Reconceptualising history teachers' identities within the context of changing curriculum.
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Date
2005
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Abstract
Teachers are considered by most policymakers and school change experts to be the
centerpiece of educational change. Therefore, it is not surprising that many current
educational reform efforts in South Africa are directed at teachers and their involvement
in educational reform is seen as critical. Reforms must address the core processes of
teaching and learning if they are to markedly change what happens in schools. Yet
teachers respond to educational reforms in a variety of ways: some teachers push or
sustain reform efforts, whereas others resist or actively subvert them. The question of
addressing curriculum change in our schools has recently become a matter of contention.
Teachers are finding it difficult to adjust to the changing educational policies that seek to
coerce teachers into addressing curriculum change in their classrooms.
In response to the changes in educational policy in the new dispensation, the teaching of
history, a subject that had already experienced numerous transformations in the past, was
once again faced with the challenges of a renewed curriculum framework. This study
aims to capture the complexities and contradictions that are associated with a
transforming educational system. More specifically it interogates the question of how
history teachers see themselves within this transformation process and the impact that it
has on their identities to curriculum change.
Identity formation theories were used as a lens to understand the various forces that
influence the identities of teachers. A number of theories were examined in order to
unfold identity development from various approaches to allow for a more holistic
understanding of a teacher's life career. The main question that guided this investigation
was how history teachers construct their identities within the context of curriculum
change.
In attempting to unpack the messiness of the curriculum transformation process and at the
same time to capture how history teachers are negotiating their roles and identities in post -apartheid South Africa, this research study employed a qualitative method of data
collection based on a life history research tradition. The richness of information that was
obtained from lengthy, open-ended interviews with six history teachers from the
Kwasanti circuit, provided a sound platform on which to respond to the critical questions
of the study. The data was collated to develop narrative stories with the intention of
understanding teacher thinking and experiences within a broad social and historical
context. The wealth of information provided by the interviews enabled the researcher to
examine how these teachers were constructing their identities within the context of
curriculum change.
An analysis of the findings indicated that the conceptions that history teachers have about
the changing curriculum are influenced by their past experiences. The study revealed that
some of the major forces of influence that shaped the teachers' understanding of the
changing curriculum were pragmatic and educational. Teachers come with many realities
into the profession often reconstructing and creating their context based on past
experiences and perceptions. Evidence from the data reveals that the plethora of policy
initiatives seeking educational transformation in South Africa are to a large degree not
congruent with existing teachers' beliefs . Teachers have to redefine and renegotiate their
roles and identities, which is problematic because they come embedded with experiences
gleaned during the apartheid era.
The study concludes with a synthesis of the findings and it makes recommendations for
addressing the present needs of history teachers in South Africa. The reconceptualisation
of education through new policy initiatives has to refocus and look more closely at
teachers' understanding of their day-to-day realities in the work environment. Teachers
need to 'own' the process of change, and reform efforts need to be grounded in an
understanding of teachers' professional lives and development. Teachers must see
themselves as experts in the dynamics of change. To become experts in the dynamics of
change, teachers must become skilled change agents.
Description
Theses (Ph.D.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.
Keywords
Theses--Education., Curriculum change--South Africa., History teachers--South Africa., History--Study and teaching (Secondary)--South Africa., Identity (Psychology)