An Analysis of the Learning Experiences of Teacher Education Students in South Africa During COVID-19 (79267)
Session Chair: Karen Chung-Chien Chang
Saturday, 13 July 2024 11:50
Session: Session 2
Room: B08 (Basement)
Presentation Type:Oral Presentation
Teacher education is premised on the tripartite alter of theory, pedagogy, and practice. The inculcation of knowledge and competencies premised on these aspects to students pursuing a vocation in teaching are the mainstay of teacher education programmes. The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic and its disruption of higher education processes is well known. Little is known of the pedagogical ramifications of COVID-19 within the teacher education sector. Narratives on the sector are slowly emerging. Moreso, in the South African context, an emerging body of knowledge on the effect of COVID-19 on teacher education programmes are gaining traction. Based on the foregoing, it is the intention of this paper to highlight student teacher experiences in traversing theory and practice during the COVID-19 pandemic era. Premised on a two-case study design, the paper analyses the experiences of a purposively selected sample of ten teacher education students at two universities in South Africa. Data were collected through two focus group discussions at the two sentinel sites offering a teacher education programme. Themes emerging from an analysis of personal accounts emanating from the discussions showed that the traditional face-to-face approach was sidelined in preference of technology-based pedagogies. This was more pronounced during the teaching practice phase of the programmes. In the process, such blended pedagogies adversely affected the theory-practice dichotomy, student-centeredness and reflexivity (praxis pedagogy) which have always defined teacher education. The paper upholds the cardinality of these values while embracing the positive aspects of technology in teacher education programmes at universities in disadvantaged contexts.
Authors:
Newman Wadesango, University of Limpopo, South Africa
About the Presenter(s)
Professor Newman Wadesango is a University Professor/Principal Lecturer at University of Limpopo in South Africa
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