Forms and substance in learner-centred teaching: teachers’ take-up from an in-service programme in South Africa

Brodie, Karin; Lelliott, Anthony; Davis, Harriet

doi:10.1016/s0742-051x(02)00015-x

Cited by 86 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…However, a significant proportion of teachers and newly appointed officials took up the policy as a new dogma, eschewing all teacherdirected learning, and educative authority in the name of 'learner-centredness' and 'group work' (Brodie, Lelliott & Davis 2002;Taylor & Vinjevold 1999). How to become a critical practitioner was rote learnt and rote implemented.…”

Section: The Curriculum Paradoxmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teacher change in a changing moral order: Learning from Durkheim

Slonimsky

2016

Educ. as change.

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This paper explores a curriculum paradox that may arise for teachers in postauthoritarian regimes if a radically new curriculum, designed to prepare learners for democratic citizenship, requires them to be autonomous professionals. If teachers were originally schooled and trained under the old regime to follow the orders inscribed in syllabi and textbooks authorised by the regime, then they were probably not educated for autonomous thought and practices. If so, they are caught in a double bind: either they continue to do what they have always done but then may not be able to fulfil the aims and ideals of the new curriculum, or they can wait for more detailed orders and directives that tell them exactly what to teach and how to teach. In the latter case, a dependency on external authority is maintained. The current response to this problem in South Africa is to develop programmes to strengthen teachers' content and pedagogic content knowledge and to provide highly specified curricula for teachers to follow. Deepening teachers' knowledge is one important step towards addressing the paradox, but there is a danger that teachers who are not yet sufficiently autonomous may simply treat the content and form of such programmes as yet another set of orders to be obeyed. Just over a hundred years before apartheid ended, France Teacher change in a changing moral order was in the process of transition from despotism to democracy, and was in the process of introducing radical changes to the curriculum and the school system. Durkheim's education theory courses were explicitly designed to help teachers think about the underlying social logic of the new policies, about the significance of the changes for them, and to think about the challenges of change. Aspects of Durkheim's lectures are explored to reframe our understanding of, and our response to, the curriculum paradox with which many South African teachers are faced.

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Section: The Curriculum Paradoxmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teacher change in a changing moral order: Learning from Durkheim

Slonimsky

2016

Educ. as change.

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“…For example, Brodie, Lelliott and Davis (2002) explored the forms and substance in learner-centered teaching in South Africa. They found out that "the majority of teachers took up t he forms without the substance" (p. 541).…”

Section: Fengju and L Xiaomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Carney (2008) explored the learner-centered pedagogy in Tibet, China and got to the conclusion that LCE was meaningful in local context to realize the "suzhijiaoyu". Both Brodie et al (2002) and Carney (2008) hold the view that LCE is a good policy and the result of its implementation has a great significance. This book has significant impact on the development and implementation of LCE.…”

Section: Fengju and L Xiaomentioning

confidence: 99%

Book Review: Michele Schweisfurth, 2013. Learner-Centered Education in International Perspective: Whose pedagogy for whose development? Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, London and New York.

Dai¹,

Xiao²

2016

Apples

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Learner-centered education (LCE) is an education policy, widely promoted by international organizations and governments. This book introduces the definition and provenance of LCE and analyses its implementation in global, national and local contexts with Bronfenbrenner's eco-systemic theory and three narratives: cognition, emancipation and preparation. Then, it comes to ten lessons concluded from the research and resolutions for the problems which exist in those contexts. This book is organized into three parts, with twelve chapters. Chapter one is the introduction.Part one is from Chapter two to four, which focuses on LCE as a concept and as a "travelling policy" (p. 3) with local contextualization. Chapter two provides the definition of LCE by introducing the characteristics, provenance and critique of LCE, that is "a pedagogical approach which gives learners, and demands from them, a relatively high level of active control over the content and process of learning, what is learnt, and how, are therefore shaped by learners' needs, capacities and interests" (p. 20).Chapter three explores three justificatory narratives: cognition, emancipation and preparation of LCE which fuel the travel of LCE all over the world, proposed by the author on the basis of the arguments of proponents of LCE. Cognition perspective refers to that people would learn more effectively if they have the initiative of learning. Emancipatory perspective refers to that LCE is a good way to change the unequal relationship between teachers and students and between adults and children. And preparation perspective refers to that LCE can be an appropriate preparation for the contemporary and future life. The changing working life in the changing economic world raises the need for flexible and personal form of learning and skills of metacognition and research.Chapter four discusses the contexts of LCE from global, national, local and microsystemic perspectives with Bronfenbrenner's eco-systemic theory as its framework. In global context, the United Nations and many international nongovernmental organizations play a key role in the promotion of LCE; many principles are raised on the basis of the three narratives. In national context, a change of government, movement towards democracy and state fragility may be

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“…Barrett (2007, p.275) concludes that many initiatives "have fallen short of their ambitious aspirations to transform teachers' practice…or have produced mixed results" (see also Brodie et al 2002;Saito et al 2008;Mattson & Harley 2003;McGrath 2008;Tabulawa 1998). In particular, research in Africa suggests that traditional teaching practices represented by rote teaching established during the colonial period are so deeply embedded that other teaching methods introduced by training disappear with time even if they are initially adopted (Akyeampong et al 2006;Chisholm & Leyendecker 2008).…”

Section: Problematising Continuing Professional Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is changing teaching practice the mission impossible? A case study of continuing professional development for primary school teachers in Senegal

Miyazaki

2015

Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education

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Forms and substance in learner-centred teaching: teachers’ take-up from an in-service programme in South Africa

Cited by 86 publications

References 6 publications

Teacher change in a changing moral order: Learning from Durkheim

Teacher change in a changing moral order: Learning from Durkheim

Book Review: Michele Schweisfurth, 2013. Learner-Centered Education in International Perspective: Whose pedagogy for whose development? Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, London and New York.

Is changing teaching practice the mission impossible? A case study of continuing professional development for primary school teachers in Senegal

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