Student teachers’ perceptions, experiences, and challenges regarding learner-centred teaching

Plessis, Elize Du; Elize,

doi:10.15700/saje.v40n1a1631

Cited by 47 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Research about science teachers' perceptions generally focused on their views about particular educational strategies (Anagün, 2018;Feyzioğlu, 2019), implementation of approaches such as Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM), integrated teaching and learner-centred strategies (Du Plessis, 2020;Park et al, 2016;Tudor, 2015) and the teaching of science in general (Qhobela & Moru, 2014). The topic of forces is very important in the physics curriculum because it is part of the curriculum for students who will pursue STEM careers, such as engineering (Canu et al, 2017).…”

Section: Research Problemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Science Teachers’ Perceptions of Their Knowledge Base for Teaching Force Concepts

Marake

Jita

Tsakeni

2022

JBSE

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It is important for students to understand force concepts because they are central to learning physics and other sciences; however, students find it difficult to understand. There are calls for teachers to tap into their professional knowledge and develop beliefs that help them assist students comprehend the topic. To meet this challenge, teachers’ perceptions of their knowledge base for teaching force concepts should be probed because perceptions act as windows into teachers’ practices. This study, therefore, explored physics teachers’ perceptions of their knowledge base for teaching force concepts. Science teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) frameworks were used to develop a questionnaire based on a 5-point Likert scale administered to 100 physical science teachers who were randomly selected from 54 schools in five districts in Lesotho. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics. The results suggest that, even though teachers reported positive views about their knowledge base, there is no correlation between sub-components of curricular knowledge. It is concluded that teachers should build the curricular knowledge by participating in collaborative activities. It is, therefore, recommended that studies that probe teachers’ actual knowledge of PCK constructs are executed, so that appropriate information is available when planning professional development activities targeting teachers’ PCK. Keywords: force concepts, pedagogical content knowledge, teacher knowledge, teachers’ perceptions of knowledge

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Section: Research Problemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Science Teachers’ Perceptions of Their Knowledge Base for Teaching Force Concepts

Marake

Jita

Tsakeni

2022

JBSE

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“…If the policy-practice gap still exists in the developed world, the disparity is worse in developing countries. Despite numerous curriculum-reform initiatives in Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, South Africa and Lesotho, classroom practice has not changed much in the past two decades or more (Botha, Adu, 2016;Chirwa, Naidoo, 2014;Du Plessis, 2020;Hendricks;Tabulawa, 2013). Teacher-centred methods dominate the teaching of most subjects.…”

Section: Pedagogical Reform In Southern Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Teachers continue to 'pour' knowledge into learners' minds. The belief that teachers do not like changing their classroom practices has remained popular up to the present day (Du Plessis, 2020;Fryer, 2018;Fullan, Miles, 1992;Prendergast, Treacy, 2017;Reese, 2013). Weimer (2012) posits that "it is human nature to be uncomfortable with change" (p. 67).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Searching for learners’ voices: Teachers’ struggle to align pedagogical-reform policy with instructional practice

Chimbi

Jita

2021

Journal of Pedagogy

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Globally, pedagogical reform policy seeks to give space to learners’ voices. But teachers often struggle to engage learners in knowledge construction, deconstruction and reconstruction; as advocated by official curriculum reform policy. Aligning classroom practice to pedagogical-reform policy remains an uphill struggle for most teachers. This article examines Zimbabwean teachers’ efforts to align teaching methods to new curriculum policy which seeks to engage learners in classroom discourse. Using a qualitative multiple-case study and the theoretical lens of sensemaking, a case study of History teachers assessed how they were implementing new pedagogical prescriptions. Data gathered from the document analysis, interviews and 47 lesson observations suggest that, although participants made efforts to open up a space for learners’ voices, they often drifted towards teacher-centred practice. Some participants complained that the unavailability of technology‑based instructional resources, recommended in the new reform policy, made them resort to rote pedagogy. Others believed that teacher didacticism and the dictation of notes were inevitable in History instruction. The use of learner‑centric approaches (as advocated by policy) appeared to be just a drop in the ocean. This study recommends pedagogical reorientation for teachers if learners’ voices are to be heard and large-scale instructional reforms are to be successfully enacted at classroom level.

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“…Many recent service learning programmes (SLPs) have been developed and implemented by education institutions around the world (Garger, Vracheva, & Jacques, 2020;George, Menon, Thevanoor, & Tharakan, 2020;Gonzales, Harmon, & Fenn, 2021;Herlina, Widodo, Madhakomala, 2019;Rodríguez-Izquierdo, 2020) and in South Africa (Botha & Bezuidenhout, 2020;Du Plessis, 2020;Jacobs, 2020), but the research of these programmes have generally focused on the studentorientated benefits derived from the SLP, which include: the ability to apply and master course content and theory (du Toit, 2019;Juaneda-Ayensa, Olarte-Pascual, San Emeterio, & Pelegrín-Borondo, 2019); deeper learning (Matzembacher, Gonzales, & do Nascimento, 2019); increased employability Hence, the main aim of the research was to consider the influence of the student agency working relationships on the participating SL client organizations' satisfaction. The study also considered the effect of the agency-client working relationship on SL clients and student agency variables, and SLP measurement variables (nature of the working relationship, perceived usefulness, lasting impact, overall satisfaction, and future participation) in terms of satisfaction.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of Student-Community Partner Working Relationships on Satisfaction: A South African University Service Learning Programme

Cromhout

Duffett

Steenkamp

2021

International E-Journal of Educational Studies

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This study investigated a service learning programme (SLP), which was established by the Marketing Department at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) in South Africa. The purpose of the SLP was to provide community partners (small businesses) marketing services at minimal or no cost by granting undergraduate marketing students the opportunity to practically apply the theoretical marketing communication teaching in a real-life business environment. The students formed agencies and were required to establish a real-life agency-client working relationship with their chosen community partners (SL clients) (that had little to no marketing communication) to develop a campaign plan in a bid to improve marketing performance. The primary research aim of the study was to examine the influence of the student agency working relationships on the community partners' satisfaction. The research also investigated the effect of the agency-client relationship on SL client, student agency and SLP measurement variables. A quantitative approach was used to survey community partners that participated in the CPUT Marketing Department SLP over a five year period via a questionnaire. The perceptions of 107 client community partners' were analyzed via ANOVA to determine the benefits, challenges and experiences of the SLP. The research revealed that a vast majority of the participating SL client organizations were either satisfied or very satisfied with the agency-client working relationships with the student agencies. The SLP agency-client working relationships were also found to yield significantly positive associations with perceived usefulness, lasting impact, overall satisfaction and future participation by the community partners.

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Student teachers’ perceptions, experiences, and challenges regarding learner-centred teaching

Cited by 47 publications

References 13 publications

Science Teachers’ Perceptions of Their Knowledge Base for Teaching Force Concepts

Science Teachers’ Perceptions of Their Knowledge Base for Teaching Force Concepts

Searching for learners’ voices: Teachers’ struggle to align pedagogical-reform policy with instructional practice

The Influence of Student-Community Partner Working Relationships on Satisfaction: A South African University Service Learning Programme

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