framework proposes that teaching schools should be established in the country to improve the teaching practicum component of pre-service teacher education. A generic qualitative study was undertaken to explore the affordances of a teaching school to enable student teacher learning for the teaching profession. The overarching finding of the study is that a teaching school holds numerous affordances for enabling meaningful student teacher learning for the teaching profession. However, the full affordances of a teaching school will not be realised if a teaching school is viewed merely as a practicum site. Foregrounding a laboratory view of practice work in a teaching school could enable true research-oriented teacher education. A teaching school as a teacher education laboratory would imply a deliberate inclusion of cognitive apprenticeship and an inquiry orientation to learning in the schoo